I’d heard the name 臭豆腐 chòu dòufǔ / “smelly bean rot” in my younger days in Singapore but never came across it there pre-1974.
In December 1974, en route to Taipei to take up my new job with Conoco Taiwan, I’d stopped over in Hong Kong for one night, arriving on Saturday afternoon and leaving on Sunday afternoon, long enough for seeing Hong Kong for the first time.
At one point during my walkabout in the back streets and alleyways (which I find more interesting than the big touristy streets in any country), I walked past a roadside stall, parked at the junction of a back street and an alleyway. A bad smell was emanating from the stall. Spotting a drain (needed for chucking uneaten food into) next to the stall, I thought, “That’s a very stupid man, selling his food next to such a smelly drain.”
The following day, I flew into Taipei. My flatmate took me into the bustling cinema area of Taipei for a look around. As we were walking to the bus stop for the journey home, I caught the same bad-drain smell in the air. My flatmate suddenly said, “Oh, can you wait here for a moment. I need to go and get something.”
She returned a few minutes later with a bag of takeaway food. As she got closer, I realised that the bad-drain smell was coming out of her takeaway bag. It was 臭豆腐 chòu dòufǔ, a famous Chinese bean curd dish. An apt name that, interestingly, doesn’t put off the Chinese at all. (The Chinese have no qualms about giving to dishes names that would be nauseating to the Westerner — a blog in the making.)
I’ve never plucked up the courage to try it, but those who have say that the smell is much worse than the flavour, and that one can actually get to like it. Hmmm, I’m not convinced yet — need more time (and nerve) to get round to trying it…
(Hong Kong / Taipei, 1974)
No comments:
Post a Comment