Kaohsiung Savoury Rice Cake

Kaohsiung wangguo is a savoury rice cake made from indica-rice batter mixed with braised pork, salted egg yolk, dried shrimp and shiitake, steamed into a tender, soy-coloured cake in a bowl and dressed before eating with a thick sauce of soy, sugar and rice batter, savoury and softly chewy.

Wangguo is a traditional rice food of southern Taiwan, rooted in the rice culture of early Minnan settlers; the southern style is notable for its fully savoury fillings, deep sauce colour and sweet-savoury dressing, distinct from the pale steamed northern version, a shared street breakfast of Kaohsiung and Tainan.

Scored and cut in its bowl with a bamboo stick or spoon, dressed with the sweet-savoury sauce, garlic paste and chilli sauce and eaten hot, most often as breakfast or an afternoon snack.

The deep sauce colour of its tender body, the thick sweet-savoury dressing and the abundant savoury fillings are the marks of southern Taiwanese and Kaohsiung wangguo.