Egg-Filled Swordfish Cake 旗鱼黑轮

How it is made

At Changji (昌記), a handcart stall near the Cijin ferry landing, the cook spreads the fish paste smooth, lays a boiled egg on it, rolls it up, cuts and shapes it, and drops each roll into the fryer. Its paste is mixed with finely diced jicama (豆薯). Owner Chen decided to start after watching sellers in Donggang (東港), bought pure swordfish paste from relatives there and practised for months before finding that the seasoning and temperature of the paste, the egg-wrapping, and the heat and quality of the oil all had to be right.

Yihua (義華) uses fatty black-skinned swordfish from the Bashi Channel (巴士海峽), ground into pure paste and seasoned simply with a little salt. The paste is wrapped round pieces of boiled egg, fried first at a low temperature to cook it through and keep it moist, then at a high temperature to drive out oil and turn the outside golden. Xiangsihai (香四海), founded in 1997 and based in the Qianjin First Public Market (前金第一公有市場), adds jicama and onion to the paste and wraps it round wedges of boiled egg.

How it is eaten

TAKAO describes the Yihua cake as firm and springy rather than dry, and the Xiangsihai version as oversized, with the swordfish and egg flavours coming together in each bite. At Changji the jicama gives a crisp, springy bite; a little pepper is enough, and the cakes can also be dipped in thick soy sauce paste, chilli sauce, yellow mustard or Thai sweet-and-sour sauce. Xiangsihai also makes a version with melting cheese.