11/6/2022 0 Comments Stinky tofu![]() The story goes that, during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi (1654-1772), a scholar from Huangshan in Anhui province named Wang Zhihe arrived in Beijing to take an exam. But its surprisingly colourful history goes back much longer than that. Hong Kong has the Shanghainese to thank for stinky tofu – it was said to have been brought here in the 1930s by immigrants who started selling it on the streets. It is usually served with generous helpings of garlic and chilli. #STINKY TOFU PLUS#In the Hunanese capital of Changsha, stinky tofu appears black in colour thanks to it fermenting in a mixture of winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, cardamom from Liuyang (a spice native to the city) plus koji, a fungus that is also used to ferment soybeans. In mainland China, on the other hand, there is a huge variety of stinky tofu, and the fermentation processes and cooking techniques differ widely from region to region. It is also not uncommon to find stinky tofu served on a skewer, in a stew or in spicy hot pot. It is made in more or less the same way in Taiwan, though on the island, fans of the snack top it with pickled vegetables, which apparently offsets the grease that comes from the deep-frying process. Sometimes, the tofu is cut into pieces after deep-frying, then goes back into the wok to give it a much crispier bite. Vendors deep-fry pieces of stinky tofu until they are golden in colour. Stinky tofu is usually deep-fried and served with hoisin sauce or chili sauce in Hong Kong, which serve to neutralise much of the aroma. #STINKY TOFU FULL#The fermentation process gives the subtle-tasting tofu layers of rich flavours full of umami, as well as the intense aroma that makes it so divisive There is no fixed recipe for the fermentation, and the process can take up to several months. ![]() Typically marinated inside a brine made with fermented milk, vegetables and meat, stinky tofu is sold everywhere from street side vendors in Hong Kong and night markets in Taiwan to restaurants in China. It can be hard to escape.īut for its acolytes, it’s the taste that makes it all worthwhile. ![]() The pungent aroma of this delicacy is like a mix of rotten eggs and meat. The other makes sure to avoid it, though that isn’t an easy task. One walks around any neighbourhood in Hong Kong known for its abundance of street foods, like Wan Chai or Prince Edward, and beelines right to a stall selling the mighty cau 3 dau 6 fu 6 (臭豆腐) – stinky tofu.
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