What it is
Squid thick soup (魷魚羹, also written 魷魚焿) is a geng (羹), a broth thickened with starch until it clings to the spoon. The squid is dried squid soaked back to a plump, springy texture, then cut into strips. Many shops wrap the strips in fish paste. The bowl is sharpened with vinegar and finished with basil (九層塔) or coriander.
Where it came from
Dadaocheng (大稻埕) was a river port and a hub for the dried-goods trade, and imported dried squid was one of its main lines. At first it sold slowly. Dealers tried shredding it for soup, making squid floss and grilling pressed sheets brushed with syrup. They also passed dried squid to fishmongers to experiment with. Fishmongers began stirring strips of rehydrated squid into fish paste, as they already did for fish balls and cuttlefish soup, and squid thick soup followed.
A Dihua Street dealer, Li Wei-chung (李維中), known as the Squid King, mastered the soaking method and taught it to his buyers. The food columnist Pei Wei (裴偉) dates the soup's rise to the 1970s, when labourers and port crowds took to it, and thinks it probably began in this part of Taipei. One Wanhua shop, Liang Xi Hao (兩喜號), traces itself to a stall set up near Longshan Temple in 1921.
How it is made
Dried squid is soaked in water with food-grade baking soda until it swells. Most shops soak it once to keep the aroma, while some soak twice for thicker pieces. The squid is cut into strips and, at traditional shops, coated in fish paste. Broths differ. Cheng Lao Pai Yu Yu Ping (正老牌魷魚平) uses a clear white radish stock with dried day-lily flowers, gently sweet and sour, and adds plenty of basil before serving. Liang Xi Hao uses a fish-ball stock seasoned with vinegar, thickens it more and tops it with coriander.
How to eat it
A common partner is a plate of fried rice noodles (炒米粉) topped with bean sprouts, garlic and minced pork sauce. Some diners have yellow noodles in the soup. Black vinegar, white pepper and chilli sauce can be added to taste. Liang Xi Hao's mixed bowl (綜合焿) adds pork thick soup, squid-and-cuttlefish soup and fried fish crisps.
Around Taiwan
- North
- Wanhua and Dadaocheng have Taipei's densest cluster of squid soup shops. Cheng Lao Pai Yu Yu Ping opened in 1965 on Kangding Road, and Liang Xi Hao, now run by its third and fourth generations, sits in the Guangzhou Street night market.
