Learn About Different Stinky Tofu Recipes Along With Making It At Home

Stinky tofu, better known in many Asian countries as Chou Dofu, is a fermented tofu dish that has a strong pungent aroma. As Taiwan's night food market culture started to get popular, different flavors of stinky tofu was prepared. It is used in cooking snacks and side dishes for lunch in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mainland China, and of course, Taiwan. You too can learn how to make tofu (if you can't find the time or chance to travel at one of these locations for original stinky tofu). Write down all the ingredients needed to make stinky tofu recipes and head to any local Asian market for supplies.



Make Stinky Tofu

• In a big bucket, add pure soy milk (not the flavored store bought soy milk). The milk contents should have pure soybeans and water in it. You can find it at any Asian grocery stores. Make sure the soy milk is white and pure. Let the soy milk sit outside for few weeks till it turns stale, starts to get molds, and changes its color to gray.
• Many times, shrimp heads are also added to add the "smelly" part of tofu. Another method to make the brine is by adding old winter melon rinds that are decomposing for over a year.
• After the brine is ready, add some salt in it. The amount of salt added depends on your liking of how salty your tofu should be. Purchase several slabs of firm tofu and place them in with the brine for few hours. Make sure you don't leave the tofu in for more than 6 hours or it will make your tofu unbearably funky.
• There you have it. Now you know how to make tofu by yourself. All there's left is to cook it.

Stinky Tofu Recipes

Although, the taste for tofu is pretty mild, many of us can't get over its smell. If you can't digest the strong odor tofu has, try preparing fried stinky tofu recipes. Following are a couple of stinky tofu recipes that you may cook for healthy living.

Wok Fried Stinky Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 lb solid stinky tofu
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• Cilantro, for garnish

Procedure

Place the tofu on a cutting board and cut 8-12 rectangle wedges. Pour some cornstarch in a bowl and coat the pieces of tofu in it. In a wok (or frying pan), heat 4 tablespoons of cooking oil and keep the heat on medium-high. Once you see light smoke coming out of the oil, stir-fry the tofu. As you are frying the tofu, be prepared to get the strong odor again. It basically smells like melting blue cheese in the wok. Fry all sides till they turn golden brown and crispy. Bring them out of the wok and place on some paper towels. Take 3 different bowls to pour soy sauce, chili sauce, and barbecue sauce. These will be your dipping sauces for the tofu. In a serving platter, arrange the wok fried tofu, and sprinkle cilantro and chopped green onion on top.