12/13/2011

Wa gui


Wa gui, originally uploaded by Patrick Cowsill.

Wa gui is what this traditional rice porridge is called in Taiwanese (碗糕 in Chinese). It tastes like hard cream of wheat with garlic sauce and hard-boiled egg. I ordered this in Madou (麻豆), just outside of Tainan, Taiwan.

6 comments:

John Scott said...

Usually has pork fat as the primary congealing agent, doesn't it? At the stand where I got it in Tainan, I think the bowls are filled, and then steamed.

The only time I ate it, I got an MSG headache, so I assume this is another of the many Taiwanese foods that have MSG in the recipe. So, once was enough.

That's one reason I am quick to scope out the places that serve good zong-zi and rou-zong 肉粽, because for some reason, they do not use MSG in preparing them.

I also make friends at the restaurants that cook my other favorite quick snacks: 麻醬麵 and 陽春麵.

Anonymous said...

This is delicious food, wah gwei, but for anyone who does not want to get diabetes or an early heart attack, I suggest you do not eat this. Signed,

Heart attack victim, age 43 and diabetes type 2 guy

In other words, careful what you wish for in Taiwan! re EAT!

Anonymous said...

Ah that wonderful Taiwanese food.
I ate those Taiwanese foods since I was born 80 years ago and I am as healthy as I was in my 20s.
Worry about Taiwanese foods? It is nonsense.

Anonymous said...

We missed this on our trip to Tainan. It sounds like it could be really tasty, MSG headaches aside.

Patrick Cowsill said...

I don't get a headache, but rather a dry mouth from MSG. I didn't get one at this restaurant in Tainan, so maybe they didn't use it. I should have asked; I didn't think of it.

I'm not a big fan of zong-zi. That's why it doesn't appear on this blog too often. I suppose one is okay, with garlic, hot sauce and a beer on the side.

Anonymous said...

Had wa gui for the first time with my family the last time we visited. It smelled awesome when we first got it, but it definitely tastes better when it's warm. We didn't eat ours until we got home and sat down for dinner, so by then they were cold. Other than that, though, I really look forward to eating it again when we go back.

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