Lan Jia Gua Bao ★ 4.4
Lan Jia near Gongguan MRT in Da'an is the canonical Taipei gua bao counter, five-spice pork belly in steamed lotus-leaf bun, NT$60 each, Bib Gourmand listed.
Try: Gua bao
Tip: Closed Mondays. Cash only.
History
Gua bao is a Hokkien-Taiwanese dish brought from Fujian in the 1700s, traditionally eaten as a snack at weddings and wei ya (year-end company dinners). The shape resembles a tiger's mouth, which is why it's sometimes called 'tiger bites pig'. Lan Jia near Gongguan MRT in Taipei has been the canonical version since 1985, NT$60 a bun. The dish has been internationalised over the past decade as a popular street-food item from London to New York.
Common allergens: Gluten, Peanut, Soy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 8 steamed lotus-leaf-shaped buns (frozen, defrosted)
- 800g pork belly, skin on
- 60ml dark soy sauce
- 30ml Shaoxing rice wine
- 30g rock sugar
- 1 star anise
- 1 piece cinnamon stick
- 5 garlic cloves, smashed
- 30g fresh ginger, sliced
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 100g pickled mustard greens, chopped
- 60g salted peanuts, ground
- 30g caster sugar
- Coriander leaves, to serve
Method
- Score the pork-belly skin, brown all sides in a heavy pot 8 minutes.
- Add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar, star anise, cinnamon, garlic, ginger and five-spice. Cover with 500ml water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover and braise 2 hours until tender. Cool and slice into 1cm-thick pieces.
- Steam the buns in a bamboo basket 8 minutes until soft and puffed.
- Mix ground peanuts with caster sugar.
- Open each bun; layer in 2 slices of pork belly, a spoonful of pickled mustard greens, sweetened peanut powder and coriander leaves.
Tip from the editors. The peanut powder must be coarse-ground, not powdered; small chunks give the texture. Make the braise a day ahead and slice when cold for clean cuts.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat gua bao
Gua bao in Taipei
Shijia Baobao ★ 4.2
Shijia Baobao at Linjiang Night Market runs the gua bao Taiwanese hamburger, NT$50 a bun, fatty pork belly with pickled mustard greens and peanut powder.
Try: Gua bao
Tip: Cash only. Order extra peanut powder.
Shilin Night Market ★ 4.5
Shilin Night Market is Taiwan's largest, 500-plus stalls. Hot Star fried chicken, stinky tofu, ai yu jelly and the reopened underground food court.
Tip: Open 16:00 to 24:00 daily. Take MRT Tamsui-Xinyi to Jiantan Station, walk 5 minutes.
More cities are in research. Want gua bao covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.