Stinky Tofu Truck!

Friday March 15^th, 2013

Not much to report from the morning other than starting “The Last Days” book. I didn’t get too far though because sleep was constantly fought with both eyes and hands drooping.

Yesterday I left my good umbrella at school so I was determined to retrieve it today. Yet when I arrived in the classroom, it disappeared. I asked my classmate and then later my teacher. They thought a student took it so they said they would ask around. Yet right after I talked to my home teacher, I spotted it in a very peculiar place. The mop and broom cabinet outside the room. Uh…why did someone put my umbrella there? It’s not exactly a cleaning tool. XD Regardless I was relieved to find it but felt regretful for bringing up a problem and then literally solving it less than two minutes later. Oh wells. :P

Randomly I was given this little candy from a student from another student. Not sure who the original giver was but it’s a tasty treat. It’s a crispy chocolate confection with a chocolate and peanut coat. The inside was slightly wafer-y too. Twas a kind act of giving.

During Chinese class at Tatung, we got kicked out by unknown people who had some sort of presentation to perform in the room. Why and how would someone let them schedule such a thing in our set times for Chinese class? These people took us from a really great classroom, maybe the best in the school, and dumped us into a nearby crap room with old wobbly chairs and desks, weird chalkboards and no computer. We needed a computer for the lesson’s PowerPoint so they had to go get one and install it, effectively chewing up valuable class time. That and the person with the room key initially not there when I went to get it in the beginning, gnawing our precious time even thinner until I got the needed key. No me gusta. When we did get to learning, it was all fine and dandy.

Tea was bought to quench thirst and try something new. According to the Chinese teacher, this is an old brand of Taiwanese tea, oolong tea I believe. If you sip it delicately it almost tastes like black tea. The thing is, it’s not! It didn’t have any sugar added so it was very interesting. I liked it but as a drink to leisurely sip slowly rather than chug for thirst.

For dinner’s desert there was this! It can be called “an gu,” “mi gu” and “hong gui.” It’s a bread with sweet red bean filling. Tis quite tasty!

I have heard stories among my host family about an amazing stinky tofu car that only comes to our neighborhood on Friday nights somewhere past 11:00PM. (It’s only Friday becomes they visit other places during the other days.) Upon my request, today would be the day (or rather night) that I try this esteemed stinky tofu. So we awaited for 11:00 to roll around. When it did…nothing. No sign or smell of the car. 12:00 came and went with the same result. I stayed awake doing homework and around 12:30 we hear an announcement. The queue for the car’s arrival!

Host father who was still up, guided me to the place bringing a bowl from home with us. He explained that taking along home dishware would be cleaner and safer. Understandable. The stinky tofu truck was literally just around the corner from my home. …wait…what did I just say? Stinky tofu truck? EGASP! I just realized! This truly is the Asian version of the ice cream truck! The other version are the musical garbage trucks that cruise around the city. I prefer tonight’s Asian ice cream truck because stinky tofu is DELICIOUS!

I was able to watch more or less the cooking process of this famous food. You simply take tofu square blocks (it’ll be white in color beforehand) and then fry it in this pot.

 After finished frying, the lady (hidden to the right) takes them out and places the tofu on the circular cutting board (also to the right). It gets cut into four smaller squares and placed into a container, the dish we brought for us. Then sauce and pickled cabbage is added on top. Afterward, VIOLA! You’re food is ready!

Taking our treasure back to the house, it was time to feast! For only 40NT ($1.33US) this delectable dish was ours to consume! With a crispy outside, soft within, appetizing sauce and savory vegetables, stinky tofu is so FANTASTIC! I LOVE THIS STUFF! Truthfully the ‘stinky’ part in ‘stinky tofu’ doesn’t stand as correct for me. Stinky tofu actually smells quite scrumptious. The cabbage and carrot shreds are also a must to have with it!

Host father educated me a bit in order stinky tofu facts. Firstly, you make the cabbage (or “pao cai” in Chinese) by adding ingredients like vinegar, sugar, salt, water, carrots and other options then placed into a jar and pickled for at least a couple hours. My host grandmother apparently prefers to let it sit over night when she makes it. Also host father said stinky tofu will cause acne because it has a lot of oil included therefore they won’t eat it too much.

As for me I’m not worried about acne but instead of any unwanted broadening of body parts. Indeed it had reached 1:00 in the morning and I was eating stinky tofu, not all of it of course but a good amount. Yeah it’s not too wise for health but a priority on my culture exploration list to eat it hot and fresh. After all, my family’s hype about this stinky tofu truck earned every praise and compliment, plus some more from an impressed Texan. ;)

Good night all. May your dreams randomly be invaded with tofu thoughts…stinky ones. XD Byes!