At the table
Use a spoon or chopsticks to divide the chewy wrapper and eat it with the filling. Let hot filling cool; ask about the sauce before adding it.
Contains pork, soy and sesame; this filling uses cooking rice wine. Sauces may add other ingredients.
请问酱汁会辣吗？可以另外放吗？ — Is the sauce spicy? Could it be served separately?
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
This version has minced pork, bamboo shoots, shiitake and fried shallots, wrapped in rice flour and sweet-potato and potato starch. Fillings, starch blends and finishing methods vary.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Savory pork filling.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Chewy wrapper.
- How it’s made
- Steam the filled starch wrapper, then fry before serving.
This version has minced pork, bamboo shoots, shiitake and fried shallots, wrapped in rice flour and sweet-potato and potato starch. Fillings, starch blends and finishing methods vary.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Taiwan.
About this regional connection
Taiwan: A Taiwanese specialty.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有肉圓吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A filling inside a chewy shell
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
Ba-wan is a filled Taiwanese snack, not a bare meatball. Its thick starch wrapper is part of the appeal: eat the wrapper and savory filling together. Different preparations give the shell different degrees of softness and chew.