"Coffin bread" uses old ingredients, sparking curiosity among tourists visiting Taiwan.

"Coffin bread" first appeared in Taiwan (China) around the 1940s, created by a chef and restaurant owner named Hsu Liu-Yi, and quickly became one of the most popular street foods.

Originally, the dish was called "Shakaliba" (which literally means "entertainment center" in Japanese) and consisted of two main ingredients: chicken liver soup and crispy bread.

However, because the dish's shape closely resembles a coffin, diners gradually became accustomed to calling it that and named it "Gua Cai Ban" (which means coffin in Taiwanese).

The reason this dish has such a strange name is because the shape of the bread resembles a coffin, consisting of a square, box-shaped crust with a lid (Image: Internet).

It is precisely because of its strange and intriguing name that this bread has become so famous, attracting the attention of food lovers all over the world .

Accordingly, to create this unique dish, the chef will use a slice of bread 3-5cm thick, hollow out the inside, then bake or fry it until crispy, forming a rectangular block about the size of a palm.

Inside the coffin-shaped bread crust, a filling is made from a stew of chicken, seafood, beef offal, or mushrooms, along with other ingredients and a creamy sauce.

Inside the crispy "coffin" bread crust is usually a creamy seafood filling, which has later been modified with sweeter fillings to cater to the diverse tastes of diners (Photo: Sakaratrina).

Finally, the chef will use another slice of bread to cover it like a lid.

However, later on, due to the increasingly diverse needs and tastes of customers, the filling inside the "coffin" bread has also been modified according to many new recipes, such as sweet fillings made from fruits like bananas, peaches, mangoes, strawberries, etc.

The "coffin" sandwich may sound intimidating to diners at first, but once you try it, you'll experience the crispy crust combined with a rich, creamy filling, blended with other ingredients in a fragrant, flavorful sauce (Photo: Lataco, bentonions).

Not only is this dish impressive in its appearance, but its uniqueness also lies in its ingredients. Instead of using freshly baked bread, the chef uses stale bread so that the crust is dry, crispy, and tastier.

Conversely, freshly baked bread often has a high moisture content, which affects its quality and flavor after frying.

If you have the chance to travel to Taiwan, you can find and enjoy "coffin bread" in many places, from upscale restaurants to casual eateries. However, food connoisseurs say that trying this bread at night markets offers a more interesting experience.

Phan Dau

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/banh-mi-quan-tai-su-dung-nguyen-lieu-cu-du-khach-to-mo-khi-du-lich-dai-loan-2145335.html