Its "smell" is the natural fermentation of microorganisms, and microbial fermentation has two aspects. First, at a suitable temperature, the microorganisms in tofu naturally reproduce and ferment; The other is that microorganisms in brine decompose plant protein into small molecular amino acids and protein, which will change color and stink after long-term pickling and fermentation.
There are generally three steps in making stinky tofu: dehydration, natural fermentation and brine curing. After the pickled stinky tofu is fried or fried, the skin is crisp but not burnt, the inner layer is tender and smelly, and the taste is delicious. If dipped in a special sauce, it will have a special taste. With the help of today's topic, I would like to share with you how to make stinky tofu.
-Stinky tofu-3 pieces of old tofu (about 1000g).
Ingredients: 600g of fermented soybean, 20g of edible alkali powder, 4g of soap alum, 800g of fresh bamboo shoots, 50g of salt150g of wine.
-Start making-
(1) tofu dehydration.
● Cut the bought old tofu into 5cm square, wrap it in gauze and seal it, then lay it flat on the chopping board, add a chopping board on it, and finally press a stone on it (note: the stone should not be too heavy, otherwise it will crush the tofu).
After a night of heavy pressure, let the water in the tofu slowly press out, and the tofu will become tight, like dried tofu.
(2) Natural fermentation of tofu
● Prepare some dried straw, put the pressed tofu evenly on the dried straw, and cover it with a layer of straw (it can be repeated many times if there are many tofu).
● Put the paved tofu in a warm and ventilated place for about a week, and you can see that white hairs grow on the surface of the tofu (this is the mycelium naturally fermented by microorganisms. Note: if the mycelium is black or green, it means it is broken.
(3) making salt water
● Add water (about 3000g) to the pot, and let it cool after the fire is boiled.
Prepare a clean jar (be careful not to have raw water or oil stains, and dry it for disinfection), pour it into cold boiled water, add the prepared ingredients, such as douchi, edible alkali powder, soap alum, fresh bamboo shoots, salt and wine, stir it evenly with a clean container, seal it in a warm and ventilated place, stir it once a day, and let it ferment naturally for about 10 day.
(4) making stinky tofu
Put the fermented tofu into salt water, stir it evenly, seal it and put it in a warm and ventilated place. If the temperature is high in summer, it can be marinated in 6 hours (of course, the longer the time, the easier it is to taste tofu and the better the taste). When you want to eat, just take out some fried or fried food.
-"Answer the Question" Content Production-(1) Why did you choose old tofu to make stinky tofu?
Old tofu has several obvious characteristics; Good toughness, hard texture and fluffy (with holes)
First, before making stinky tofu, you need to remove some raw water. Tofu with good toughness and hard texture will not break as long as the strength is mastered after heavy pressure, which ensures the integrity of tofu. However, tender tofu is tender and crisp under heavy pressure.
Secondly, the old tofu with good toughness and hard texture is easier to produce water, and it produces less water after heavy pressure. With less raw water, tofu is not easy to deteriorate during fermentation. Tofu fermented with raw water is too sticky and easy to "mold" and produce black spots.
Moreover, the old tofu is fluffy and made into dried tofu, which is easy to absorb marinade when pickled and tastes good. With the marinade infiltrating into the dried bean curd, microorganisms can enter the dried bean curd well, and the fermentation effect will be better.
(2) Why should stinky tofu ferment naturally before curing?
Tofu is best fermented in advance, which is easier to be absorbed.
First, the main ingredient of fresh tofu is macromolecular protein. Only when it is fully decomposed into small amino acids and protein can it be fully absorbed by the human body and its nutrition be comprehensive. The process of fermentation is the process of decomposing protein.
Secondly, early fermentation can provide opportunities for the reproduction and growth of microorganisms. A large number of microorganisms multiply, which can decompose plant protein more fully. When the stinky tofu is cured later, the fermentation is more complete, which can shorten the curing time of stinky tofu.
(3) What is the function of adding soapy alum and alkali powder to brine?
The component of alkaline powder is sodium carbonate, which is an alkaline substance. We often use it when we make spaghetti. As a leavening agent, it can make dough foam and expand, and the same is true here. It can make dried bean curd foam during fermentation and absorb marinade.
Soap alum is rare. In fact, it is a kind of "smelly agent", which will be used when making stinky tofu, mainly to increase the odor of tofu, and also to make the skin of tofu black, black and smelly.
-stinky tofu making. "
(1) To make stinky tofu, you must choose old tofu with high fermentation quality. For beginners, it is more suitable to make stinky tofu.
(2) Save any ingredients with raw water as little as possible, so tofu should be stored in raw water, and the water used for pickling is also "dead water" to be boiled, mainly to remove impurities and microorganisms from raw water and improve the quality of pickled products.
(3) To make stinky tofu taste better, the curing time must be long.