stinky tofu

So this is the fried version of stinky tofu (cho dofu). It is sold in little stands, seemingly in every neighborhood in Taiwan. You can usually smell it before you see it - it smells a little bit like old, foul gym socks. But when you eat it the stinkyness is just one of many strong flavors, alongside chili paste, sweet/sour pickled cabbage, minced garlic and/or ginger, and salty soy sauce. My favorite is the fried, though the bbq is ok. I don't usually like the stewed version - though that was Richard's favorite. A little too stinky for me. We used to get an extremely stinky version of fried tofu at work that would make the whole office smell awful. Everyone seemed to like it better and it was more expensive, but again, too stinky for me. I do like this version though. At night after 10 or so, the only food available is fried, so this is often a late night option. Like fried rice or congee, this seems like another example of not wasting old food that became a favorite as time went by.