Dishes · A classic of Anhui · Huizhou

Hairy tofu

Also Mao doufu, Maodoufu

Blocks of tofu left to grow a coat of fine white mould, then pan-fried golden and eaten with chilli sauce or braised in soy.

What makes it hairy tofu

  • Tofu furred with white mould — the fur is meant to be there.
  • Pan-fried in rapeseed oil until golden on each side, the fur collapsing into a crust.
  • Served with chilli sauce, or braised with soy, spring onion and a little sugar.

Where it comes from

Fresh tofu is kept warm on straw for a few days until it grows a soft white fur, a mould that ferments it; the taste turns rich and cheese-like. Huizhou's towns sell it pan-fried on the street. Legends give it a Ming-dynasty emperor as its inventor, as legends do.

Be the first here

Start your own hairy tofu
No one here has made hairy tofu yet. Start it as v1, and every version after is an experiment the next cook can learn from.

Near it

AnhuiStinky mandarin fishA whole mandarin fish, lightly salted and left for days until it smells, then fried and braised with pork, bamboo shoots and chilli.No one here has made it yetSichuanMapo tofuSoft tofu in a fiery, glossy sauce of doubanjiang, fermented black beans, minced beef and ground Sichuan pepper.No one here has made it yet