What it is
Tube rice cake (筒仔米糕) is a short cylinder of sticky rice turned out of the cup it was steamed in. A piece of braised pork, a braised egg or some meat sauce sits at the bottom of the tube, so it ends up on top. Sweet sauce or meat sauce goes over it, with coriander and preserved radish.
Where it came from
Some accounts trace the idea back to 盤游飯, a dish recorded in the notes of the Song-dynasty poet Su Shi (蘇軾). The Taiwanese story is firmer. In Qingshui (清水), on the Taichung coast, a cook named Wang Ta (王塔) became known for his tube rice around 1933 and took on apprentices. One of them, Chen Tian-tsai (陳添財), started at 13 and spent seven years mostly washing rice before opening A-Tsai (阿財米糕) about 100 metres from his master. The rivalry pulled in crowds, and by 2007 central Qingshui had more than ten tube rice shops. One TVBS food writer ranks Wang Ta, A-Tsai, Rong Ji (榮記) and Zheng Pai (正牌) as the town's big four.
The tube itself has changed. Shops steam in metal tubs, in porcelain cups at the more traditional end, or in disposable paper cups.
How it is made
Glutinous rice is stir-fried with dried shiitake, shallots, soy sauce, salt, rice wine and oil. Some cooks add dried shrimp or strips of pork. A slice of braised pork, a braised egg or meat sauce goes into the bottom of each tube, or lotus seeds or salted egg for a change. The rice is packed on top and steamed. Some shops use rice aged a year or two, which stays chewy without going mushy. Each tube is turned out onto a plate to serve.
How to eat it
A bowl of soup usually comes with it, such as four-herb soup (四神湯), oyster soup or steamed egg soup. A braised egg is a common side. The sauce can be salty, so mix it through the rice before eating, and add chilli sauce if you like heat.
Around Taiwan
- Tainan
- Tainan's everyday rice cake (米糕) is different: plain glutinous rice kept warm in a big pot on a woven grass mat, scooped into a bowl and topped with meat sauce and dried swordfish floss. The writer Yu Fu (魚夫) notes that tube versions are rare in the city.
- Kaohsiung
- Bei Gang Tsai (北港蔡三代筒仔米糕) has sold tube rice in Yancheng since 1956. It steams rice aged two years with braised ground pork in metal tubs and pours on meat sauce just before serving, with young ginger on the side.
- North
- Northern versions are close to oily rice (油飯), with mushroom, pork and dried shrimp stir-fried into the rice before steaming. Da Qiao Tou (大橋頭) in Taipei's Datong District uses year-old rice with lean or fatty pork and serves sweet chilli and spicy radish sauces.
- Central
- Qingshui in Taichung is the dish's best-known home, with rival shops that trace back to Wang Ta. At A-Tsai, each tube holds a large piece of braised pork belly, and the house chilli sauce is cooked from sugar, small chillies and glutinous rice.
