Before this TaoTie correspondent came to China, I might have eaten tofu once in my life. Mostly because tofu is seen as a bland health food, there is definitely a tofu disconnect in the West. Soyfoods.com writes:

The soft consistency of tofu and its mild taste make it a perfect food for anyone. It is a good source of protein for elderly people who prefer dishes that are easy to chew and digest. Soft tofu that has been pureed with fruits or vegetables is a good first protein food for infants. Toddlers can enjoy chunks of cooked tofu for snacks or meals.

This makes tofu sound like a bland, geriatric, health food filler. On the contrary, Chinese tofu dishes will rock your taste buds and leave you craving more. Now, tofu is a daily diet staple of mine. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of styles of tofu and most are absolutely delicious. Here are some of the best tofu snacks and dishes that are easily found in China:

1. 卤水豆腐 - Marinated Tofu

Strips of marinated tofu skin that are a healthy and convenient treat and full of protein. You can find it in supermarkets in salty, sweet, and spicy varieties.

2. 豆腐丝 - Shredded Tofu

A healthy and tasty appetizer usually mixed with a veggie like onion, cucumber, or green pepper. This is usually a safe bet when choosing an appetizer as it’s hard to mess up.

3. 豆腐干 - Dried Tofu

A bit tough and packed with flavor, 豆腐干 is found most often in stir-frys mixed with veggies and peppers. Dried tofu is also a big snack food that is vacuum sealed and covered in hot peppers and oil.

4. 麻豆腐 - Ma Tofu

This Beijing-style tofu is less common outside of the capital and definitely one of my favorites. While it isn’t the most attractive of tofus, it has a complex flavor that blends crispy green soy beans, bits of lamb, spicy oil, and the unique tofu itself.

5. 麻婆豆腐 - Grandma’s Spicy Beancurd

Soft and delicate, but topped with a powerful sauce of chili peppers, prickly ash 花椒, garlic, minced meat, onions, and ginger. This dish originates from Sichuan and can be quite spicy. It goes well over rice and can be found on most menus across the country. It’s definitely not my favorite tofu dish, but it’s pretty good when done properly.

6. 豆腐乳 - Pickled Tofu

Both doufu ru and stinky tofu are fermented, but doufu ru is scary looking instead of scary smelling. It can be a tasty treat when used sparingly and it is most often it is eaten with rice, spread on 馒头, or cooked with 空心菜.

7. 臭豆腐 - Stinky Tofu

By far the most difficult to stomach (or nose, for that matter) for the western taste bud, but it’s just like a potent cheese: either you love it or you hate it. I have developed a taste for the less stinky varieties, but some are just unbearable.

8. 日本豆腐 - Japanese Tofu or Egg Tofu

A soft and silky tofu, it is usually cooked on an iron plate and served sizzling and piping hot.

9. 家常豆腐 - Homestyle Braised Tofu

Homestyle tofu has a spicy sauce with slices of green pepper and 木耳. It is always a favorite and definitely one of the most common tofu dishes.

Your TaoTie corespondent has been hitting the streets to find the best of the best.  This week I’ll be delving into Xinjiang cuisine, one of my favorite styles of Chinese food. Xinjiang cuisine is a staple in a true Laonei’s diet. But where is the best spot in Beijing for lamb-laden Uighur treats? After a long and grueling hunt for the best of Beijing’s muslim-approved grub, it has been decided. The heavyweight champion is Xinjiang Adaxi (新疆阿达西餐厅)！Located on Qian Liang hutong 钱粮胡同, Adaxi is always packed and serves up piping hot, always fresh dishes.

In the process of making this weighty decision, dozens of dishes went through our rigorous taste bud tests. Hundreds of kebabs 串, naan 馕, and ‘big chicken plates’ 大盘鸡 were closely scrutinized for tenderness, appropriate spice levels, freshness, and overall devourability. But the most important test is the simple TaoTie equation: simply take the price of the meal (4 people), subtract the number of people in the restaurant at 8pm, and finally take the restaurant’s rating to a factor of ten and subtract it from the total. The lower the number, the better the restaurant. Xinjiang Adaxi had a record score of -10.

