Stinky tofu (臭豆腐) is a pungent street food that originated in China but is now especially popular in and associated with Taiwan.
Walk through any of Taiwan’s night markets and you’ll soon smell the notorious snack, usually well before you actually see it. For first-timers, the smell can be off-putting or even offensive. Some compare the smell to stinky feet, days-old trash, or bad meat.
Taiwanese people have asked me a million times, “Do you like stinky tofu?” When I answer that I love it, they typically respond with shock and praise.
But it wasn’t always this way. Like many, the smell made me gag at first. It took me a couple years of living in Taiwan to warm up to it, and at some point, I actually starved to like and crave it.
You can find countless YouTube videos of foreigners tasting this pungent dish. Here, I’m going to go a little deeper, exploring the origins and different styles of stinky tofu (including vegetarian).
I’ll also share the absolute best stinky tofu vendors in Taiwan – the ones which helped me become a stinky tofu convert.
Stinky Tofu: History and How It’s Made
Legend has it that a failed scholar from Anhui province invented stinky tofu by accident in Beijing. One day, the tofu vendor had some leftovers. After storing the pieces of tofu in an earthen jar, he found that they had gone bad but tasted strangely delicious.
The dish caught on and even made its way into the Qing dynasty court. Over time, it spread to different corners of China. Eventually, migrants from Fujian province brought stinky tofu to Taiwan, where it remains very popular to this day.
There’s even a whole neighborhood devoted to stinky tofu in New Taipei City, called Shenkeng Old Street.
Stinky tofu was traditionally made by preparing a pungent brine that could include vegetables, meat, fermented milk, dried shrimps, bamboo shoots, and herbs. The recipes and exact preparation methods vary wildly (see the next section). The tofu would soak in the brine for weeks or even months – many people even got sick from it.
In modern times, factories have a faster (and often safer) method of marinating the tofu in brine for only a day or two before it goes out to the vendors.
Types of Stinky Tofu in Taiwan
There are three types of stinky tofu that I’ve encountered in Taiwan. They are each very different, and I love them all. All three are typically sold from night markets and daytime street food stalls across Taiwan.
I’ve also included a fourth section, for the best vegetarian stinky tofu spots (that’s right, most stinky tofu is actually not vegetarian!)
Deep Fried Stinky Tofu
The first type of stinky tofu is the deep-fried variety. As this is the most common one, it is simply called 臭豆腐 (chou doufu). But some stalls may specify that it is deep fried, as in 炸臭豆腐 (zha chou doufu).
Sometimes, the cubes of tofu are bite-sized. Often, the vendor will use scissors to cut a block of tofu into cubes before or part-way through deep frying.
After being fried to perfection, they’ll typically be served in a paper bowl with a splash of sauce and topped with Taiwanese pickled vegetables (mostly cabbage and a bit of carrot).
While the pickled vegetables have the same Mandarin name as Korean kimchi (泡菜), the Taiwanese version is different. It’s usually quite sour, noticeably sweet, and not (or only mildly) spicy.
Sometimes, rather than small cubes, you’ll get bigger squares of fried tofu. They are often served on a plate with the pickled veg on the side. This is a little more common in places that have seating.
Deep fried stinky tofu done well is fantastic. Ideally, the cubes of tofu will be crispy on the outside, and soft, hot, and moist on the inside. Texturally, they contrast perfectly with the crunchy pickled vegetables they are served with.
The bubbling sound of a fresh batch of tofu chunks being dropped into hot oil is like music to my ears.
My Top Picks
Here are some of the best deep fried stinky tofu spots I’ve found in Taiwan:
- Tonghua Night Market (Taipei): This night market has amazing examples of both the small cube variety (Crispy Stinky Tofu) and the big hunk variety (Ya Kou Stinky Tofu).
The latter even holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand award. You get three big hunks, and they break the tops open to fill with sauce.
I can pinpoint the moment I finally started liking stinky tofu.
