? I know the hairy tofu in Huizhou area from "A Bite of China"; I can't remember where I heard about stinky mandarin fish, it seems to be from this food documentary.
? I don’t have much pursuit of food, so I will never salivate over the food shown in this documentary, let alone try it. After all, some things are difficult to enter my mouth.
There are some exceptions to hairy tofu. Since I love soy products, when the food made with hairy tofu appears on TV, I really want to try it.
? Hairy tofu is a unique traditional dish in Huizhou.
After artificial fermentation, a layer of white hair grows on the surface of the tofu.
It is said that hairy tofu contains a variety of amino acids and tastes particularly delicious after cooking.
? Stinky mandarin fish is also a special dish in Huizhou. The pickled mandarin fish has a faint odor.
Although it smells bad, it tastes delicious. Like many "stinky" foods, it makes people want to stop eating it.
? This time I traveled to southern Anhui and stayed overnight in Tunxi, Huangshan. I chose Piyun Huifu Restaurant for dinner to taste local food.
Piyun Huifu Restaurant claims to be a "famous Chinese Anhui cuisine restaurant". When you enter the restaurant, you will see many signature dishes on display.
At a glance, there are "grilled peanut sprouts", "five-spice lamb chops"... and of course the famous hairy tofu and stinky mandarin fish are indispensable.
? The hairy tofu and stinky mandarin fish are must-orders, as well as the dry-pot peanut sprouts.
When the table was full, I said hello, take pictures first.
So almost everyone at the table took out their mobile phones.
? The hairy tofu served on the table looked very tempting. When it was placed in the pan that was still sizzling with oil, the thick and pure white hair was no longer visible.
I took a piece of it and put it into a bowl and separated the browned skin. The inside was not what I expected.
Dip some hot sauce and take a bite. It's soft, not chewy, and the taste is not what you expected. It's also different from large pieces of white tofu.
I couldn’t help but think of the big plate of unknown green tofu I had in Changsha ten years ago.
That big plate of Changsha tofu was spicy and salty, and I really enjoyed it.
However, the taste of this hairy tofu was so inferior that everyone at the table frowned.
Although it is served with hot sauce, the fried outer shell is really tasteless inside.
? Fortunately, the stinky mandarin fish did not disappoint me. Even though some people at the same table were not used to its taste, I ate several pieces.
The advantage of the smelly mandarin fish is that it has no fishy smell, no odor as expected, and the meat is tight and not as tender as advertised, but it is smooth and refreshing, which suits my taste.
‘ ? I saw many shops selling hairy tofu and stinky mandarin fish on Tunxi Old Street before, so I took them as unique scenery and took them into my camera.
After returning to Nanjing, I sent the photo to Moments, and my colleague Xiao Zhou commented: "Don't eat hairy tofu. It's famous and doesn't taste good." I thought to myself, you should have said it earlier!
? I think it’s not that the texture of hairy tofu is not good, it’s that we are not used to its texture yet.
If the taste is really bad, it will not be passed down as a local specialty to this day.
When we dislike the taste of hairy tofu, perhaps the locals are laughing at our ignorance.
? It was my first time to taste authentic Anhui cuisine, and I found that all of it was heavy on salt.
During the tour, the tour guide said that because it is located in a mountainous area, local people mostly have strong tastes to resist the humid climate.
It is said that spicy food is necessary to keep out the cold and dampness. This is the first time I heard that salty taste also has this effect.
Therefore, when outsiders go to the Huizhou area, if the taste is bland, they should greet them before ordering and ask the chef to be merciful.
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