Most other restaurants we sized up didn’t even come close. Crescent Moon, popular among the expat crowd, scored an abysmally high score of 160. Wildly overpriced and lagging far behind in both service and devourability, Crescent Moon has little going for it. But one Xinjiang spot did give Adaxi a run for its money. Known simply as Muslim Restaurant 穆斯林餐厅, this is another great choice for Xinjiang delicacies if you are out in Wudaokou.

Adaxi Review

Never take a date here. Adaxi is about one thing, and one thing only: the food. The floors are filthy, the furniture is cheap and rickety, and the majority of the customers are loud and smokey. But don’t let that stop you from coming here. Adaxi’s kitchen consistently pumps out absolutely delicious food. A definite highlight is their naan. Soft, crispy and always piping hot, their naan is never stale. Dip the naan in the huge Chicken Plate 大盘鸡 for maximum results. Another dish you wont want to miss is the fresh-made potato chips 炸土豆片, which also go well dipped in the Chicken Plate’s sauce. While your at it, order a lamb leg or some kebabs, as their lamb is some of the tenderest in town.

What is TaoTie (饕餮) you ask? Is it mythical beast capable of swallowing you whole? A fierce and cruel person? A voracious eater? A gourmand? Well, it’s all of those things. But now, TaoTie is Laonei’s fresh look into fine dining in Beijing. We’re not talking about the old expat standby’s like Kro’s Nest or The Tree (don’t get me wrong…these are both great places). But we are more interested in authentic, healthy, clean, and relatively cheap Chinese food that most expats aren’t aware even existed. And it can be quite hard to find a restaurant that fits all the criteria. So we have scoured the streets to find the best of the best.

There are strict requirements for a local restaurant to be chosen for TaoTie; the food has to be exceptionally good and offer something that you can’t find at just any run-of-the-mill restaurant. Before we shoot a TaoTie episode, we sample a wide variety of dishes to make sure they are up to our 好吃/不贵 standards.So keep your eye out for new episodes of TaoTie coming soon and let us know what you think!

It’s hard to miss them. They have clever names and DIY-style decorating; hand-written menus and slow, inattentive service; usually quite small and filled with Zhōng  Nán  Hǎi  (中南海) cigarette smoke; cheap Yanjing beer and clouds of billowing charcoal smoke. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you haven’t taken much notice of what restaurants the Beijing youth are frequenting these days.

It’s food on a stick. And it isn’t limited to the hip hangouts of Beijing’s youth. You can hardly take a step in the city without running into a smoky chuan’er (串儿) stand or a  má  là  tàng  (麻辣烫) joint surrounded by ravenous young ladies. Late night stalls pumping out lamb and chicken of all sorts (hearts, cartilidge, wings, etc.) feed the night owl youth of Beijing. Perhaps as a way to save time or an affront to traditional dining styles, food on a stick has become a way of life in Beijing.

In fact, Beijing may have even surpassed Xinjiang as the food-on-a-stick capital of China. Armies of workers tirelessly stick raw meat on environmentally-unfriendly wood skewers during the day. At night, the carnivores come out, and behind them leave a trail of bones, wood skewers, and cigarette butts. By morning, all traces of the meat-eating have vanished, along with the carnivores themselves. By morning, the old folk are back on the streets buying real food – like vegetables.

Chuan'er!

The epitome of food-on-a-stick restaurants is the hugely popular Hot Bean Cooperative 炒豆合作社. Buckets of chicken wings (on metal skewers) are served to the elderly-challenged customers on the no carb diet. Walking in their footsteps are dozens of Hot Bean wannabes that have somehow been convinced that post-it notes are a form of decoration.

For the real deal food-on-a-stick experience, though, stay away from the trendy spots. To really enjoy the 串儿, pick an outdoor stall with tiny plastic stools, piles of skewers laying around, and a  xiǎo  mài  bù (小卖部) nearby with 2 kuai beers. Light up a smoke, rip into some freshly seared meat and let the èr  huà  yīn (儿化音) fly.