Destination
Taipei
The story
Chòu dòufu ("stinky tofu") is Taiwan's most-divisive food and one of the country's most iconic night-market snacks: fermented tofu blocks — soaked for weeks in a brine of vegetables, mustard leaves, dried shrimp and other proteins until they take on a pungent, aggressive, blue-cheese-and-durian aroma — then deep-fried in hot oil until the outside is deep golden crackly and the inside is silky-soft. Served on paper plates with a spoon of pickled cabbage (Taiwanese suan cai), a spoon of sweet chili sauce, and a scatter of fresh coriander. The smell reaches you from 50 metres away at any Taipei night market; locals treasure it; first-time visitors are polarised. Every night market has multiple stinky tofu stalls (Shilin's Xin Fa Ting is legendary), and every Taipei local has a favourite address.
Method
In a bowl, toss the shredded cabbage with salt. Rest 20 minutes to release water. Rinse briefly and squeeze dry. Add vinegar, sugar, Sichuan peppercorns and sliced chili. Toss and rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature for the pickle to develop (or up to 24 hours in the fridge).
If frozen: thaw the stinky tofu blocks in the fridge overnight. Pat dry with a clean tea towel — surface moisture spatters violently in hot oil.
Open all windows and turn on the extractor fan. Frying stinky tofu produces a very strong smell that will linger in your kitchen for hours if you don't ventilate aggressively.
Warm the oil in a wide heavy pan to 175C. A drop of water should sizzle immediately.
Fry 3 to 4 tofu blocks at a time (do not crowd) for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deep golden and shatter-crackly on the outside. The inside should stay silky and pale.
Lift onto a wire rack. Rest 60 seconds so the outside firms up further.
If using homemade: combine water, sugar, vinegar, chili paste and garlic in a small pan. Simmer 5 minutes. Whisk in a cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water). Cook 60 seconds until thickened. Cool.
Set 2 fried stinky tofu blocks on each plate. Top with a heaped spoon of pickled cabbage. Drizzle with sweet chili sauce (or serve on the side for eaters to dip). Scatter with coriander, spring onion and sliced chili. Serve with lime wedges and cold beer. Eat immediately with chopsticks or fingers — cut each block open first so eaters can spoon in more sauce and pickle.
Tips
- Buy pre-fermented tofu. Making stinky tofu from scratch is a multi-week fermentation project rarely done at home. Any Chinese or Taiwanese grocer's freezer section has ready-fermented blocks.
- Ventilate aggressively. Frying stinky tofu smells strong. Open windows, run the extractor, do it when neighbours aren't home.
- 175C oil. Cooler and the outside stays pale and greasy; hotter and it burns before the inside heats through.
- Pickled cabbage on top is essential. The bright, sour, crunchy pickle balances the pungent tofu and the sweet chili sauce. Do not skip.
- First-time try. If you've never eaten stinky tofu before, the smell is worse than the taste. The fried version is mild in flavour despite the aggressive aroma. Try one bite before committing.
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