Stinky Tofu

Well, I wasn't expecting to do it this way, but it can be said that I officially tasted stinky tofu today. I was at home, thinking what to cook for dinner, when an american student that was here for the workshop and went for two days to Hualien, Taroko Gorge and thereabouts before going back to Baltimore, called me. We met at Gongguan and were thinking about having something to drink.

Since neither of us had had dinner, we had one of these taiwanese omelettes made with oyster (taiwanese oyster) and we tried stinky tofu. I had already done that one night, very late, in a bar, but I didn't think it really counted. I don't know if it was because of the wind today, or maybe I am really getting used to it, but I could not smell it in the street. We finally ordered a small dish to share and there it goes. It wasn't particularly stinking, but the taste was the right one. From all the varieties of fried tofu that I have tasted, this had a special taste. Stinky tofu is a form of fermented tofu very popular in South East Asia and also in Taiwan. Its smell is maybe the first strong and disagreeable smell I remember when I arrived. Believe or not, I have been getting used to it with time and it doesn't seem so stinking now. But I guess that it is the first test the newcomer is put through to have a laugh at his expense.