What happened to the chou in choudofu?

photo from the village voice

Chou doufu at Sanxia laojie

What happened to the chou in choudofu (chodofu, chou doufu, 臭豆腐) and the stink in stinky tofu? Stinky tofu is a quintessential Taiwan night market snack--deep fried, fermented tofu served with pickled cabbage and spicy sauce. You don't need to look for the chou doufu vendors because the strong smell will guide you to the food. However, there has been a noticeable difference in the amount of stink in stinky tofu. Why?? I have been asking around and reading about this decline in tofu odor. Many street vendors report that complaints from neighbors have led them to change the amount of stench they are allowed to emit from their food stalls. There are also air pollution laws and fines that restaurants and chou dofu cooks need to deal with. Finally, many residents I spoke with believe that the reduction in chou is from a change in the fermentation process. Typically, stinky tofu is made by fermenting tofu in a brine made from fermented milk, vegetables, meat and sometimes dried shrimp, mustard greens, and bamboo shoots (click here for more information ). Because traditional fermentation methods can take several months, many people who prepare stinky tofu need a faster turnaround rate and shorten the process to several hours in order to produce more tofu for their customers. Hence, less stink in stinky tofu! The smell from stinky tofu is so strong that people who buy it are often banned from using public transportation and taxis. You can find stinky tofu at most night markets in Taiwan. There are also restaurants that specialize in different stinky tofu dishes such as Dai's House of Stinky Tofu. Surprisingly, the taste of stinky tofu is very different from the smell and the creamy inside and crunchy fried outside blends well with the cabbage and spicy sauce.

Sanxia Indigo Dye

My husband's indigo dye attempt

close up of my daughter's scarf

The art of Indigo dye has a long history in Sanxia (三峽區). The plant used for making this special dye, goldfussia formosanus, cannot have direct sunlight, and thrives in the wetlands by rivers and under bushes. The actual dye is created using a traditional sedimentation method of soaking, adding lime, distillation, and fermentation-reduction (for details click here). When we visited Sanxia, we were able to design our own scarves by tying thread, bands, and wooden sticks to plain cotton cloth before dyeing. We soaked them in the dye to set the color.

Sanxia Old Street

The visit to the Sanxia dyeing association was just one of the meaningful activities we had as part of the Fulbright Midyear conference. This conference is a 3-day event featuring social, cultural, and academic activities for all of the Fellows, Senior Scholars, ETAs, staff, and Board Members. This year, the event was at the Great Roots Forestry Spa and Resort (-->新北市三峽區插角里80號), with incredible hot springs, hiking trails, rare bird species, suspension bridges, and trees with giant roots! Fulbright also organized a guided tour of the Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌) and a multi-course meal at Muton Hakkah Restaurant (牧童遙指客家村餐廳). During the conference, each of the scholars and fellows present the progress of their individual projects (from artistic activities to collecting data in research labs). It was fascinating hearing the range of the professional and personal activities people were engaged in. My favorite parts were spending time with colleagues during walks and meals and getting to know them better.