Stinky tofu is a popular dish in East and Southeast Asia. It is sometimes eaten as a snack, or as a side dish or appetiser, in Taiwan, HK, China, and Indonesia. It is usually found at night markets and roadside stands, though more formal venues can also offer them. Though different recipes exist, the dish will always be sharp, and is even banned in some pieces of hong kong for its extremely robust and deep odour.
And no wonder: as well as garlic, onions, chili peppers, and any variety of spices, the tofu itself is fermented in a brine made from, variously, fermented milk, veggies, and meat, as well as, doubtless shrimp, mustard greens, and a couple of types of exotic Chinese herbs. Even white mold is used in some recipes!
Indeed, brine recipes are usually considered a trade secret, which is 1 explanation why stinky tofu can taste radically different from vendor to vendor. There is no fixed formula for starter bacteria, so regional and individual permutations exist in abundance. For the stinky tofu lover regularly an acquired taste for those not local to the Chinese world this cornucopia of differences makes it much more fun to order the dish. Stinky tofu in the West is a lot less authentic, given the sanitary concerns involved, but to the non-Asian palate its aroma or odour, as the case could be surely not any less sickening.
Nonetheless despite the smell, many people find the actual taste quite mild in contrast. Stinky tofu is most often encountered fried, though it can also be steamed or stewed, as the recipe specifies, and even served cold. The dipping sauces can change from easy soy sauce and chili pepper varieties to more strange ones that are even sweet in taste. Stinky tofu is garnished sometimes with sour pickled veggies, especially on Taiwan.
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