Where it comes from
Created by Hsu Liu-i in 1942 — originally called 'chicken liver board' (鸡肝板), renamed coffin bread by a regular customer comparing the appearance. The dish now defines Tainan night-market culture.
On the plate
Crackling crispy fried bread shell holding a steamy creamy stew; the bread soaks up gravy as you eat, blurring the boundary between bowl and contents.
How it works
Frying the bread first creates a hard waterproof shell that holds liquid filling without dissolving. The flour-thickened bechamel-style sauce has the right viscosity to stay in the cavity without leaking through the bread base.
Variations
Seafood filling — replace chicken with shrimp and squid. Curry filling for a Japanese-inflected version.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓35 min active · 15 min waiting
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓- 15 min
Take 4 thick (5 cm) slices of white sandwich bread; cut a rectangular lid from the top, leaving a hollow inside walls.
- 28 min
Deep-fry bread in 180 °C oil 4 min, flipping, until golden and crisp all over.
- 33 min
Hollow out interior of each (and the lid) leaving 1 cm walls.
- 45 min
Make filling: sauté 1 chopped onion in butter; add 200 g diced chicken; brown 4 min.
- 52 min
Add 50 g peas + 50 g diced carrot + 50 g mushroom + 2 tbsp flour; stir 1 min.
- 68 min
Pour in 250 ml milk + 1 tbsp chicken bouillon; simmer 8 min until thick creamy sauce.
- 72 min
Spoon hot filling into each toast cavity; place lid on top; serve immediately.
