Taiwanese Pork Thick Soup (Bah-kinn)
Overview
Rou geng is a thick, glossy pork soup that is one of Taiwan's most common street foods. Strips of marinated pork are coated in a paste of minced fish or pork and starch, then poached so each piece has a soft, bouncy coating. They are served in a broth flavoured with bonito flakes, dried shrimp, soy sauce and a little sugar, thickened with starch and full of shredded bamboo shoots, cabbage, carrot and wood ear mushrooms. At the table each bowl is finished with black vinegar, white pepper, basil or coriander and sometimes garlic oil. It is eaten on its own, over rice or with noodles.
History
Thick soups called geng have a very long history in Chinese cooking, and this Taiwanese version comes from the Hokkien tradition of southern Fujian, where it is called bah-kinn. In Taiwan it became a cheap snack sold at stalls and temple markets, and Tainan, Lukang and Taipei's Wanhua district are known for old shops serving it. Many night markets also sell versions with squid or fish paste.
Main ingredients
Pork strips coated in fish paste, bamboo shoots, cabbage and carrot, wood ear mushroom, black vinegar, starch-thickened broth. The soup is built on thickened pork and bonito broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
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Recipe
Method
- 1
Coat the pork strips in the fish paste.
- 23 min
Poach them in simmering water for 3 minutes and lift out.
- 310 min
Simmer the vegetables in the stock with soy sauce and sugar for 10 minutes.
- 4
Thicken with the starch slurry and add the pork.
- 5
Serve with black vinegar, white pepper and coriander.
- ✓
Serve. About 1 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
