Description
A specialty Xiaochi from central Taiwan where a translucent, chewy dough of sweet potato and potato starch encloses a pork, bamboo shoot, and shiitake filling, steamed (or fried) and eaten with a sweet/savory sauce.
Restaurants serving Ba Wan (Taiwanese Meatball)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Sweet potato flour
- Potato starch
- Minced pork
- Bamboo shoots
- Special sweet/spicy sauce(Tianla Jiang)
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- [Dough] Knead sweet potato flour and potato starch with boiling and cold water to make a translucent, highly sticky dough.
- [Filling] Sauté coarse minced pork, chopped bamboo shoots, and rehydrated shiitake with soy sauce, five-spice, white pepper, and sesame oil; let cool.
- Flatten dough to palm size, enclose filling generously, and shape round (UFO shape).
- Steam for 15-
- mins until dough is completely clear (this is 'Qingzheng Ba Wan').
- For Changhua style, slowly deep-fry the steamed Ba Wan in low-temp oil (~100°C) to make the skin extra chewy.
- Plate, and pour a generous amount of pink 'special sweet/spicy sauce (Tianla Jiang)'—made from rice flour, sugar, and soy sauce—and grated garlic to finish.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Five-spice powder and White pepper
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Store-bought frozen Ba Wan (available at Asian supermarkets)
Pairing
Meatball Soup (Gong Wan Tang) or Sishen Tang
Trivia
[For Everyone] Rumored to be the model for the jiggly food the father eats at the beginning of 'Spirited Away' (theories vary). The giant-tapioca-like texture becomes addictive once eaten.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Served with a cross cut into it with scissors; tear the chewy skin with a fork, and completely mix the inner meat juices with the outer sweet sauce before eating!
Allergen
Wheat, Pork, Soy, Sesame