Alishan chef brings savory rice pudding to a new generation with boba and red bean

Alishan chef brings savory rice pudding to a new generation with boba and red bean

2022-12-06

Have you ever tried savory rice pudding? This traditional snack was a staple in old Taiwan. Also known as “wa gui,” it’s especially good as a pick-me-up on a hot afternoon. Up on Alishan Highway in Chiayi County, a second-generation chef is bringing rice pudding into the 21st century. We spoke to Lu Yi-ju about how you bring Taiwan’s traditional cuisine to Generation Z.

High on Alishan Highway in Zhongpu Township sits this rice pudding shop. It’s known far and wide for its traditional handmade rice pudding, both savory and sweet.

The sweet pudding slides out of its mold, revealing the boba at the bottom and filling the room with the scent of brown sugar. This is the trump card of the shop’s owner.

Member of public
It’s so silky, but chewy as well. The brown sugar is delicious, and the flavors go so well together.

Lu Yi-ju
Rice pudding shop owner
Actually, many young people don’t really have strong childhood memories of our traditional Taiwanese snacks. So I want to offer slightly unusual, innovative flavors, to get more young people to notice our traditional Taiwanese cuisine.

It’s not just boba rice pudding on offer. Adzuki bean is another big crowd-pleaser. Lu Yi-ju is the second generation to run the shop. Not content to merely follow tradition, she’s trying out her own creative flavor combinations. Who knew boba was what savory rice pudding was lacking?

Lu Yi-ju
Rice pudding shop owner
We’ve tried quite a few flavors, like Job’s tears, adzuki bean, green bean, Earl gray tea, boba milk tea. Anything you can think of! We even tried using the local dragon fruit to just see how it would come out. In the end we felt that the boba and adzuki bean were the best fit.

Lu says that different boba pearls all have their own taste. It took her three months of trials with different types to hit on the perfect recipe. Whatever’s next? Head up Alishan to find out.

大膽創意碗粿裏加珍珠變甜點

2022-12-06

珍珠的創意料理有非常多，但你吃過用珍珠做的碗粿嗎？嘉義縣中埔鄉有一家碗粿店，第二代接手後，把傳統碗粿加入新元素，加入紅豆和珍珠，做成甜點。碗粿和珍珠都是Q彈的口感，意外的合拍，深受消費者喜愛。

嘉義縣中埔鄉阿里山公路上這間碗粿店，以手工製作的傳統碗粿聞名，但大家來買鹹碗粿的同時，都不忘帶上甜碗粿。

甜碗粿倒扣出來，底部滿滿的珍珠，還散發著濃濃的黑糖香氣，就是第二代老闆的祕密武器。

[[顧客]]
“我覺得很Q耶，而且還蠻有嚼勁的，黑糖的味道很香，口味超和諧的”

[[第二代老闆呂意如]]
“其實現在很多年輕人，對於我們台灣的傳統小吃，其實有一點算是沒有特別的有記憶，所以我希望說做一個比較不一樣，比較創新的口味，讓更多年輕人可以去注意到我們的台灣傳統美食”

不只珍珠碗粿，還有紅豆碗粿，都是深受顧客喜愛的甜點。呂意如是這間碗粿店的第二代，不甘於只是守著傳統，她開始嘗試開發新產品，大膽將珍珠加入碗粿裏，沒想到意外的合拍。

[[第二代老闆呂意如]]
“我們有試過蠻多種口味，比如說薏仁、紅豆、綠豆，然後伯爵茶、珍珠奶茶，只要是可以想得到的，在地的火龍果我們都拿來試做看看，到底它出來的成效是什麼樣子，最後搭起來會覺得說，其實珍珠跟紅豆是最適合”

業者說，因為每家珍珠的口感都不同，一試再試，試了三個多月才做成令人滿意的產品，未來還會有新口味加入，也請大家拭目以待。

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Nature is one of the really strong topics that we will talk about or play or make music about in the coming season. Why nature? Because I think Taiwan is a country where nature plays a big role. It’s an island surrounded by the sea. So we look also at other parts and other countries. Whether it is Japan, Europe, or different countries. Music from very different times, cultures, and mentalities.

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