I remember the first time my mom bought home stinky tofu when I was around nine years old, my brother and I flipped out. "What is that smell?!" we shrieked, and proceeded to make non-stop commentary about the tofu, which mainly included the words "gross" and "poop." 15-something years later, when I went to Taiwan for the first time since I was a baby and tried stinky tofu again, my description of it still included the words "gross," "poop," and perhaps some other more colorful language.
Then recently Luke and I were contacted about writing an article about Taiwanese street food, and what's an article about street food in Taipei without a mention of stinky tofu? A friend recommended that we try Kou Xuan Pin in the Tong Hua Street night market, and off we went, with me bracing myself all the while.
What a pleasant surprise! The tofu we had wasn't what I expected at all. The first bite was flavorful and spicy, but not too pungent. The "stinky" flavor was still there, but more in the background, not overwhelming the way I sometimes find it to be. It was really good. As the owner explained to us, they simmer the tofu in a broth with 37 different kinds of herbal medicine (don't worry, the tofu doesn't have a medicinal taste at all, and in fact herbal medicine is very common in Chinese cooking). And for 65NT for two generous pieces of tofu in said broth, it's really a bargain.
So thanks, Kou Xuan Pin, for making me like stinky tofu now!
Kou Xuan Pin (look for a brightly lit yellow storefront)
Tonghua St. Night Market
Lijiang St., No. 19-1
(02) 2707-1739
6 comments:
Don't really have that around here but I love to have a taste.
Hi ilovepearly - Yes, you should definitely try stinky tofu if you ever get the chance, but it's definitely an acquired taste!
I'm gald you like it now. It's so good. I wish I could some some here. The spicy ones are even better.
i can only eat stinky tofu fried, can't deal with the stinkiness in the broth kind. UGH. did you guys get the gig to write the article? :)
Hi Joan - Yeah, I was the same way - I couldn't STAND the steamed kind. But this one actually wasn't very stinky at all, which is what I liked about it.
We wrote the article, and if you happen to be flying back in February on China Air, then you can even read it!
Olivia, you would have liked this - the spiciness would have been just right for you.
awww. i came back a little too early to read the article, i will have to ask a friend to pick it up for me!
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