Sticky Rice Roll

Brought over by immigrants from eastern China, rice rolls are a breakfast staple doled out with immense speed by street vendors at the height of the morning traffic rush. A mat of sticky rice is stuffed with a sprinkle of pickled mustard greens, preserved radish, and a bit of pork floss before it’s compacted into a large pill shape and slung into a plastic bag. Originally an on-the-go breakfast item geared toward blue-collar workers, this recipe is inspired by the rice rolls at Tzu-Yin Grandma’s Rice Roll (慈音古早味阿婆飯糰) in Taipei. Born in Taichung, the stall’s namesake Wang Tzu-Yin (王慈音) started selling rice rolls in the early 1990s at the age of 50 as a way to make money. She was a relative latecomer to the scene, but set herself apart by selling her rice rolls exclusively at night. Today, the stall is run by her daughter and granddaughter, who are still following her recipe exactly. Tzu-Yin’s version uses fish floss instead of pork floss “because it’s less likely to clump up that way,” they tell me. But because fish floss is rather rare outside Taiwan, I’ve kept pork as the protein of choice.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Made in Taiwan' by Clarissa Wei—part of our list of the best cookbooks of 2023. Buy the full book on Amazon.