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Stinky tofu is a form of fermented
Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
 tofu
Tofu

Tofu , also , doufu , toufu, or bean curd , is a food of China origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks....
, which, as the name suggests, has a strong odor
Odor

An odor or odour is a volatilized chemical compound, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction....
. It is a popular snack in East
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
 and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
, particularly Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, and China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, where it is usually found at night market
Night market

Night markets or night bazaars are street markets operating at night that are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets....
s or roadside stands, or as a side dish in lunch bars.

regional and individual variations exist in manufacture and preparation. Most typically, it consists of tofu which has been marinated
Marination

Marination, also known as marinating, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid....
 in a brine made from fermented milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
, vegetables, and meat for as long as several months.






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Encyclopedia


Stinky tofu is a form of fermented
Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
 tofu
Tofu

Tofu , also , doufu , toufu, or bean curd , is a food of China origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks....
, which, as the name suggests, has a strong odor
Odor

An odor or odour is a volatilized chemical compound, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction....
. It is a popular snack in East
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
 and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
, particularly Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, and China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, where it is usually found at night market
Night market

Night markets or night bazaars are street markets operating at night that are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets....
s or roadside stands, or as a side dish in lunch bars.

Preparation

Wide regional and individual variations exist in manufacture and preparation. Most typically, it consists of tofu which has been marinated
Marination

Marination, also known as marinating, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid....
 in a brine made from fermented milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
, vegetables, and meat for as long as several months. The brine can also include dried shrimp
Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
, amaranth
Amaranth

Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth or pigweed, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are presently recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold....
 greens, mustard greens
Brassica juncea

Brassica juncea, also known as mustard greens, Indian mustard and leaf mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Sub-varieties include Southern Giant Curled Mustard, which resembles a headless cabbage such as Kale, but with a distinct horseradish-mustard flavor....
, bamboo shoots
Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo Shoots is an alternative dance-rock band from New York City. Selected as mtvU's Artist of the Year for Best Music on Campus, the quintet signed with Epic Records and performed on Late Night With Conan O'Brien in May 2007....
, and Chinese herbs.

Stinky tofu can be eaten cold, steamed, stewed, or most commonly, fried. It is often accompanied by chili sauce. The color varies from the golden fried Zhejiang-style
Zhejiang cuisine

Zhejiang cuisine is one of the Cuisine of China of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Zhejiang region in China. Food made in the Zhejiang style is not greasy, having instead a fresh and soft flavor with a mellow fragrance....
 to the black typical of Hunan-style
Hunan cuisine

Hunan cuisine, sometimes called Xiang cuisine , consists of the cuisines of the Xiang River region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province, in China....
 stinky tofu.

From a distance, the odor
Odor

An odor or odour is a volatilized chemical compound, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction....
 of stinky tofu is said to resemble that of rotten garbage or manure, even by its enthusiasts. In spite of stinky tofu's smell, most say the flavor is surprisingly mild(however there are some that think otherwise). Some few people have compared it to the taste of blue cheese
Blue cheese

Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had Penicillium cultures added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell....
. It has also been compared to foie gras
Foie gras

Foie gras is a food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck or Domestic goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through Force-feeding corn, according to French law, though outside of France it is also produced using natural feeding....
. In some instances the taste has even been compared to rotten meat. It is said the more it smells, the 'better' its flavor.

Regional

Stinky Tofu Stall

Mainland China

Stinky tofu is made and consumed in different ways in various areas of China. For example, the types of dried stinky tofu made in Changsha
Changsha

Changsha is the capital city of Hunan, a province of south-central China, located on the lower reaches of Xiang river, a branch of the Yangtze River....
 and Shaoxing
Shaoxing

Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province of China, People's Republic of China. Lying on the south bank of the Qiantang River mouth, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west....
 are both very popular, but they are made with different methods, and the resulting flavors are very different. The most famous shop for stinky tofu in Changsha makes the tofu with yellow soybeans marinated in seasoning. The stinky tofu sold in Tianjin
Tianjin

is the third largest city of the People's Republic of China in terms of urban population. Administratively it is one of the four municipality that have Political divisions of China status, reporting directly to the central government....
 is mostly made in the Nanjing
Nanjing

is the capital city of China's Jiangsu province of China, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and Chinese culture. Nanjing served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is listed as one of the Historical capitals of China....
 style, with a mild aroma. In Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
, stinky tofu is fried and sold on streets, typically served with either spicy or sweet sauces. In Chongqing
Chongqing

Chongqing is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provinces of China-level municipality of China, and the only one in the less densely populated western region of China....
, stinky tofu on the streets is usually fried and dipped in a mixture of usually coriander, scallions, chili powder, Sichuan pepper and oil. Stinky tofu is also sometimes dipped in Sichuan spicy hotpots.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, stinky tofu is a trademark street food
Street food

Street food is food obtainable from a Hawker , often from a makeshift or portable market stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin....
, along with fishballs and beef ball
Beef ball

Beef ball is a commonly cooked food in southern China and overseas Chinese communities. As the name suggests, the ball is made of beef that has been finely pulverized....
s. The street style is rather plain. It is deep fried fresh at hawkers' stalls and at dai pai dong
Dai pai dong

Dai pai dong is a type of open-air food stall once very popular in Hong Kong. The government registration name in Hong Kong is "cooked-food stalls"....
. It is sold by the bag, and is well-known for the tremendous amount of grease it contains. Hong Kong-style stinky tofu is traditionally eaten with hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce

Hoisin sauce, or Haixian Sauce, also called suckling pig sauce, is a Chinese dipping sauce. The word Hoisin is a romanization of the Chinese language word for seafood "" as pronounced in Yue Chinese....
.

Taiwan

Stinky tofu is the unofficial national snack food of Taiwan and is universally loved. It is very commonly served on roadside stands and in night markets. It is primarily served dry (deep fried) or, less commonly, wet (with goose
Goose

Goose is the English-language name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
 blood and Sichuan mala
Sichuan mala

S?chu?an m?l?, more commonly referred to as mala sauce, is a popular Chinese oily spicy sauce which originated in the Sichuan Province of central China....
 soup).

In popular culture

In the TV series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern is a documentary-styled travel and cuisine program hosted by Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. The first season debuted on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 9pm ET/PT....
, host Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern

Andrew S. Zimmern is a food writer, dining critic, radio talk show host, TV personality and chef. Writing for many national magazines and publications, Zimmern has received the Society of Professional Journalists Page One Award....
 sampled stinky tofu in Taiwan. While he enjoyed the griddled variety sold by street vendors in Shenkeng, he could not stand the two dishes - cow stomach sandwich (with fried stinky tofu as the bun) and raw stinky tofu salad with Century egg
Century egg

Century egg, also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, and thousand-year-old egg, is a Chinese cuisine ingredient made by preserving duck, chicken or quail egg in mixture of clay, ash, salt, Calcium oxide, and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processin...
s - he was served at "Dai's House of Unique Stink" in Taipei
Taipei

Taipei has been the de facto capital of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and the capital of Taiwan since Japanese rule that began in 1895....
. He commented that the 14-day-old stinky tofu was overpowering with its rotten taste.

During the Disney Channel Games
Disney Channel Games

The Disney Channel Games were annual Olympic-based special miniseries that aired on Disney Channel from 2006?2008. The 2006 Games were filmed in California and produced by 7ATE9 Entertainment....
 of 2008, participants were able to sample foods from multiple cultures. One of these dishes was stinky tofu. Though the host and several participants enjoyed it, many stayed away due to the name. Many questioned why one would give the food such a name.

In the reality show The Amazing Race Asia Season 3, competitors must eat a big bowl of stinky tofu in one of the Taiwan challenges segment.

See also

  • Hawkers
    Hawker (trade)

    Hawkers is the name given to road-side vendors selling merchandise....