Cijin Grilled Squid

Cijin grilled squid is a representative seafood snack of the Kaohsiung seaside at Cijin, where fresh-caught squid (neritic squid) is grilled whole over charcoal or quickly blanched and served with five-flavour sauce, garlic soy or salt-and-pepper, the flesh sweet and springy.

Cijin is Kaohsiung's oldest fishing settlement, whose people have lived by the sea for generations; seafood eateries line the old street and ferry pier, and grilled squid, fried cutlet-fish balls and the like became Cijin's most representative street flavours, as much a part of the place as the Cijin Tianhou Temple and the Cijin Lighthouse.

The whole squid, grilled or blanched to order, is skewered on a bamboo stick and eaten by hand dipped in sauce, the most common eat-as-you-walk snack while exploring the Cijin old street, the seaside and the Star Tunnel.

The whole bright-skinned squid, the char-grilled aroma, the springy sweet flesh and the bustle of Cijin fishing harbour are the marks of Cijin grilled squid.