Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A Word About Stinky Tofu

One cart I left out yesterday was the stinky tofu cart, which graces the street corner outside our apartment building every day at lunchtime. Stinky tofu is, quite literally, tofu that's stinky thanks to a fermentation process involving milk, veggies and meat. And you either love it or you hate it. Unfortunately, I fall in with the haters here. 

When Mike first told me about this staple dish, I thought I'd like it. It's fried tofu, and because I like tofu and everyone likes fried, what's not to like? Well, first, I'm proud to say that I got over the nostril-piercing stench and put a piece in my mouth. But that's when things went very wrong. It's no exaggeration when I say that it was as if I had put a professional athlete's sweat-soaked sock in my mouth and chewed. 

I don't denounce stinky tofu fans; I'm just not one of them. And now that I've learned more about it (i.e., "sanitation issues"), I think I'll steer clear for the foreseeable future.  

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