At Stall No. 5 on Ren-San Road at Miaokou, a large pot of golden thick soup bubbles steadily. Dip in a ladle and strands of snow-white crab leg meat rise to the surface. The Wu Ji cook scoops the soup with one hand and portions out the oil rice with the other. Customers sit, and the soup spoon goes in first — crab flavor and tangy-sweet thick soup sliding down together. "Crab thick soup with oil rice" is the fixed pairing at Miaokou, a combination you can almost never find in any other Taiwanese city — only here in Keelung.
What is crab thick soup?
Crab thick soup is a thick-broth dish unique to Keelung Miaokou. Fresh crab leg meat (some versions include crab roe) is coated in a light batter, simmered in broth, and thickened with tapioca starch to a rich, velvety consistency. The broth is slightly sour and sweet, with the crab's natural flavor amplified by flat fish and dried shrimp among the ingredients. Common additions include shredded bamboo shoots, shiitake, wood ear mushroom, and egg ribbons — the soup turns a clear, luminous golden color. Unlike the pork roll soup or squid thick soup common in Tainan or Taichung, the starring ingredient in Keelung's version is crab. The flavor is reminiscent of a Cantonese-style hot-and-sour soup but sweeter and without the chili, a port-city style that sits between southern Fujianese thick soups and Cantonese-style broths. The traditional pairing is a bowl of oil rice — the salty, savory rice and the tangy-sweet soup balance each other.
Why does this dish exist? The first generation of Wu Ji was trained as a banquet chef. In those days, shark fin soup was the premium dish at catered banquets. Later, as the cost and ethical concerns around shark fin grew, the family substituted crab leg meat for shark fin and developed the thick soup served at Miaokou. Keelung City Government tourism materials list "butter crab" as one of Keelung's signature dishes, and crab thick soup is an extension of that crab tradition — with Wu Ji at Stall No. 5 being essentially the only place offering it at Miaokou. As an important northern Taiwan fishing port, Keelung has an ample and relatively affordable crab supply, turning what would be a premium dish in other cities into an accessible street-food item at Miaokou.
How to eat it like a local
Local knowledge
Verified references (no sponsored content)
- Wu Ji's founding generation was a banquet chef — the substitution of crab leg meat for shark fin is historically grounded.
- The Keelung City Government lists "butter crab" as a Keelung signature dish, giving the crab category official recognition.
- Crab thick soup is available at almost no other Miaokou stall — rare and distinctive.
Practical tips
- The amount of crab leg meat fluctuates with the season and catch — don't argue with the stall if quantities are lower on a busy weekend.
- Oil rice is rich and salty on its own; it can feel heavy eaten alone. Always have it with the thick soup.
- Stall No. 5 is in the middle section of Miaokou — don't go looking for a street address number.
Information compiled from the Keelung City Government Department of Tourism and City Marketing and large-volume public reviews, with sponsored content filtered out. Photos to be replaced with channel-exclusive material after Dio's on-site shoot.