Stinky Tofu

     Most western travelers who have done their homework before they come to Taiwan know about the famous traditional food stinky tofu. It smells really stinking before it is deep fried. People can smell the bad odor in the air from a few meters away. The smell and its name have scared a lot of western travelers away from this food. Even though it tastes good after it is deep fried, it is still not easy to convince foreigners to try it.   

This is uncooked stinky tofu. The tofu is marinated in a 
brine solution for several days. It is then removed 
and placed in clean water and washed which removes 
the stinking smell before it is placed in the store.

 

This step is to deep fry the stinky tofu. After this process, the stinking smell

is almost gone. When it becomes a golden color, it is ready to serve.

This is the standard serving for stinky tofu which should have a 
crispy outside and soft inside, a special sauce and pickled cabbage
 with some decorated vegetables like carat. It tastes good when 
eating both at one time.

My husband was trained to accept stinky tofu after he went out a few
time with my family and our friends. Now he has no problem eating it.

Does his face expression convince you to try stinky tofu? 

This dish is called pig-blood-pudding soup including pickled vegetable
which makes the soup more tasty. It is also a famous dish in Taiwan.
Most vendors also offer other different kinds of soup for their 
customers. 

     Some scholars have studied its nutritional value and

 found there are several different kinds of lactic acid bacteria 


which is good for the bodies digestive system. Preparing the 


stink tofu has now become commercially standardized for 


health issues in some modern factories.
  
For more information about stinky tofu, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu