Stinky Tofu

Fermented tofu, pungent in smell but mild and custardy inside, deep-fried until crisp and served with pickled cabbage and chili sauce.

Stinky tofu's fermentation process traces back centuries to Chinese preservation techniques, but it became a defining feature of Taiwanese night market culture through the 20th century, with regional brine recipes passed down and closely guarded by vendor families. The tofu is soaked for days to weeks in a brine fermented with vegetables, herbs and sometimes fermented shrimp or meat, developing its notoriously strong smell. It has become something of a rite of passage for visitors to Taiwan and a genuine point of pride for locals, who tend to strongly prefer the deep-fried night-market style over other regional versions.

The tofu must be properly brine-fermented for days, not just flavored to imitate the smell — this fermentation is what gives it its distinctive interior texture. Night-market style is deep-fried until the outside is crisp and cracked, served with Taiwanese pickled cabbage, not eaten plain.