Dishes
Coffin bread
棺材板
Also called: koaⁿ-chhâ-pang · guāncaibǎn · coffin board · 雞肝板 (chicken-liver board)
A hollowed, fried block of thick toast filled with a creamy stew and closed with a bread lid.
What it is
A thick slab of white bread, fried, hollowed out and filled with a creamy, thickened stew. The original filling is chicken liver, squid and vegetables; others use chicken, seafood, tripe, mushroom, black pepper beef or curry chicken. A piece of fried bread on top makes the 'coffin lid'.
Where it comes from
Tainan's Chikan shop is credited with inventing it, though sources differ on dates. The city tourism site says founder Hsu Liu-yi opened a snack stall in 1935, made a fried bread box filled with chicken liver after the war, and hung up the 'coffin board' sign in 1959 after a friend joked that it looked like a coffin. Wikipedia says the shop has been in Kangle Market since 1942 and that the dish became popular with US troops stationed in Taiwan.
How it is made
Thick white bread is deep-fried or toasted and hollowed out. The filling is seasoned, thickened with starch and spooned in, and a bread lid goes on top.
How to eat it
A snack, to be eaten while it is still hot.
In Tainan
Chikan (赤崁棺材板) in Kangle Market calls itself the original coffin bread shop.
Where to eat it in Tainan
Sources