![]() ![]() That being said if you can find street food in China, you can find stinky tofu! Aside from China you will find it in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even in the odd China town. Pretty much everywhere, although as the gentrification of China continues that food trucks are moving further out. “WTF is that”? Or words similar were muttered to which I was told that it was “stinky tofu” and did I want to try it? This may well have predated my street food days, but indeed I did want to try it! Where to find stinky tofu? To show how long ago this was I was actually on date when we walked past a fairly busy stall and I noticed a pungent smell. I remember being generally in awe during this first trip to Asia, for many reasons, but not least the smells, particularly pertaining to food. I was first introduced to stinky tofu during my time living in Xi’an 14 years ago. "The brine is made entirely from natural plants, so it does no harm to people," he said.There are a lot of good foods that smell bad, such as durian, then there are foods that smell and taste bad, like hakarl, but where does stinky tofu fit into the grand mix of things? ![]() It is difficult to get rid of the odor, but Zhou said there are no health risk concerns. One major downside of this job, according to Zhou, is that his body, especially his hands, have the tofu stench even though he always wears a pair of thick gloves when handling tofu products. This move also adds to the accuracy of his judgment. Zhou, one of the sniffers, also sometimes tears a small hole in a tofu sample and takes a peek inside to see if the brine has sunk in. "Regular tofu attains a unique funky flavor through the fermentation process, so we have to be careful in controlling the amount of fermentation, which is the key to our production," said Tang, adding that about one in 10 frontline workers on her team are now professional sniffers.Īfter a new job listing was posted recently, Tang said 11 applications for the position have streamed in. Legend says Wang failed his imperial examination and his dreams of serving in the state bureaucracy was crushed. And according to Chinese folklore, the famous dish was invented by a scholar, named Wang Zhihe () during the Qing Dynasty. The rigorous requirements regarding personal lifestyle choices are meant to ensure that their olfactory sensitivities are at their best when detecting degrees of fermentation in tofu blocks, which are largely based on faint distinctions in smells. Taiwanese stinky tofu was actually Chinese stinky tofu. Like Zhou, most sniffers land a job in Tang's team thanks to an acute sense of smell and longstanding habits of staying away from drinking, smoking, manicure, the use of perfume and makeup. "But we have coined the new title to poke fun at the fact that we work in an odor-infused environment and touch the fermented brine through mixing, blending and flipping marinated tofu all the time." "More accurately, they are masters in marinating," she said. The aptly-named profession can trace its roots to sniffers responsible for identifying odorous particles in the air during environmental inspections, according to Tang Fang who oversees production at the company. Stinky tofu can be eaten cold, steamed, stewed, or, most commonly, deep-fried, and it is often accompanied by chili sauce or soy sauce. Jumeihe Soybean Products Co, Zhou's employer, is one of several stinky tofu producers in the region that have rolled out recruitment notices in search of qualified "masters in smelling odor". In recent years, Hunan, in Central China, has seen a new job category growing in its famed food scene. ![]() Selected batches of bean curds will then be transported for cleaning and packing at the factory in Changsha, Hunan province. However, the 44-year-old remained expressionless as he held the slab in his palms and took a deep breath to examine the smell.Īs weird as it sounds, this is an essential part of Zhou's daily job: to sniff out pungent bean curd smells point on - a sign of sufficient fermentation. The signature funky odor from hours of fermentation in a herb and spice-based brine "hit" Zhou in the nose. In a steel sink with liquid the color of tarmac gurgling in it, Zhou Chengrong slowly lowered his hands into it and gingerly fished out a chunk of bean curd with a gray hue on its edges. File photo: Stinky tofu is seen fried at a restaurant in New Taipei city, July 25, 2013. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |