Rou Geng

Geng — a starch-thickened soup — is an old Chinese form, and in Taiwan it became one of the most common ways to sell a cheap, filling bowl at markets and night stalls. The defining trick of 肉羹 is the fish-paste coat: wrapping each strip of seasoned pork in surimi before cooking stretches a modest amount of meat, adds a springy bite, and keeps the lean pork tender in the soup. The form spans the island with local variants — Changhua, Beigang, and others each claim a style — and sits beside its siblings 鱿鱼羹 (squid), 花枝羹 (cuttlefish), and 香菇肉羹 (with shiitake). It is eaten on its own, poured over rice as 肉羹饭, or with noodles as 肉羹面.

The broth is thick and glossy, clinging to the spoon, savory-sweet with a sharp lift of black vinegar and raw garlic that arrives at the end. Each pork strip is springy on the outside from its fish-paste coat and tender within; shreds of bamboo shoot add a crisp, fresh snap against the smooth soup. A scatter of white pepper and cilantro keeps the richness from sitting heavy.

Two starch effects carry the dish. First, the fish-paste wrap: surimi is fish protein washed and worked with salt until the muscle protein myosin dissolves and cross-links into an elastic gel when heated, so the coat sets springy and binds tightly to the pork. Second, the broth is thickened with a slurry of sweet-potato or tapioca starch — the granules absorb water and swell into a smooth, translucent sol, giving the soup body and a glossy sheen and suspending the solids so they don't sink. The pork is dredged and poached gently rather than boiled hard, setting the fish coat without toughening the meat; the black vinegar and garlic go in off the heat so their volatile aromatics aren't cooked away.