Enjoy Stink!

I am sure that all Americans know what tofu is, but maybe they have never heard of Stinky Tofu!

Stinky Tofu is a famous course in China. As the name suggests, the smell of the tofu is stinky. If there is a shop selling Stinky Tofu, the entire street would be filled with stink that smell like a pile of putrid garbage.

You may wonder why people like such nasty food. In fact, Stinky Tofu smells nasty but taste delicious. The stink serves a foil to the savor, and gives it a long aftertaste. It is a chemical process that makes the tofu smell stinky. When tofu is fermented and pickled, the protein would be decomposed to produce chemicals such as H2S. These chemicals contribute to the stink. Also, in the process of fermentation and pickling, the interior of tofu becomes more palatable.

In the past, Stinky Tofu was considered as unhealthy food because of the fermentation and pickling process. Nevertheless more and more people start to believe that Stinky Tofu has the function of sterilization and helping digestion just like yogurt.

Stinky Tofu is one of my favorite foods. There was a shop that frequented near my house. Its slogan was ' get money back if not stinky' . People regard the cook that can make the stinkiest tofu as the best maker.

However, in order to reduce costs and seek high profits, some vendors outrageously use shit to make Stinky Tofu! It was reported that about 50 family workshops in Nanshanqu marinated the tofu in liquid dung. They thought it was a cheap and convenient way to make tofu stinky, but they didn't think anything about people's health.

So never buy Stinky Tofu from small family workshops or vendors!

If you want to eat traditional and orthodox Stinky Tofu, go to formal shops or restaurants that have business licenses.