Changsha stinky tofu is a traditional famous food in Changsha, Hunan Province, and it is one of the intangible landmark foods in Hunan Province. It is dark in color, tender outside, fresh and spicy, and has a pungent smell and attractive fragrance at first sight.
Changsha stinky tofu belongs to non-fermented stinky tofu. The brine is made of seasonings such as fermented soybean, soda ash, mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots and salt. The prepared tofu is soaked in the brine. Compared with the stinky tofu in other places, the stinky tofu in Changsha tastes more spicy, and the tender stinky tofu is mixed with the aroma of pepper and the crispness of dried radish, which has an endless aftertaste.
According to Changsha Dietetic Records, Changsha stinky tofu originated from fried tofu in Xiangyin. In the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Jiang Yonggui, a native of Xiangyin, went to Luopengqiao to learn the technique of frying tofu. Because the master was in poor health, he returned to his hometown to support the elderly and handed over the responsibility of frying tofu to Jiang Yonggui.
On the basis of frying tofu brine, Jiang Yonggui carefully selected raw materials to make the secret recipe of stinky tofu brine, which flowed from the shed bridge to the fixed booth of the fire palace, making stinky tofu a snack with "smelly and fragrant", crispy skin and excellent taste.
Practice of stinky tofu in Changsha
1. Tofu production: Soak soybeans in water, wash them with clear water, add 20-25 kilograms of clear water, grind them into a thin paste with a stone mill, add warm water with the same amount as the thin paste, mix well, put them into a cloth bag, squeeze out the juice, then mix well with boiling water in the bean dregs, and then squeeze them so that the continuous bean dregs don't touch your hands.
When the soybean milk has been extruded, skim off the foam, put the pulp juice into a pot and boil it with high fire, pour it into a jar, add gypsum juice, stir it with a wooden stick while adding it, and drop a little water after stirring for about 15~20 revolutions. If it is mixed with the pulp, it means that the gypsum juice is not enough. Add some gypsum juice and stir it again.
If the dripping water is not mixed with the pulp, it will turn into tofu brain in about 20 minutes. Scoop the bean curd brain into a wooden box, cover it with a wooden board, press on a heavy stone, and press off the water to get the bean curd.
2. Preparation method of brine: based on 2.5 kg of fermented soybeans, it is necessary to add 15 kg of clear water to boil, filter, add 1500 g of alkali to the juice, soak for about half a month, and stir 1 time every day to obtain brine after fermentation.
3. Fried stinky tofu: Put the soapy alum into a bucket, pour boiling water and stir with a stick, soak it in tofu for about 2 hours, take out the tofu and cool it. Then put the tofu in salt water and soak it for about 3-5 hours in spring and autumn, 2 hours in summer and 6 hours in winter.
After soaking, take it out, rinse it with cold boiled water, drain the water, then pour all the tea oil into the pot to burn red, add tofu and fry it for about 5 minutes. Once it turns brown, take it out and put it on a plate. Drill a hole in the middle of tofu with chopsticks, pour Chili oil, soy sauce and sesame oil together and mix well, then put them into the hole of tofu.