Black squares of fermented tofu, deep-fried until puffed and crisp, then pierced and filled with a sauce of chilli, garlic, soy and sesame oil.
What makes it changsha stinky tofu
Tofu steeped in a fermented brine until it turns black and pungent.
Deep-fried until the outside is crisp and the inside soft.
A hole poked in each piece and filled with chilli, garlic and soy.
Where it comes from
Stinky tofu is made across China and Taiwan by soaking fresh tofu in a fermented brine, which gives it a strong smell and a milder, savoury taste. Changsha's is distinctive for being black, from a brine often said to include fermented black beans and bamboo shoots.
It's sold from stalls all over the city, and the old Huogongdian restaurant is especially associated with it. A story often told has Mao Zedong praising Huogongdian's stinky tofu on a visit, though the exact words vary with the teller.
How it varies
Fried white stinky tofu
The golden, paler kind common elsewhere, often with pickled cabbage.