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Q: What's up with the love for stinky food?

And I mean really stinky, like a mix of piss and feces. Why do Chinese people seem to love it so much? Does it even have health benefits?

8 years 47 weeks ago in  Food  - China

 
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Chinese *AND* French people do love their food stinky.

oldscholar:

Give me French over Chinese any day.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

I think the problem is not either it stinks or not, it's how much corners you decide to cut and how dedicated you are to your cooking.  Chinese or French food, if you buy shit ingredients and make-up for it with tricks (sink it with oil, salt and what not), it won't work. Try to cook a basic Italian dish with tired vegetables grown by brute-force and the cheapest cheese from the cheapest shop. Sadly, corner-cutting and China are road companions.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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8 years 47 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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Stinky food can be delicious. Ever have a good parmesan? Smells like athlete's foot. 

icnif77:

No, it doesn't. Not that I ever/usually smell my feet or dirty socks, but I hope you aren't comparing parmesan (or gorgonzola) with stinky tofu.

I'm passing by 'stinky dofu stand' every evening, while returning home from the class. I always cross the road, and continue with walking on the other side, till I reach my flat. Then, I must cross the road again.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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hi2u:

Yes it does. Actually I didn't notice it until a Canadian French guy pointed it out to me.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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icnif77:

Don't ask him about the hokey

8 years 47 weeks ago
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andy74rc:

Calling it "parmesan" already tells you you got a copy. The original Parmigiano Reggiano do not smell like feet. At all. Go get the real stuff.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

Parmesan, you call that stinky cheese ? Go smell a Corsican cheese and then come back, if you manage to survive the experience.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

Ho and then you gotta try the one with living maggots inside
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_marzu

8 years 47 weeks ago
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icnif77:

See here for more Chinese 'delicacies':

 

http://answers.echinacities.com/question/anybody-has-receipe-maggot-stew-or-maggot-risotto

8 years 47 weeks ago
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8 years 47 weeks ago
 
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I had short discussion with the students here, considering 'stinky tofu stand' on my way home.

I told them, in West we usually give compliment to the cook, before we sit down for the meal: ''mmmmmh' (something) smells gooood......'. We also smell our plate (and enjoy good smell), before the first byte.

 

My Q to students was: 'What kind of the 'compliment' should I give to a cook in China, if she's preparing 'stinky dofu?'

No answer, but they all replied ''stinky dofu' is good''!

OK! I've never sat behind the table with the respirator and 02 container attached.

fada:

Isn't most of taste smell anyway. Seriously, eat something you like then hold your nose and eat, you cant taste anything

8 years 47 weeks ago
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8 years 47 weeks ago
 
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Chinese *AND* French people do love their food stinky.

oldscholar:

Give me French over Chinese any day.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

I think the problem is not either it stinks or not, it's how much corners you decide to cut and how dedicated you are to your cooking.  Chinese or French food, if you buy shit ingredients and make-up for it with tricks (sink it with oil, salt and what not), it won't work. Try to cook a basic Italian dish with tired vegetables grown by brute-force and the cheapest cheese from the cheapest shop. Sadly, corner-cutting and China are road companions.

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first few times I walked by a stinky tofu stand I was so naive, green, dumb I thought I was just walking by an open sewer.

*two things to take into account- this was 2006 Zhejiang, and walking by open sewer line is entirely plausible in fair chiner. 

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My girlfriend is from Changsha. I can tolerate the fried thinner pieces of mapu dofu, but not that thick stuff with the white creamy interior. That will make me vomit if I ever ingest any of that.

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8 years 47 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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We have also certain very "stinky" cheeses.
Germany also has (and only cheeses - go to Bremen in very early spring Smile ).
What's wrong with that?

You do not like it? Then do not eat it.
Very simple.
But I still recommend you to try. Good stinky doufu is delicious. But I prefer Taiwanese over Hunanese ... Smile

Englteachted:

"We"? You're Chinese.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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icnif77:

Czech or 'spierdalay'.....many stinky places around the EUsurprise

8 years 47 weeks ago
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gouxiong:

I am Czech and we have 'olomoucke tvaruzky'- kind of cheese - quite stinky (must be kept under the glass cover due to the stench) but very very tasty ... :)

8 years 47 weeks ago
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jetfire9000:

I thought he claimed to be Dutch? Now it's Czech?

8 years 47 weeks ago
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icnif77:

'olomucke....'...Olomuc is a city in Czech Rep., and meaning with ending '- ke' is 'Possessive Pronoun' in Englo.

'spierdalay' is very bad word in Polish, as I wasn't completely sure 'Pol-ish or Czech-ish'.

@jet: 'I thought, I taw......you're wrong!' angel

 

At the moment, there is/are no Dutch poster-s around. I don't remember, we had poster from 'Dutch-land' since I'm here (2011).

8 years 47 weeks ago
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gouxiong:

You clearly mix me up with somebody else - actually some 'weirdoes' in here some time ago were insisting I am Dutch as they probably never visited Europe and therefore believe that Netherlands is the only country with legal prostitution ...

But I am Czech :)

 

8 years 47 weeks ago
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icnif77:

It was probably conclusion on some of the Chech expression-s you used. Here, posters are very proud of proper Englo, and rest of the languages is just guessing. Except Moctor, he's French (fluent). LOL.... I'm going to get hurt again!

Don't forget (to mention) 'weed'.angel

I read report a month ago about 'legal weed possession and cultivation' in EU. Only entirely legal countries for 'weed venue' in EU are Czech and Portugal.

'Possession of limited quantities' is legal in Holland, but cultivation isn't (entirely).

8 years 47 weeks ago
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gouxiong:

I did not know about that. I am not into any kind of drug except of baijiu. But Czechia is indeed very liberal country :)

8 years 47 weeks ago
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icnif77:

Baijou is 'poison'! It's good as protector for shoes against the wet weather. Too!

I'm researching weed as an 'investment opp.'. Also 'medical implications' are very interesting.

It will boom as a new 'tax vehicle' for many bankrupt Govs.

 

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Shifu

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There is also the stinky fruit, called Durian [dulian] and it is delicious IF one can get over the terrible rotting stench. Same with stinky doufu; it does taste good IF you can get over the disgusting smell.

Eorthisio:

In some countries durian is actually banned from public transportation for that very reason, I think about Singapore.

8 years 47 weeks ago
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jetfire9000:

the smell of "Liu lian" is actually pretty fragrant to me.  I know it has that locker room smell to it , but I'm used to the locker room type smell since I go to the gym so often.  What I actually notice is a type of fragrance on top of the locker room smell, which always gets my senses standing at attention and I often wonder if I should go indulge or not.  The only thing is, durian meat is very fibrous and stringy.  I don't like chewing all of the strings and trying to swallow them. 

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I hate the smell of so much stinky food in China. But actually, I can't even smell most of the time. My nasal passages are almost permanently disabled. I can walk through the stinkist places, and I won't smell a thing...

 

Stinky tofu tastes good, but you gotta eat it quick. Durians are one of the few foods that can penetrate my nasal blockages. UGH

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