Savoury soy milk

What it is

Savoury soy milk (鹹豆漿, xian doujiang) is the salty counterpart to sweet soy milk (甜漿) and plain soy milk (白漿). The seasonings go into the bowl first and hot, fresh soy milk is poured over them. The vinegar makes the milk curdle loosely, close to cottage cheese in texture. It is a staple of Taiwan's soy milk breakfast shops.

Where it came from

The savoury style is common in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and it reached Taiwan after the Nationalist government moved to the island. The soy milk shop trade grew from those newcomers. In 1955 a group of partners from Hebei and Shandong ran a cart at the end of Zhongzheng Bridge selling soy milk, sesame flatbreads and fried dough. It became East Ocean Soy Milk (東海豆漿店) in Yonghe, and after the shareholders fell out in 1968 the original shop took the name World Soy Milk King (世界豆漿大王). Yonghe became shorthand for soy milk, and chains using the town's name are now common in mainland Chinese cities.

Northern migrants started the trade, but Hakka families did much to spread it. In 2002 the journalist and Hakka scholar Hsueh Yun-feng (薛雲峰) found that more than 70 per cent of Taipei's soy milk shops were Hakka-run, most with roots in Xihu, Miaoli.

How it is made

Soybeans are soaked, ground, strained and boiled to make fresh soy milk. For the savoury bowl, the cook puts soy sauce, vinegar and diced pickled mustard tuber (榨菜) into the bowl with chopped spring onion and pieces of youtiao (油條, fried dough stick). Dried shrimp, fried shallots, sesame oil and chilli oil are common extras. Hot soy milk goes in last and the vinegar curdles it. Some shops finish the bowl with fish floss.

How to eat it

It is breakfast food, eaten with youtiao, a sesame flatbread (燒餅) or a steamed bun. Ask for 鹹豆漿, or simply 鹹漿. Diners who dislike dried shrimp can ask for it to be left out.