Ba wan is the Changhua-origin glutinous rice-flour 'meatball', a translucent dumpling skin around pork, bamboo and mushroom, steamed then deep-fried, served with sweet sauce.
Ba wan was invented in 1898 in Beidou, Changhua, by Fan Wan-Chu, after a flood washed away the family's other ingredients and left only sweet-potato flour and pork. The dumpling spread north to Taipei, where it became a Bib Gourmand-recognised dish at Shilin Night Market and Tonghua. Sometimes called 'big circle' for its shape, the skin is intentionally chewy and translucent, distinct from regular jiaozi.
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