Dishes
Milkfish skin soup
虱目魚皮湯
Also called: 魚皮湯 · 虱目魚皮 (milkfish skin)
Strips of milkfish skin with a little flesh attached, served in a clear broth at breakfast.
Photo: 迷惘的人生, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: bryan... from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: bryan... from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0What it is
Milkfish skin, cut with a thin layer of flesh still attached, in a light broth. The skin is soft and delicate. Some shops stuff it with fish paste for a springier bite, and some serve the skin dressed with braised pork sauce instead.
How it is made
Shops buy fresh milkfish daily and cut the skin away with a thin layer of meat. Wang Shih in Anping makes its broth from onion and fish, chicken and pork bones.
How to eat it
Come at breakfast. Shops open early, and popular items such as milkfish intestines sell out first. Braised pork rice or congee makes a good partner.
In Tainan
Wang Shih is run by a former milkfish farmer and has fish shipped from Qigu in the early hours.
Where to eat it in Tainan
開元路無名虱目魚Kaiyuan Road No Name Milkfish
A no-name morning shop by a big tree on Kaiyuan Road. The favourite is fish skin soup stuffed with fish paste, and the milkfish intestines sell out early.
王氏魚皮Wang Shih Fish Skin Dishes
An early-opening Anping shop run by a former milkfish farmer. It is best known for milkfish skin with a thin layer of flesh, served in soup or over braised pork rice.
大勇街無名鹹粥Dayong Street No Name Congee
Brothy Tainan-style congee with milkfish, oysters and fried garlic, plus milkfish skin dishes.
阿興虱目魚A Xing Shi Mu Yu
Breakfast at this milkfish specialist means fish-head soup, pan-fried milkfish belly and lard-and-garlic rice.
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