This bean curd packs a punch

Bean curd will go bad if it is left out for two days, but it can become edible again after fermenting for up to three months. Then it is sufu, or fermented tofu, also known as Chinese soy cheese, a traditional food common on Chinese tables. In Mandarin, it's called furu.

As a kind of fermented food, sufu has a strong pungent flavor of soybean sauce and liquor, because some elements from beans change into liquor after fermentation.

Sufu can be used in small amounts as aromatic seasoning in various dishes. The most popular one is water convolvulus with sufu, a typical Cantonese cuisine. The taste and nutrients in sufu also melt or blend into dishes.