Steamed Bloody Cake

 One day, I was absentmindedly watching Taiwanese news when something caught my attention: a huge line of anxious customers waiting behind a tiny stall for their number to be called.

This, apparently, was not breaking news but a daily phenomenon at Taipei’s Shilin night market. A reporter approached these people to ask them what they were waiting for. “My friend told me it’s the best thing ever.” “I’ve been waiting 30 minutes in line just to get this bloody cake.” “I have to try this bloody cake before I die.”

It really is called "Bloody Cake", although for speakers of British English, the word "Bloody" is more of a crude exclamation than an adjective.

The idea of eating something soaked in blood sounded a little vampirish, but I was intrigued. What was this bloody cake? I made a note to try one before I left Taiwan. At the last night-market we went to, in Taoyuan, I did.

I ordered the most popular kind—cake steamed in pig blood, with the most standard garnish—peanut powder and Chinese parsley. Honestly, I was disappointed. It had no taste. It was just a sticky rice cake with a hint of peanut and parsley. I barely tasted blood.

I guess I was still a little culturally insensitive, and had yet to appreciate the bloody cake for its historical gravitas.

You might have heard of the Chinese saying: Northerners love their noodles, Southerners love their rice. And it was immigrants from the southern province of Fujian who crossed the strait and brought their affection for rice snacks to Taiwan.

Where does the blood come in? In ancient China, farm animals were killed mainly as sacrifices to the heavens. During the rest of the year, meat was a rare treat, especially during times of poverty. So people began saving the highly nutritious blood from slaughtered pigs and ducks to put in soup or steam into rice.

Over time, pig’s blood became popular, being cheaper than duck’s. The first Taiwanese blood cake is said to have originated after WWII at a Taipei slaughterhouse, where people arrived early to ask for pig blood before it was dumped.

It is indeed during times of hardship that the best dishes are invented. Or is it because everything tastes better when you’re hungry?