Hairy Tofu (毛豆腐) @ Tunxi Old Street in China

Hairy Tofu (毛豆腐) is an abomination of what was otherwise a healthy byproduct made from soybeans! From the look of it, you would have thought it was just a strip of thin bale of non-edible cotton.

Truth was; it's a local delicacy in some parts of China and since I had seen videos of it on my social media feed, I did make it a point to check it out, especially given my unstoppable adoration for its cousin, the stinky tofu! 

While the initial "look" is contentious; the first step to making the hairy tofu edible was to mix it with a concoction of seasonings and spices, which seek to disintegrate the "hair", at least reduce its visual impact, and then cook it.

Apparently, you can either deep fry or pan fry the hairy tofu; I would have preferred the former but from what I saw in China for the huangshan trip; the latter seemed to be the norm among street vendors. And yes, they did look a lot more normal by this step; a bit like badly formed tau kwa. 

By the time the bowl (costing RMB 15 Yuan, about S$3) was handed to me, the tofu seriously looked like the stinky tofu from Man Kou Xiang Stinky Tofu in Singapore; albeit without the stench! Man, I miss stinky tofu.

Gosh, you can still pull out strings of "hair"! Nonetheless, it was pan-fried to a crisp, but once your teeth went past the thin crispiness, the dense texture of the tofu would be next, before disintegrating to a somewhat powdery state. Some would say the taste was cheesy but the flavour to me was more like a less impactful stinky tofu. Can't say I don't like it! 

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Location

Near Main Entrance of Tunxi Old Street,

Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency