What is that giant pile of black junk sitting in water that's even darker? Yeah, that was my first question too, because looking at that enormous heap of 'food' didn't really appeal to my appetite. In any case, I guess I should stop confusing you guys and just explain (thoroughly) why you shouldn't judge food based on its appearance. The stack of black rods you see in the picture is actually common street food in Taiwan, and actually Korea as well. It is known as 豬血糕 (pig's blood cake) and isn't too far off from blood sausage... okay, nevermind, but that is the closest comparison I can find. Found at stands that normally serve roast meat skewers or fried vegetables, you can pick up a single serving for around 20 NT (67 cents), and honestly it makes for a pretty good meal. This particular cart resides in 師大夜市 (Shi Da Night Market), but it really doesn't matter, they all pretty much taste the same, which is to say, I'm not aware of any standout stall or shops that sells this. Back to the point, the blood sausage is actually glutinous sticky rice that is pressed into bricks with pigs blood, then steamed. The result is a deliciously chewy, yet refreshing experience, which I can't really find a true comparison for.
I should mention there are 2 variants to serving this. One includes taking a large piece of blood sausage and coating it with soy sauce, then dipping it into peanut flour and cilantro. This makes for a savory and sweet combination that gets dulled by the flavor of the cilantro. This is actually my preferred method of preparation, but that review will have to come later... I unfortunately did not get pictures of that. In any case, the other way of serving is to fry it to reheat, then to dice the stick into bite sized pieces, which are then placed in a bag and covered with chili sauce and pork/soy broth. While I know I said that I prefer the other method of preparation, this way is actually really good as well. The pieces have a certain resilience that makes it feel like you're biting through rubber (like an eraser haha), which proves for a bit of fun when eating. It's only after you chew it for a little while that the flavors truly emerge, salty and spicy blending together with the pork juices to form a near perfect union. Before I end this post, I do want to add that... people usually hold the misconception that things that are prepared with blood have a sort of nasty aftertaste. Well, I can honestly say... the sweetness of the rice and the spices do well enough that you won't notice a thing.
What about the sweet version with honey you mentioned on my blog a while back. Mmmm, drizzled with honey and roasted...
ReplyDeleteI later found out that was just something my grandmother did to trick me into eating it. She used to buy bricks of the stuff from street markets and then roast them with maltose and toasted sesame...
ReplyDeleteI think I actually prefer the peanut flour version now though :D. Wow, you commented exactly as I was making a new post... now only 1.5 months behind!