Although stinky tofu is extremely smelly, many people cannot resist its temptation and are attracted by it. Most people even cannot help but pay for the snack of stinky tofu when they go out to eat.

Who invented stinky tofu

According to legend, in the eighth year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Zhihe, who came to Beijing from Anhui to take the exam, failed in the gold medal list and lived in a guild hall. He wanted to return to his hometown, but transportation was inconvenient. I don’t have any financial expenses; I want to study in Beijing and prepare to take the exam again, but the exam period for my next major is far away. He had no choice but to make a living in Beijing temporarily. Wang's family was not wealthy. His father opened a tofu shop in his hometown. Wang Zhihe had learned to make tofu when he was young, so he rented several rooms near the Anhui Guild Hall, purchased some simple tools, and ground several liters of beans every day. Tofu is sold along the street. It's summer, and sometimes the leftover tofu from sales quickly becomes moldy and becomes inedible, but I'm not willing to throw it away. He thought hard about countermeasures, so he cut the tofu into small pieces, dried them for a while, found a small vat, and salted them. After that, he stopped working and concentrated on studying, and gradually forgot about it.

The autumn breeze brings coolness, and Wang Zhihe wants to go back to his old business and make tofu for sale. Suddenly I thought of the jar of pickled tofu. I quickly opened the lid of the jar and a stench hit my nostrils. When I took it out, I saw that the tofu was blue-grey. When I tried it with my mouth, I felt that besides the stench, there was a strong aroma. Although it is not a delicacy, it is still intriguing. I gave it to my neighbors to taste and they all praised it.

Wang Zhihe failed in many attempts, so he had to give up his studies and go into business, and processed stinky tofu according to the method he had tried in the past. This product is cheap, can be eaten with meals, and is suitable for low-income working people. Therefore, the market is gradually opening up, and the business is booming. After many rounds of financing, we purchased a pavement house on the west side of Zhongzhong Road, Yanshou Street, where we produced and sold the business ourselves, as well as engaged in wholesale and retail operations. According to the contract for purchasing the house, it was the winter of the seventeenth year of Kangxi's reign. After Wang Zhihe created the unique stinky tofu, he gradually figured out a set of production techniques for stinky tofu after many improvements. The production scale continued to expand, the quality was better, and the reputation was higher. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was introduced to the court. Legend has it that the Empress Dowager Cixi also liked to eat it in late autumn and early winter, and listed it as an imperial side dish. However, she thought its name was inelegant, so she named it "Qingfang" because of its green and square shape.

Where is stinky tofu a specialty?

There are regional differences in the way stinky tofu is made and eaten in China and around the world. Here are some of the more famous stinky tofu suppliers: Foodies appreciate it.

Changsha Stinky Tofu

According to experts, none of the freshly fried and sold stinky tofu on the streets of Changsha is authentic. Fire Palace and Rongyuan Hotel are the real "hometowns" of stinky tofu. . The "first-generation master" of Changsha stinky tofu is the late veteran chef Jiang Erdie. His two direct disciples Liu Taoyun and Sheng Chun "settled" in Fire Palace and Rongyuan Hotel respectively. According to reports, the key to making authentic stinky tofu lies in fermented water, which is living water specially made from winter mushrooms, fresh winter bamboo shoots, koji wine, and Liuyang tempeh (other places are stagnant water). The tofu base that is old and tender is passed through this fermented water. After soaking, fry it in a small oil pan over slow fire, then drill a hole and add seasonings such as minced chili pepper, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, sesame oil, etc. to make stinky tofu that is crispy but not mushy, tender but not greasy, and has a unique flavor.

Shaoxing Stinky Tofu

Shaoxing Stinky Tofu is a folk snack of the Han people in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province with rich cultural heritage. It belongs to Zhejiang cuisine. It has a history of nearly a thousand years, and its most prosperous era can be traced back to the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Kangxi became so passionate one day after eating Wang Zhihe stinky tofu that he wrote the word "Qingfang" with his pen, making it famous. Stinky tofu immediately became famous all over the world. According to historical research, Empress Dowager Cixi also had a hobby of eating stinky tofu and listed it as an imperial side dish.

Nanjing stinky tofu

Nanjing stinky tofu is divided into two types, one is gray-white tender tofu, and the other is gray dried tofu. Fry the tender stinky tofu in a frying pan until golden brown, then put it in the pan. When eating, add some chili sauce, sesame sauce, garlic juice, coriander, green onion, and minced ginger. It tastes crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a rich taste; gray color The stinky dried tofu needs to be fried in oil for a little longer to be thoroughly fried. As the attractive odor spreads, small bubbles will appear on the surface of the dried tofu, and the color will turn gray-black. , you can eat it. Such dried stinky tofu is usually cut into small pieces and skewered on bamboo skewers. After being fried, it is directly brushed with the sauce prepared by the stall owner and eaten while hot. It is crispy, delicious and quite chewy.

Taiwanese stinky tofu

Taiwanese stinky tofu originated from mainland China. It is said that it was brought there by Li Mingchuan, a veteran from Hunan in 1949. Later, it was continuously improved by the Taiwanese and gradually formed today's Taiwanese stinky tofu. Tofu has a crispy surface, but there are many holes inside. It is really smelly on the outside and smelly on the inside. It is different from the stinky tofu in the north of the mainland. The stinky tofu in the north of the mainland smells smelly but does not taste very smelly. The inside is tender and unfermented. Almost like tofu. Taiwanese stinky tofu is also served with special kimchi. The kimchi is made from cabbage and tastes crispy, sweet and sour. The sauce is also different from that in mainland China. The sauce for Taiwanese stinky tofu is poured separately, including minced garlic sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, etc. My favorite thing about Taiwanese stinky tofu is kimchi, which is very crunchy. As for the stinky tofu, it is actually the same.

The nutritional value of stinky tofu

In the past, stinky tofu was considered unhealthy, dirty and low-grade. However, after research, it was found that stinky tofu is It is a delicacy with nutritional value and disease-fighting effect. Regular consumption of stinky tofu is beneficial. Especially recently, it has been discovered that stinky tofu is rich in plant-based lactic acid bacteria, which has good intestinal regulation and stomach strengthening effects.

Professor Sanae Okada of Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan, known as the "Father of Plant-Based Lactobacillus Research", discovered that foods such as stinky tofu and kimchi contain high concentrations of plant bactericidal substances, including tannic acid, Plant alkaloids, etc., and the survival rate of plant-based lactic acid bacteria in the intestinal tract is higher than that of animal-based lactic acid bacteria.