Fish-Paste Tempura Cake 天妇罗
Fish-Paste Tempura Cake is featured among the local specialties of Taiwan.
Fish-Paste Tempura Cake (天妇罗) is Keelung's (基隆) name for a thick, round cake of fish paste deep-fried until golden, cut into pieces and served with a sweet-and-spicy sauce. It is sold at Miaokou (庙口), the snack market in Ren'ai District (仁爱区) that is centred on Dianji Temple (奠济宫) on Rensan Road (仁三路).
Where it comes from
The word tempura came to Taiwan with Japanese rule. In the north the name stayed attached to fried fish paste, while Taipei usually says tianbula (甜不辣, from the Japanese pronunciation) and Kaohsiung says heilun (黑轮). The writer Cheng Shun-tsung (郑顺聪) links Keelung and Kaohsiung: both grew with harbour building under Japanese rule, which brought modern fishing and freezing plants and large-scale fish-paste production.
At Miaokou the word means one thing only: slices of fish paste fried and then topped with sweet chilli sauce. Chinese Wikipedia counts three main tempura stalls there, one beside the temple forecourt, one midway along Rensan Road and one near the market entrance.
How it is made
Keelung makers build the paste on shark meat, and each maker adds its own recipe; the freshness of the paste decides the result. Stall No. 16 at Miaokou uses shark and conger eel, beats them into a paste with miso, sugar and other seasonings, presses it into thick discs and fries them golden in a pot of oil, frying each batch to order.
How it is eaten
After draining, the cakes are cut into strips: crisp outside, soft inside and slightly springy. Stall No. 16 serves them with its own sweet chilli sauce and sweet-and-sour cucumber slices, and Keelung's fried tempura with pickled cucumber makes a refreshing combination.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-25. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.