Andrew Zimmern is well known for having an impeccable palate and being able to stomach foods that many others can’t stand. However, his nose never lies and is quick to detect incredibly troublesome dishes that might give him a hard time. This was the case when he sampled Hákarl — heavily fermented shark from Iceland — but it was an even bigger problem when the chef encountered the shockingly popular dish known as stinky tofu for the very first time.
Stinky tofu, one of the 10 stinkiest foods in the world, was one of the few instances of Zimmern truly meeting his match with a dish, a defeat that the beloved celebrity chef admitted to during a 2016 episode of “Bizarre Foods.” Zimmern’s visit to Dai’s House of Unique Stink in particular saw the chef eat a version of the food that he simply couldn’t handle. “I can’t do it,” Zimmern said after spitting out his first bite of a Taiwanese burger, which featured cow stomach and a stinky tofu bun. “The cooked stinky tofu tastes so rotten that I can’t get it down past the back of my mouth […] there’s a sour, spoiled flavor in my mouth that is absolutely singular — There’s nothing quite like it.”
Stinky Tofu is widely beloved in Taiwan despite its stench
While some of the most bizarre foods that Andrew Zimmern has eaten over the years are quite niche delicacies from small towns throughout the world, stinky tofu is actually quite the opposite. After first arriving on the island in the mid-20th century, stinky tofu has become what many call Taiwan’s national snack. It is beloved by many Taiwanese people due to its distinctive taste that could be described as incredibly flavorful and rich. Despite the fact that stinky tofu, similar to many of the best stinky cheeses in the world, is an acquired taste for many new to the ingredient, it’s also considered something tourists should try during their visit to Taiwan.
In fact, Zimmern shared this appreciation for the food, albeit only in certain capacities. Before visiting Dai’s House of Stink in the heart of Taipei, Zimmern was quite impressed with the street food version of the stinky tofu that he got to try while in Shenkeng. His first impression, expressed in the “Bizarre Foods” episode, was, “There’s a stench in the air of overly fermented cheese or even rotted garbage.” This variation — fried stinky tofu with chili flakes and paste — however, left a very positive impression on Zimmern. “Like a lot of the world’s most inconceivably strange foods, it looks, sounds, and smells a lot worse than it tastes,” Zimmern explained. “This is delicious. There’s a slightly fermented and spoiled quality to it that reminds me of really good cheese.”
