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The Wang Zhihe smelly bean curd (汪只核臭豆腐) in Beijing, China is the most famous among smelly bean curds. Wang Zhihe is a scholar who failed in the imperial examination intending to go home but he had no money so he determined to stay, and try the examination again as he earn a living in the city for it was a long term until the next exam while lodging in a hostelry during Qing Dynasty. He was born in a poor family but his father owned a shop selling bean curd in his hometown so he had begun to learn to make tofu being young. He then rented a house to make tofu by grinding soy bean & hawked along the street. Summer arrived, and he was worried about the lost for some remaining tofu that had not been sold was going bad. An idea occurred to him that he cut the tofu into pieces & salting to preserved it in a jar. A special fragrance amidst its strong smell to his surprise as he unseal the jar several days later. He tasted it boldly, and it was actually good. Smelly bean curd had been widely spread since then.
A mould that produces enzyme protease breaks down protein into amino acid that gives bean curd its distinctive taste. Smelly bean curd were deep-fried with red chili to give more spice to its flavor, and eaten with sesame oil or brown peppercorn oil. Two pieces of smelly bean curd contain as high nutritional protein as an egg, and its nutrient is readily digestive & absorbent by the human body because it's fermented by micro-organism.
Content obtained & edited from
by ASIAPAC BOOKS
