Stinky Tofu

Where can you spot this situation??

If you have walked down Taman Connaught night market, you will have no problem locating a stinky tofu stall by following your nose to the “sharply foul” smell. Based on my personal experience, I had the impression that the smell came from the busy streets or drains along the sidewalk until my friend told me it was the stench of the stinky tofu. One whiff of the stinky tofu would cause a natural act of holding the nose, what more give it a try or swallow a piece.

The tale narrates that during the Qing Dynasty, a young scholar, Wang Zhihe, failed the imperial examination. Since he was too ashamed to return to his hometown, he decided to stay in the city, raise money and re-sit the exam. Coming from a poor family of tofu-makers where he often lent a hand in the family business, Wang Zhihe decided to open a shop making and selling tofu. However, during one hot summer, Wang Zhihe became worried that his tofu was spoiled in the heat, thus becoming inedible. So, he tried preserved the tofu in a jar with salt, and after a few days he opened it up to check on the contents. The smell was putrid but he mastered up his courage and bravely tasted the content, which were surprisingly tasty.

Stinky tofu or smelly tofu is a fermented tofu dish which has a very strong acrid odour. Traditionally, tofu is soaked in a fermented brine of milk, vegetables and meat, Chinese herbs, dried fish and shrimp. Like the most fermented European cheese, stinky tofu gives an unforgettable impression. Non-native eaters find it either exotically tasty or unbearably repugnant.

The brine fermentation can take as long as several months and resulting in a putrid and rotting cocktail. Then the tofu is added and left for further ferment. Many tofu producers will re-use a successful batch of brine in an attempt to repeatedly create the same flavour. Once it has been correctly fermented, the stinky tofu is cut into bite-size squares for cooking. The tofu may be steamed but is most commonly deep fried. Somehow, I do like the crisp on the outer part contrasting with the soft, custard-like texture of the tofu interior. Word of mouth said that the magic is in its topping, which is made of soy sauce, vinegar, chilli oil and garlic.

The typical open fermentation methods allow easy contamination of the developing brine. Impatient vendors have been arrested for faking stinky tofu by adding gunpowder, rotten fish and other inedible additions to their brine to make the process faster. Some factories have “secret recipe” and fermentation techniques to quicken tofu production and meet market demands. It is not a secret anymore now! Rumours occasionally sprout up saying that stinky tofu manufacturers have used human faecal waste and chemicals to speed up fermentation. YES, you did not see wrongly. It is human faeces. Can you believe it??

Recently, an online video became a hit where it featured a Fuzhou tofu merchant who exposes the horror of the secret ingredient that makes stinky tofu, which is none other than human faeces. But, it was withheld from the Internet most probably due to its unreliable source.

Stinky tofu is a popular study topic among Chinese chemistry students. A university from China of bio-science research lab examined a sample of stinky tofu and discovered more than 15 kinds of active bacteria swimming around in it, similar to the types of colonization found in yogurt. Besides that, 21 aromatic chemical compounds have been identified in deep-fried traditional stinky tofu samples collected in Hong Kong. There are 9 types of aldehydes of which 8 were saturated aldehyde and only one unsaturated aldehyde was found. Other chemical compounds found are 5 types of alcohols, 4 types of acids, 2 types of furans and one type of ketone. The scientists state,"... aroma values of decanal, 1-butanol, pentanoic acid and hexanoic acid were among the highest. They generally possess unpleasant, medicinal, putrid, faecal and rancid odours."

Well, as you can see, stinky tofu comes in so many ways of cooking. If you don't like the fried one, then try the steamed one. I am sure you can find the type that suits you.

HOWEVER, I will show you the truth of making stinky tofu now!!

The steps of making stinky tofu to speed up fermentation:-

1) Collect human faeces in a container.

2) Put rotten pork into the filtrated faecal water to let it leaven. During the fermentation process, maggots develop and grow. Then, use DDVP to kill the maggots. In this way, they get the needed lac fermentum.

3) Mix the lac fermentum with a certain chemical agent for precipitation, and then collect some filtrated faecal water in a bottle. When the vendor sells tofu in the street, he will make the fresh tofu stinky by spraying the well prepared faecal water.

4) It usually takes over 2 hours to make stinky tofu in winter. However, it only takes 20 minutes in summer.

5) When the tofu is fried and spiced with salt, pepper, MSG and ground poppy seed, it will be the so-called "delicious" stinky tofu.

Hmm.. after reading this, I think everyone should think twice before you buy it again.

Thus said, I would hereby declare that I would not buy stinky tofu or ever consider it as a gastronomical delight. Nevertheless, if someone would so kindly serve it to me for free, I would not hesitate such sweet gesture.

References:

www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/stinkytofu.htm

www.globaltimes.cn › Health and Food

http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/wine_msg.php?titleid=1214