It was the first time I tried Crispy Stinky Tofu (above pic) in Tonghua Night Market. Later, when I returned to try the even better Michelin-rated Yakou Stinky Tofu (below pic) down the street, I was officially hooked.
- Shilin Night Market (Taipei): At Jiaxiang, a vendor right in the packed heart of Shilin Night Market, they serve some of the crispiest stinky tofu I’ve had. They also do cold sesame noodles.
- Members of my Facebook group recommend this one (Taipei City Hall MRT) and this one (near Gongguan Night Market).
- This stall does the best stinky tofu on Shifen Old Street (New Taipei City).
- Feng Chia Night Market (Taichung): In Taichung’s most famous night market, I loved the deep-fried stinky tofu topped with a huge mound of crab roe at Ershui Stinky Tofu.
- Yi Zhong Street Night Market (Taichung): I also loved the stinky tofu at Hand-Made Stinky Tofu. It’s similar to the Michelin one in Tonghua night market.
- This stall in Luodong (Yilan) does a special kind of deep fried stinky tofu inside puffed pastry. It’s a few minutes’ walk outside Luodong Night Market.
- Locals also flock to this one in Hualien city, this one in Yuli (Hualien county), this one in Tainan, and this one in Kaohsiung.
I’d like to include more recommendations for Southern Taiwan. If you found a good one, please share it in the comments at the end!
Spicy (Mala) Stinky Tofu
Another very common type of stinky tofu in Taiwan is 麻辣臭豆腐 (mala chou doufu or “spicy stinky tofu”). Mala (麻辣) refers to a certain type of spiciness – the kind that makes your mouth feel numb, associate with the use of Sichuan peppercorns (花椒).
I also refer to this kind of stinky tofu as “stewed stinky tofu”. Typically, big hunks or whole squares of tofu are stewed in a spicy broth until they’re very soft or almost falling apart.
The broth is typically quite spicy and flavorful, with a variety of herbs and chunks of congealed pig or duck blood (豬血 / 鴨血).
Many stalls have huge vat of the broth with many chunks stewing it in. You’ll be served one or several pieces in a bowl of the broth. Sometimes, they’ll give you a whole pot of it on a mini-burner, so it stays hot for as long as you want.
Spicy stinky tofu can be more challenging for newbies. The pig/duck blood many be off-putting for some. In the summer heat of Taiwan, I don’t really enjoy sweating over a bowl of super hot and spicy soup – this is usually a winter dish for me.
A variation of this is steamed stinky tofu (清蒸臭豆腐), a less common variety where the tofu is steamed rather than stewed and served in a soup. This kind is usually but not always milder or non-spicy.
My Top Picks
- Raohe Night Market (Taipei): This famous Taipei night market has several good ones, including Shi Boss Stinky Tofu.
- Shenkeng Old Street (New Taipei City): Taiwan’s stinky tofu street has several sit-down restaurants specializing at spicy tofu as well as the barbecued kind (see below). I recommend several in my article.
- 3鼎紅 is a spicy stinky tofu chain with popular locations in New Taipei City, Taichung, and other locations across Taiwan.
- Fuji Stinky Tofu in Kaohsiung has the milder steamed version as well as the deep-fried kind.
Barbecued Stinky Tofu
A third type of stinky tofu in Taiwan, and the least common, is grilled or barbecued stinky tofu. It may be called 串燒臭豆腐 (chuan shao chou doufu or “skewered stinky tofu”) or 碳烤臭豆腐 (tan kao chou doufu or “grilled stinky tofu”)
This one consists of a long slab of semi-firm tofu that is cooked on a grill (usually the tofu remains soft, not crispy), sliced open, and stuffed with pickled veggies or other ingredients.
It is then pieced with one or usually two sticks to help you lift it from the paper tray to your mouth (it can get a little messy).
It’s hard to miss these – besides the smell, you’ll see whole grills fully loaded with them. If and when I come across them, there’s a good chance I’ll be getting one. They are incredibly satisfying.
