Continue my blogging about street food I sampled in China. Today topic is Smelly Preserved Beancurd, or in mandarin we name it Chou Dou Fu. This smelly thingy is infamous by its specific garbage-manure like odour which no one can deny it can spread at least a distance of 10 miles.
A Malaysia born kampung girl like me never tried Chou Dou Fu for the past 29 years in my life, although I had been knowing it since the first day I watched Hong Kong drama series. Last year I was in Hong Kong with high hopes to sample Chou Dou Fu which I had been dreaming for. Sad to say, I did not manage to find any stalls selling Chou Dou Fu as my closed girl friend who has been working in Hong Kong for 3 years told me me that it is no longer commonly seen in Hong Kong Island but in other rural areas. Ended up, I flew back to Malaysia with a broken heart :( This time in Shanghai and Wenzhou, I tried 2 different types of Chou Dou Fu and I named them square cube and diagonal cube respectively (if someone knows how to differentiate varieties of Chou Dou Fu according to China's provinces, I want to learn from you).
I tried the square cube Chou Dou Fu from one of the food stalls right opposite Oriental Pearl Tower, the signature landmark of Shanghai. They were evenly cut into small square cubes and deep fried until golden brown on the surface. So, how does it taste to me? Only one word to express myself - YUMMY! The outside was real crispy but the inside was soft and tender, and I couldn't stop myself eating one after another one. The sweet dipping sauce added a hint of flavour to cover its pungent smell for those who can't bear it.
Then how about the one I tried in Wenzhou? It's bigger in size and cut into diagonal cube. But the texture is less crispier and watery inside. Basically, I was like having a plain deep fried beancurd with some kind of chili sauce.
In term of smell, both have different level of stink depends on their "secret recipes". My conclusion was, Chou Dou Fu is definitely an acquired taste like some can't live without durian while others hate it the most. Anyway, I will sure fulfil my "eating desire" next time I visit China.
