Sinky Tofu - is it availble all over China?

[Jacko]

Is this dish pretty easy to get / smell in most cities?

How is prepared?

In Taiwan it is deep fried and seved with pickled cucumbers, Chinese cabbage and chili sauce. I have also heard of raw and steamed versions.

[davesgonechina]

On the streets of Urumqi, you can find it deep fried on many street corners. Word to the wise, however: a doctor friend told me that they get a great deal of botulism cases related to outdoor stall stinky tofu.

[Jacko]

That's interesting as the deep frying should kill it. But there is the serving stuff - plates, chopsticks - and the additives too. A busy street vendor could spread botulism pretty quickly.

[liuzhou]

Hunan is the place to eat it.

I forget which book it was, but some author was given a plate in Changsha and told it was Chairman Mao's favourite.

His reply was "No wonder he went on a long march!"

[Bob Dylan Thomas]

just for the record, by far the best i ever had was in a lay-by on a motorway near Shanghai. Spicy, stinky and delicious!

(and yes, i am talking about eating tofu...)

[Gary Soup]

You can find it at a lot of xiao chi places in Shanghai. It's typically deep-fried and generally not as "ripe" as what the street vendors sell.

[Jacko]

"Ripe"

That's the word Gary.

There is a reason why stinky tofu is a street food!

[Gary Soup]

just for the record, by far the best i ever had was in a lay-by on a motorway near Shanghai. Spicy, stinky and delicious!

(and yes, i am talking about eating tofu...)

Glad you clarified that. I was wondering what a lay-by was.