Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Tukang Tahu Gejrot (Stinky Tofu man)

Tahu Gejrot is stinky tofu (beancurd), an authentic snack from Cirebon (a city in West Java that's famous with the nickname as Prawn city).

Seriously, this tofu has a very strong odor which is stink. How bad does it smell? Uhmmm... Just imagine rotten tofu, hehehe.... But not unlike the Chinese stinky tofu where people already can smell it from a distance, you only can smell the stink of this tahu gejrot when you give a bite on it. Btw, the flavor of tahu gejrot is quite mild.

Not everyone likes to eat this tahu gejrot; my mom is one of those people who can not stand of the smell and the idea of eating "rotten tofu" but her daughter likes it *grin*

This vendor is selling his tahu gejrot on his bicycle but then you can also find other tahu gejrot vendors selling on carts.

The fried stinky tofu.



The ingredients for making the tahu gejrot sauce:

In the bottles: tamarind water, palm sugar water.

In the drawer: Palm sugar, garlic, shallot and bird's eye chili.

The vendor prepares the sauce.

He grinds all the ingredients of the sauce on the little black plate.

He uses a little pestle to grind the ingredients.

I love the taste of this piquant sauce. A mix of sweet, sour, hot and agreeably biting taste with the pungent smell from the fresh garlic and shallot.
Pour the sauce on the top of the stinky tofu and cucumber.

A plate of tahu gejrot costs only Rp. 6.000 (US 70 cents)

77 comments:

  1. I LOVE these kinds of posts, Selba. I would be willing to give "stinky tofu" a try. Your description is tantalizing...It's pretty amazing what can be conjured up on a street corner. Fascinating...

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  2. Ha.. funny name.. thanks for the giggles.

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  3. I hate it! smelt like dead carcass.

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  4. I tried the Taiwanese sinky tofu before and it was indeed something that either you love it or hate it.

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  5. crazyness - I have heard about stinky tofu but have yet to experience it - trust me I will!

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  6. all my god, there are so many streets food in Indonesia. I shall have follow my mum and sis there this October. Missed that!

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  7. I'd be willing to try it. Your photos are, as usual, terrific. I do love the name.

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  8. I'm not drooling at those tofu...
    but
    I drooling at those sauce....
    I'm sure it can make our head explode

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  9. Not all stinky food is bad, but I don't know that this is one food I'll be trying.

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  10. wow I miss stinky tofu! It has been so long since I last ate those aromatic tofu.

    Angie's Recipes

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  11. my cousin always talks about tahu gejrot and i had no idea that it's actually stinky tofu. i bet it is slightly different than the taiwanese version (in terms of the process to make them "stinky")

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  12. I am not a tofu eater, and this tahu gejrot also looks like rujak - which I don't really like, so I guess I wouldn't like this snack at all. But I like tahu isi goreng :-).

    Btw, yes, now I live in Germany. In which part of Germany did you live before? And I meant Taman Anggrek by TA - abbreviations that I guess only Indos should know :).

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  13. Oh Selby, you go girl. I would find it a bit hard to eat something that smells bad, but I think your great for doing it :)
    xxx

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  14. lovely! I totally dig the posts tht u cover on street food!

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  15. louise: Yay! I’m so happy that you love my post, Louise! It really makes my day :) Hopefully, there’ll be a chance for you to give this stinky tofu a try.

    donna-ffw: Hehehe… *giggles*

    CaC: thanks! :)

    foodbin: Hahaha.. my goodness… you really think the odor is like carcass? LOL

    ck lam: So do you love it or hate it? ;)

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  16. doggybloggy: Woohoooo!! That’s gonna be so cool! You know what? Even Andrew Zimmern (the host of Bizarre foods show on Discovery Travel & Living) couldn’t stand it, hahaha….

    FP: Oh.. Your mom and sis are coming to visit Indonesia? Nice… which cities?

    mary: Thank you, it's so kind of you, Mary :) Yes, the name is kinda funny, ya? Gejrot, hehehe….

    PG 115: I love the sauce of tahu gejrot! Well, actually it’s depend on us - the customer, how many bird’s eye chili to put for the sauce :)

    monica h: What stinky food have you tried, Monica? I remember, I did try a French cheese (can’t remember the name)… Oh my.. it really stinks! Hehehehe…..

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  17. angie’s recipe: Hi Angie, welcome to my blog :) Wow! You have tried stinky tofu before? Where?

    tuty: Oh.. you have never tried tahu gejrot? Yeah, the making of this stinky tofu is a bit different than the Taiwanese version and also how it’s served. If you come back to Indonesia, give it a try, ok ;)

    C-G: You don’t like rujak? Eh… why? I thought everyone loves eating rujak ;) Yup, I know TA, actually I almost pass it every day on my home :) Oh… I used to live in Hamburg. How long have you been living in Germany?

