TAIPEI: Pepper Buns 胡椒餅 @ Shi Lin Market

Pepper buns are a Chinese traditional snack from Fuzhou, then imported to Taiwan due to the popularity. This Chinese snack became a traditional snack in Taiwan. The strong flavour of black pepper is from the pork filling, being marinated with black pepper for hours, thus "Pepper Buns". Jia Xiang is one of the most renowned vender's in Taichung, winning the award “The best vender’s store in Taichung” in 1996. The pepper buns there are highly popular and have expanded to outside of Taichung to all over Taiwan.

Every bun is hand-made and then put into a special stove. After that, they will use their unique marinating methods to marinade the pork with dried chopped green onions. Sesame is placed on the top of the bun and charbroiled for 15 minutes.

The time and temperature in stove have to be precisely 280°, the oil of the pork will be absorbed by the skin due to the high temperatures. The skin would also become golden and crispy. Charbroiling the buns will make the buns less oily and more crispy.

Although the store I tried wasn't Jia Xiang, this was the next best thing. First time having it in Taiwan, regret not having the opportunity to try it in the past. If it wasn't for my friend that lives in Taiwan, touring me around the night markets, I would've never had found this delicacy.