Barbecued stinky tofu is especially associated with Shenkeng Old Street, but I’ve seen it at a few other locations in Taiwan.
My Top Picks
- Shengkeng Old Street: The capital of stinky tofu in Taiwan specializes at this kind of stinky tofu. You can find several recommendations in my guide.
- On Tamsui Old Street in New Taipei City, this vendor has it.
- This vendor located in Xinzhuang Temple Street Night Market (New Taipei City) stuffs it with some unusual things, like sausage, burdock (牛蒡), and even strawberries.
Vegetarian Stinky Tofu
This surprises many people, but stinky tofu is often NOT vegetarian. Pieces of meat may be used to kickstart fermentation in the sauce. As for the spicy version, it often contains pig or duck blood.
This doesn’t mean that all the stinky tofu spots I introduced above are definitely NOT vegetarian, but you’d have to find out before ordering (here’s how to ask).
Luckily, there are several stinky tofu spots in Taiwan specifically labeled as vegetarian. Below are my personal favorites. You may also like my vegetarian guide to Taiwan’s night markets.
My Top Picks
- Nanjichang Night Market (Taipei): This non-touristy night market in Taipei has several stalls serving vegan mala stinky tofu. Smelly Boss (two locations in the night market: here and here) is my absolute favorite and has won a Michelin Bib Gourmand award. It comes with ginger slices, Asian basil, mushrooms, and five levels of spiciness to choose from. This stall is a copycat down the street with a very similar version, also vegan.
- This stall on Tamsui Old Street has spicy stinky tofu similar to the ones at Nanjichang Night Market.
- Gongguan Night Market (Taipei) has two vegan stinky tofu stalls side by side. This one is the spicy variety and you can add other items like veggies or noodles to make it a full meal. There’s another stall right next to it (not on GoogleMaps) that has vegan deep fried ones.
- Yang Xin Vegetarian Restaurant (Taipei) is an all-vegetarian dim sum restaurant with vegetarian xiaolongbao, mala stinky tofu, and many other dishes. Reservations are essential. It’s on my list of best vegetarian restaurants in Taipei.
- Yakou Stinky Tofu in Tonghua Night Market (Taipei) has a vegetarian option of their Michelin-rated deep fried stinky tofu. Select (炸)素食臭豆腐 on the paper menu. The second character (素) means vegetarian.
- At Feng Chia Night Market (Taichung), Yixin Vegetarian Stinky Tofu serves vegan deep fried tofu and vermicelli soup (麵線).
Still Not Convinced? Try Stinky Tofu Fries!
If you’re still not brave enough to try stinky tofu, or perhaps you just can’t get past the smell, then I have a solution: stinky tofu fries.
This relatively new dish is a stepping stone to real stinky tofu. It consists of long, deep fried sticks (or “French fries”) of tofu topped with pickled veggies and your choice of sauce, like cheese sauce, honey mustard, etc.
For these ones, there’s pretty much no stink. You can find them using my guides to Raohe Night Market, Luodong Night Market, Dongdamen Night Market, and others.
These can at least get you used to the textures of deep fried stinky tofu before you move on to the real thing. However, most serious stinky tofu aficionados agree that stinky tofu fries simply aren’t as good as the real thing – they just don’t stink enough!
Why You May Never Love Stinky Tofu
As I mentioned before, it took me a couple years or regular exposure to warm up to and ultimately love stinky tofu. It’s certainly an acquired taste (and smell!)
Many of those who love stinky tofu’s taste still don’t actually enjoy the smell. You basically have to get past the smell in order to actually put it in your mouth – that’s when you’ll be surprised to find it actually tastes good.
And the truth is that a certain percentage of foreigners will probably just never like stinky tofu, no matter how many years the live in Taiwan or how many times they try it.
Thinking of all my long-term expat friends in Taiwan, I would say that probably only around 30% of them admit to liking it, and the rest just can’t do it.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts (good or bad!) in the comments below!