    DA: Hahaha…. Thanks, DA! Pssst.. just give it a try. Sometimes, it can be fun to eat something smelly ;)

    TNG: thank you for the encouragement, TNG! I will try to cover more street food… ;)

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  18. Have been living here for about 2 years now...

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  19. C-G: How nice... I would love to go back again :)

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  20. I love stinky cheese but I might go along with your Mom on this one. You are brave Selby.

    However, I am a brave eater too sometimes. When we were in France a new friend took us to a restaurant and bull was on the menu. He and my husband ordered it but he suggested I have the fish that his wife was having. No, I had to try the bull. You only live once.
    Sam

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  21. MCK: Hahaha... I totally agreed with you that we only live once, Sam! And as a food lover, it's good to give a try on every food that we can encounter in our life... yes, at least a try :)

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  22. Thanks for this exciting feature. I will look for it when I am there. Is it of Sundanese or Chinese origin?

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  23. I like stinky cheeses so I'll probably like the stinky tofu too :), would definitely like to try.

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  24. worldwindows: Well, Cirebon is in West Java, thus it's considered as Sundanese but then looking back, tofu is originally Chinese food, right? Ah... you made me blur, LOL
    But seriously, this tahu gejrot is totally different than the taiwenese stinky tofu, except that both are stinks, hehehe...

    5 SF: Yes! you need to give it a try! hehehe... I also like stinky cheese :)

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  25. I think I'll stick with the rainbow cupcakes ;) The Tofu sauce sounds delicious ... but the stinky stuff, not so much! Thanks for letting us know about this interesting dish!

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  26. glo: Hahaha... definitely, everyone would love the rainbow cupcakes but for stinky tofu, there's a big challenge :)

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  27. I love stinky cheeses, and I'm sure game to try stinky tofu.

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  28. oh i love the version served in Msia, as well as HK. tried the china's version, but not to my liking.
    never knew Indonesia also got! cool ...

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  29. you had me at "fried stinky tofu" ... looks too good ... sweet and spicy! thanks for popping by my hood, so happy i strolled through yours ... my mouth is watering.

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  30. I've never had any "rotten" tofu, so I'd like to at least give it a try. Though I guess there is no guarantee that I would like it.

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  31. I do so love all the bike vendors. They amaze me.

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  32. I have never had stinky tofu...it looks good though! The sauce that goes on it looks amazing!

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  33. I'm always amaze by your pictures and the steet life that you have access to. Thanks for sharing.

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  34. Err...some sort like rojak to me, just with different ingredients and different sauce.

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  35. catherine: Need to give it a try someday ;)

    j2kfm: there's a malaysian version of stinky tofu? I'm intrigued! What's the name? I would love to try it :)

    sunny anderson: Hi Sunny, welcome to my blog. Hope to see you around :)

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  36. mica: understandable, coz'not everyone likes stinky tofu coz' it's stink, hehehe...

    FwLT: there are a lot vendors selling on their bicycles here with different things. I'll try to capture more of them ;)

    faith: the sauce is really yummy. I think, the reason why I like tahu gejrot, is mostly because of the sauce, hehehe...

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  37. helene: thank you, Helene. I'm glad that I can share :)

    LI: hehehe... nope, not really....

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  38. can imagine the sauce should b super good with any food!

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  39. Thanks for showing us this. I would love to come around one day and try this type of food. My hubby will love it!

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  40. I can understand your mom for not liking it. I guess if it tastes good, then you forget about the stinky smell :) Or can you still smell it while chewing on it?

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  41. stinky tofu always reminds me of cheese, the blue type..haha...another dish that i'll want to try. i think it'll taste better than durian. *i cant stand durian..hehe*

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  42. this is kinda similar to our chinese fermented tafu. I tasted a few times on the fermented tafu at Taiwan and in Prai. I never tasted Indo's type. Pss... when you come to penang please tapao one for me to try :)

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  43. simplegirl: Yup, you are so right! :D

    anh: Hi Anh, thanks for dropping by my blog :) Your husband loves stinky tofu? How cool!

    MTC: Hehehe.. yes, you can smell the stink odor while chewing it! :D

    nic: Uh oh... I think you probably wont stand to this tahu gejrot, coz' in my opinion, durian smells much better than tahu gejrot and of course also blue cheese, hehehe

    SG: Hahaha.. I'll try my best! ;)

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  44. I think I would be a little scared at first to try this, but the end product with the sauce looks so appealing.

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  45. wow this is so uniquely done, something so close to heart!

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  46. KA: Hehehe... as for me, actually the best part is the sauce :)

    BBO: close to heart? really? ;)

    peachkins: is there philippine stinky tofu version? *curious*

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  47. Man...you're making me miss Asia even more. I love the street foods and I've been craving them for awhile now.

    Looking forward to your future posts!

