This week's Stinky Foods star is the appropriately named stinky tofu. This fermented tofu is a favorite snack in East and Southeast Asia. Click through the pages below to learn 10 weird facts about stinky tofu.
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1. Its exact preparation varies according to region.
Stinky tofu can be prepared in many different ways depending on where it's made.
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2. The Mandarin phrase for stinky tofu is "chou doufu."
The translation of the word "stinky" doesn't have negative connotations -- it's merely a descriptor.
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3. Despite its popularity, you won't find stinky tofu on many Asian menus.
The exceptions to this rule are restaurants that specialize in stinky tofu. They'll offer it raw, stewed, steamed or deep-fried.
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4. In Taiwan, stinky tofu is typically eaten deep-fried.
It's accompanied by a spicy topping to offset lingering grease and the tofu's unique aroma.
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5. The topping is considered an essential aspect of eating stinky tofu.
The topping contains cucumber, pickled cabbage, sesame oil, vinegar, minced garlic and chili sauce.
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6. Some prefer steamed tofu, despite the popularity of fried tofu.
Such advocates say that steaming the stinky tofu keeps its pungent nature and unusual texture intact.
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7. Stinky tofu was once a staple for the Chinese military.
Once the after-hours markets took off in Taiwan, street vendors began preparing stronger, spicier and novel varieties of stinky tofu.
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8. Chinese chemistry students frequently study stinky tofu.
At Tsinghua University, for example, students at the bioscience research lab discovered over 15 kinds of active bacteria.
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9. Stinky tofu has 21 aromatic compounds.
These include aldehydes, acids, alcohols, ketone and furans, which give stinky tofu its rancid, medicinal, putrid and fecal odors.
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10. You don't need to be in Asia to eat stinky tofu.
Some stateside shops and restaurants sell stinky tofu, like this eatery in Arcadia.