Street Eats: Trick or Treat? Where to Eat Pig’s Blood Cake, the Popular Taiwanese Street Snack, in Beijing

Does the thought of eating blood leave your pulse racing with fear? C'mon, try not to be so skittish. Not only do the majority of Chinese and their Asian brethren eat blood-based dishes, many Europeans do too. But this time, we're not talking about the sort of black pudding that Scots eat, the pig blood curd that the Cantonese indulge in, or the tiết canh that Vietnamese prefer, instead we're are talking about 猪血糕 (zhū xiě gāo) or pig’s blood cake, a popular street food in Taiwan.

I know what you're thinking but no, zhū xiě gāo is not a scary Halloween cake. Normally, it is served on a stick from night street markets in Taiwan, and is made with sticky rice that is drenched in pig’s blood, steamed, and soaked in a sweet soy broth. The mixture is then rolled in peanut powder, before being topped with cilantro. It’s a popular snack that is often steamed, fried, or even put in hot pot (head to Coucou for something similar).

Aside from the hot pot version at Coucou, we found two places that sell pig's blood cake: Little Ming Taiwan Railway Mealbox and Xiaowei Yansuji. The version at Little Ming (RMB 16) is a whole chuan'r covered with ground and sweetened peanut that is served lukewarm. Due to the low temperature, the whole bloody block is chewy, and a little too sweet for my liking, so sweet in fact that I could only finish half of the chuan'r. Not a great result.

Xiaowei Yansu Ji has been a longtime favorite among Beijingers for their popcorn fried chicken and pig’s blood cake. Why are there always queues? Because it’s worth it, that's why! Their rendition of pig’s blood cake is chopped into cubes and with the sweetness from the peanut flour, tastes like something between rice cake and mocha with a strong meaty flavor. However, because the texture is firm and chewy, you won't feel that it contains blood at all. This one stole the show and we loved for its rich flavor. You now know where to go for your fill of pig's blood cake this Halloween.

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: finedininglovers, Dianping, Tracy Wang