← Hualien

Tōa-tn̂g Pau Sió-tn̂g

A sweet pork sausage stuffed inside a grilled sticky rice bun.

Flag of TaiwanOrigin: Taichung, Hualien, Taiwan
Tōa-tn̂g Pau Sió-tn̂g illustrated hot dog icon

Origin region: Taichung, Hualien, Taiwan

The anatomy

Vessel
Glutinous rice sausage
Sausage
Sweet Taiwanese pork sausage
Region
Hualien
Ingredients

Tōa-tn̂g pau sió-tn̂g is the Taiwanese night market response to the Western hotdog. Instead of a wheat bun, it uses a larger, savory sticky rice sausage sliced down the middle. Inside goes a sweet, garlic-heavy pork sausage and a collection of sharp, pungent toppings to cut through the starch and fat. You eat it by twisting the bottom of its plastic wrapper, pushing the sausage up as you go. Grilling both sausages over charcoal is essential to get the necessary snap and smoke.

Method

  1. 1Soak glutinous rice in water for at least 1 hour.
  2. 2Sauté fried shallots, boiled peanuts, and dried shrimp in pork lard until aromatic.
  3. 3Stir in the drained rice and season with soy sauce, rice wine, five-spice powder, white pepper, and sugar.
  4. 4Stuff the rice mixture into cleaned pig intestines using a funnel, tie into links, and steam for 35 minutes.
  5. 5Chop fatty pork belly and marinate with sugar, salt, soy sauce, grated garlic, five-spice, and Kaoliang liquor.
  6. 6Stuff the pork mixture into casings, tie off, and hang to air dry for several hours.
  7. 7Grill the rice and pork sausages over medium charcoal until the pork is caramelized and the rice casing is blistered.
  8. 8Slice the hot rice sausage open lengthwise without cutting all the way through.
  9. 9Brush the interior with garlic soy paste and sweet chili sauce.
  10. 10Stuff the cavity with pickled mustard greens, raw slivered garlic, and cucumber.
  11. 11Top with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and basil, then press the pork sausage into the opening.

Sources

Controversies

The Fengchia Night Market Creator Turf War between Guan Zhi Lin and Bai Zhan Gong Fang.

Our take: We do not care who invented it, but starting physical brawls over the rights to a sticky rice bun is the level of dedication we respect. Both stalls serve fine food, but the court ordered detentions make the history taste better.

The Fake Casing Authenticity Debate concerning natural pig intestines versus artificial collagen casings.

Our take: If you use reconstituted collagen, you are making a rice tube, not a Dachang. The uneven, slightly gamey snap of real pig intestine is the entire point. Do not cut corners to save time on cleaning.