Liu's Rice Dumpling

Dedicated to an incredibly loyal dog and its seventeen masters who drowned in a capsized boat, the incense-choked Eighteen Kings Temple (also known as The Dog Temple) has been attracting myriads of worshippers over the years. To conduct a proper worship, offerings are necessary, so the surrounding area is therefore packed with many different shops selling all kinds of ceremonial food such as rice dumplings. Liu’s Rice Dumpling is a favorite of many (in case you didn’t know that: the offered food is eventually consumed by worshippers themselves, so it has to be good enough). This shop now has three locations in Taipei City and New Taipei City, whose success lies in the fresh local ingredients such as glutinous rice from Hualien, mushrooms from Xinshe, peanuts from Beigang, and many more.

You may be a fan of rice dumplings, but do you prefer the northern style or the southern style? Or you didn’t even realize that there are two ways of making rice dumplings in Taiwan? Well, the ingredients are basically the same between these two, but the cooking method is what makes the difference here. In the north, the keyword is ”to steam,” where rice dumplings have a chewy texture with stronger taste as all the ingredients (mushrooms, pork, peanuts, dried turnips) are pre-cooked. As for the south, the keyword is “to boil,” where rice dumplings have the wholesome flavors as the seasonings are slowly acquired through long-hour boiling. Other specialties of Liu’s include Hakka-style and red bean rice dumplings, with new flavors being released from time to time. No matter which one you are having, Liu’s special sauce never fails to add an extra dimension to this yummilicious treat.