Taiwan Food Atlas

Xinzhuang Caobao (Herb Rice Cake)

Glutinous rice skin dyed green by mugwort — the seasonal memory of Xinzhuang Old Street
📍 New Taipei · Xinzhuang Old Street🍀 Collectible · Street food🔖 Mugwort glutinous rice skin · Qingming peak season · Savory and sweet varieties

Around Qingming, the herbal green scent of mugwort drifts through Xinzhuang Old Street. Glutinous rice dough is kneaded with mugwort juice until deep forest-green, then filled with shredded radish or red bean paste and stacked in bamboo steamers to wait. Caobao is sold year-round, but the ones made at Qingming carry the true weight of the season.

What is Xinzhuang Caobao

The skin is made from glutinous rice flour kneaded with mugwort (or cudweed) juice, giving it a deep forest-green color and a herbal scent. The savory filling centers on dried shredded radish (caifupu), crushed peanuts, and diced firm tofu — savory, slightly chewy. The sweet filling is mainly red bean paste, carrying a mild herbal sweetness from the glutinous skin. After steaming, the skin is springy; it firms slightly once cooled but is still edible. Some stalls reheat it briefly on an electric grill or charcoal fire, giving the skin a light char fragrance and a different texture altogether.

Cao'er guo (herb rice cake) has roots in both Hakka and Hokkien Qingming food traditions, and the vendors on Xinzhuang Old Street descend from the food customs brought by early Zhangzhou and Quanzhou migrants. Xinzhuang was the earliest commercial hub of the greater Taipei basin in the Qing dynasty, giving the old street a rich food heritage. Caobao and Xinzhuang's savory guangbing (sesame flatbread) belong to the same old-street pastry category, but are different products — guangbing is a baked wheat flatbread while caobao is a steamed glutinous rice cake; the two are often displayed side by side on stalls yet serve different flavor preferences.

How to eat it the local way

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Smell the mugwort before you eatAuthentic caobao's deep green skin carries a distinct herbal scent — hold it close and a gentle sniff reveals mugwort's cool fragrance. A version without that herb scent likely uses only food coloring, and the flavor will be noticeably less.
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One savory, one sweet — only then is it completeThe savory-filled version works as a light main snack; the sweet red bean version is good for satisfying a craving afterward. Trying both gives you the full picture of cao'er guo food culture.
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Go in the two weeks before Qingming for the freshest batchLate March through Qingming is peak season — stalls are stocked most fully and the herb ingredients are freshest. After the festival, the herb materials shorten in storage life and the flavor drops slightly.
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The toasted version is worth tryingIf a stall offers a charcoal or grill reheating option, try it — a slightly charred glutinous rice skin develops a subtle smoky fragrance that creates an entirely different texture experience from the soft steamed version.

Local knowledge

Credibility

  • Xinzhuang district food history and Qingming food customs field research both record the supply history of cao'er guo on Xinzhuang Old Street.
  • Cao'er guo has documented roots in both Hakka and Hokkien Qingming food customs in Taiwan; the Xinzhuang version has a local context shaped by migrant food culture.

Practical notes

  • Old-street stalls in Xinzhuang are spread out; caobao is usually found at pastry stalls or near market entrances — not every shop on the old street carries it. Keep an eye out for stall identification.
  • Crowds on Xinzhuang Old Street increase before Qingming on weekends. Visit on weekdays or in the morning to avoid the weekend afternoon rush.
  • Caobao keeps for about one to two days at room temperature, or three to four days refrigerated. If carrying it on a long journey, keep it chilled.

Sources: Xinzhuang district food history, Qingming food customs field research. Photos to be replaced with Dio's own shots.

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