Xiao Long Bao, tofu, and other important matters

I went out for dinner with some friends the other night, to a restaurant that specialises in xiao long bao, traditional Shanghai steamed soup dumplings. They were fairly delicious, as were the other dishes we had alongside. The first plate of vegetarian noodles we ordered had beef hiding in it, but that was just a kitchen mix-up. In any case, I'm not a vegetarian. The sheer number of delicious forms of pork I would miss out on counted me out of the vege population years ago. I think it was the influence of Chinese food from a very young age.

One of the people at dinner had grown up in Hong Kong enjoying chou doufu (臭豆腐), which translates to 'stinky tofu' in English. It's a fermented tofu that has a particularly pungent…aroma, even though it looks like regular fried tofu. I'm familiar with the smell (I lived in Hong Kong for a while, where it's a popular street snack), but I never really wanted to try it. However, since it appeared on our table, I thought I'd give it a go. It wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be, and I suppose the effect can be compared to the taste of the very strong-smelling cheeses. Not everyone likes those, either (although I do).

Not long after, I sent my dad a text message to tell him that not only did I buy a mahjong set and matching table (more on that later), but that I'd tried the good old stinky tofu. His reply? Even he hasn't tried chou doufu, and I am 'more Chinese than Dad now'. It makes me giggle, but at the time I had that sinking feeling you get when, fully-costumed, you realise that no, it's not actually a fancy-dress party.

On the topic of tofu, the son of a friend of a contact of my mother (one of those multi-step relationships that seems to occur quite often through my mother) has started writing Tofu Watch, a blog dedicated entirely (well, mostly) to the wonder that is bean curd. It has a catchy name, interesting subject matter, and the website design pleases me too. I can even look at it from China. Nice work so far, Brad.