Fermented Smelly Tofu

Tap an ingredient or step to check it off.

1. 1Step 1: Wash the vegetables (Chinese amaranth, mustard greens, fresh bamboo shoots) and chop them into smaller pieces.
2. 2Step 2: Put the chopped vegetables into a clean jar with filtered water.
3. 3Step 3: Add some mashed fermented tofu (fu ru) to kickstart the fermentation.
4. 4Step 4: Work with a salt concentration of roughly 2.5-3% based on the weight of the water.
5. 5Step 5: Seal the jar, keeping it covered in a way that allows fermentation gases to escape, and leave it somewhere cool and dark for a month.
6. 6Step 6: Check on the jar every few days; the smell will become progressively more assertive.
7. 7Step 7: After a month, strain the vegetables out to get the master brine.
8. 8Step 8: Put firm tofu in the freezer overnight, then let it thaw completely before squeezing out as much water as possible.
9. 9Step 9: Submerge the spongy tofu in the brine for 3 days to soak up the flavour.
10. 10Step 10: Take the tofu out, give it a gentle rinse, and dry it thoroughly.
11. 11Step 11: Drop the tofu into hot oil and fry until the outside is crisp and golden while the inside stays soft and porous.
12. 12Step 12: Prepare the sauce with garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and gochugaru.
13. 13Step 13: Pre-salt cabbage and carrot to extract excess moisture, then squeeze out the excess water.
14. 14Step 14: Submerge the vegetables in pickling liquid.