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  48. sean: Hi Sean, welcome to my blog. I guess it's time for you to visit back Asia ;)

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  49. OMG !
    You have found it ! the one we have been looking for long and hard , and people say we have to go to Hong Kong to find it ...for there's none in Malaysia believe it or not !
    ok , tomorrow we fly west ...see ya
    tq

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  50. gosh... till now I don't even dare to step near any stinky tofu stall. Guess I have to brave myself to try it someday cos most ppl seemed to like it very much! haha. with the sauce... don't think it'll be that bad rite? ;P

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  51. BSG: No stinky tofu at all in Msia? I thought there are.... Btw, the Indonesian stinky tofu is totally different than the chinese version. Yay! Flying to the west? down west as.... Indonesia? ;)

    CL: Hahahaha... as for the Indonesian stinky tofu, you wont smell anything until you bite it. The sauce of tahu gejrot tasted wonderful :)

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  52. izit as smelly as the hongkong one?!!

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  53. slices of beauty: Hi there, thank you for dropping by my blog and also for the compliment of the pics :)

    C&C: I'm not so sure coz' I haven't tried the hong kong one but then probably it's not so smelly compared it.

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  54. those stinky tofu look different from the taiwan stinky tofu, i wonder if they have the same stage of "stink"....haha

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  55. MTH: No, it's not the same at all. I think the taiwenese stinky tofu has stronger odor :)

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  56. not as strong stinky smell as chinese tofu? I took the chinese one before and the after taste is just as bad...if you can manage to put it in the mouth. hahaha

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  57. buzzingbee: Hahaha... so even the after taste is bad, eh? :D

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  58. It does looks like rojak to me though. I never like Hong Kong stinky tofu, so i might not like tahu gejrot. Anyway, your picture makes it looks interesting.

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  59. This is the kind of food that you either love it or hate it. I choose the later. ;P

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  60. I know the fame of this stinky snack. Never tried it. I wonder, worth the taste against this aroma?

    Cheers!

    Gera

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  61. hello selba! long time no 'see'! and wow, you are now a foodie!! (and so popular! *wink*) well done!!

    this tauhu gejrot, can it be found only at this place? what about places like bali or bandung?

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  62. I've never had stinky tofu, but I have to say the fried version looks and sounds much more appealing to me. I'd definitely try it! That sauce sounds so great with the palm sugar, shallots and chilies.

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  63. tching: hi Tching, welcome to my blog and thanks for your compliments on my pics :)

    FFT: yup, is either you love it or hate it :)

    gera: frankly speaking, if you close your nose and then chew the tofu, on your tastebuds, you just feel this tahu gejrot like ordinary mild tofu, hehehe...

    rainbow angeles: hi Angle, yes... long time no see! How are you? It's so great that you are visiting my food blog, thanks! Hope to see you again here :)
    Are you thinking to try this tahu gejrot? Definitely, you can find it in Bandung (I had once in a food court at a mall) and also other big cities in West Java. Uhmm, Bali? I'm not so sure...

    lori: Hehehe... I hope you will have a chance to try it someday. The sauce tasted very nice :)

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  64. Looks good. Yum yum, thanks for the recipe. :)

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  65. laveena: are you going to make the sauce? :)

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  66. Yeah... I've smelled that stinky tofu sometimes in Chinatown. I know everyone says it tastes good, but I just can't get past the smell. :-s

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  67. palidor: Hehehe... the odor must be so strong! If you ask me whether I love the smell of stinky tofu, the answer will be "not really" but seriously, the sauce made the Indonesian stinky tofu wonderful :)

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  68. I don't get palm sugar like that here, its hard to find. Unless I use jaggery? Hmm I don't know.. :)

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  69. laveena: Yes, you can use jaggery to make the sauce, the taste would be probably the same except for the palm aroma but then with all those fresh garlic, shallot and bird's eye chili, it would be still good :) Oh.. and do not forget a pinch of salt!

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  70. I dont know if I would eat stinky tofu. I guess if I was feeling adventurous I would.

    So now Selba, my curioasity is piqued regarding this Indonesian Layer Cake.

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  71. lori: Hehehe... not everyone can stand the smell of the stinky tofu.

    I definitely will post about the Indonesian layer cake. But probably not soon, most likely in January or February (for Chinese New Year) except if my mom is going to make it for Christmas. It's really an intense labor to make it, the beating of eggs usually will take almost 1 hour and for making the layer, the baker must sit in front of the oven to make each layer, it's open and close the oven door every few minutes.

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  72. Tahu gejrot is traditional food from my city. Its very famous here. Everyone like it. Read in indosian version http://ala-cirebon.blogspot.com/2009/11/tahu-gejrot-makanan-pedesaan-yang.html

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  73. I love the sauce but I have to agree that the tofu smells awful. The vendors should pick tofu of better quality.

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  74. umar khatab: well, tahu gejrot supposedly to be smelly.. if it's not smelly, it wont be called tahu gejrot ;)

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