Keelung Red-Braised Eel Thick Soup | Keelung Signature Dish

At the entrance to Ai-Si Road Night Market, the Zun Ji Red-Braised Eel sign has hung in the alley for half a century. Sea eel pieces marinated in red fermented rice are coated in sweet potato starch, dropped into hot oil, fried until the skin turns golden-red and fragrant, then poured into a pot of steaming broth. A customer sits down and a bowl of vivid orange-red eel soup arrives: the eel meat is crisp and tender, the broth carrying a tangy-sweet aroma from the red fermented rice. This is the flavor that has been served on Ai-Si Road in Keelung since 1965, unchanged across three generations.

What is red-braised eel thick soup?

Red-braised eel thick soup is a signature thick-broth dish from the Ai-Si Road area of Keelung. Fresh sea eel is cut into pieces, marinated in red fermented rice (hong zao), rice wine, sugar, and soy sauce, then coated in sweet potato starch or tapioca starch and deep-fried until the exterior is crisp and the inside remains tender. The fried pieces are dropped into a broth simmered from flat fish, dried shrimp, and shiitake, thickened with tapioca starch. The dish is finished with a scattering of cilantro or basil. The broth is golden-red, tangy-sweet with a fermented rice aroma; the eel is crisp outside and tender within, with the texture of fried food set against the warmth of a thick soup. Unlike Tainan's red snapper thick soup or Hsinchu's squid thick soup, the defining element in Keelung's version is the red fermented rice — its unique fermented aroma is unmistakable and recognizable, a trace of Fuzhou culinary heritage left in Keelung's port.

Why Ai-Si Road? Ai-Si Road is one of the early night-market districts in Keelung, a second street-food cluster beyond Miaokou. Zun Ji Red-Braised Eel was founded in 1965 by the first generation using a Fuzhou-derived adapted method, and has passed through three generations since — the long-established representative of red-braised eel thick soup on Ai-Si Road. Keelung has a history of Fuzhou immigrant communities, and the use of red fermented rice is a core marker of Fuzhou cooking. Old Miaokou shops such as "Guangdong Shantou" and "Tian Sheng Pu" have also offered red-braised eel at times, but Zun Ji's focused and consistent version on Ai-Si Road has earned its place as the local benchmark. As one of Taiwan's main sea eel producing areas, Keelung has a stable supply of fresh eel — a reason this dish has maintained its quality for sixty years.

How to eat it like a local

🥄

Eat while the coating is still crispFried eel that has been sitting in the broth too long goes soft. Finish within 5 minutes of it arriving at the table for the full crisp-outside, tender-inside experience.

🌶️

Add a little white vinegar to accent the fermented rice aromaA small amount of white vinegar from the table brings out the distinctive red fermented rice fragrance with a light acidity — don't use dark vinegar, it overwhelms the flavor.

🍜

Can be paired with noodles or riceThe thick soup is good on its own, or you can add rice noodles, oil noodles, or pour it over rice. Keelung locals usually order something on the side.

🥢

Mind the bonesSea eel has many fine bones — pick up pieces slowly and chew carefully rather than swallowing large bites. Don't risk a bone in the throat.

Local knowledge

Verified references (no sponsored content)

Zun Ji Red-Braised Eel was founded in 1965 and has passed through three generations — the established old shop on Ai-Si Road.
Red fermented rice is a characteristic of Fuzhou cooking; the history of Fuzhou immigrants in Keelung is documented.
Ai-Si Road is a second night-market cluster beyond Miaokou, home to a concentration of long-running stalls.

Practical tips

Ai-Si Road and Miaokou are in different locations — don't go to Miaokou to look for this dish.
Sea eel has many fine bones — take extra care with children and older adults.
The night market gets livelier after 5 p.m.; some stalls are not open during the day.

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.

🗺️ View on the map ← All Keelung dishes