Taiwan Food Atlas

Pig Blood Cake

A deep-brown glutinous rice cake on a bamboo skewer at Shilin Night Market — peanut powder is the soul
📍 Taipei · Shilin · Shilin Night Market⭐ Notable · Street Food🔖 Glutinous rice · Pig blood · Peanut powder · Night market

Pig blood cake is a traditional Taiwanese night market snack made by steaming glutinous rice with fresh pig blood, then skewering it and coating it in peanut powder, sweet soy paste, and cilantro. The deep-brown, springy rice cake carries a faint mineral note; coated in sweet, nutty peanut powder and savory paste, every bite is straightforward and satisfying. Shilin Night Market is the most common place where visitors to Taipei first encounter pig blood cake.

According to Taiwanese news reports, the first pig blood cake in Taiwan was created in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, when 12-year-old Huang Ching-yuan and friends near a slaughterhouse in Taipei's Datong (Dalongdong) district mixed discarded pig blood with glutinous rice and steamed it. Shilin Market, the precursor to today's Shilin Night Market — the dish's best-known tourist venue — was established in 1909 during the Japanese colonial era and formally opened in 1915; it is now one of Taipei's largest night markets.

What is Pig Blood Cake

Pig blood cake is made by mixing glutinous rice with fresh pig blood and steaming the mixture into a block. The pig blood gives it a deep-brown color and distinctive aroma; once steamed, the texture falls somewhere between a glutinous rice cake and a blood sausage — slightly elastic on the outside, soft and dense inside. To eat it, you push a bamboo skewer through, dip it in sweet soy paste (savory-sweet), roll it evenly through finely ground peanut powder, then top with chopped cilantro. Three layers of flavor — savory paste, nutty fragrance, fresh herbal note — combine to give pig blood cake its complete taste profile.

Eating pig blood is unremarkable in Minnan culinary tradition. Taiwan's version — using glutinous rice as the base, steaming it into blocks, and selling it on skewers from market stalls — is a locally developed product of the highly evolved night market vendor culture. Shilin Night Market took shape during the Japanese colonial era and expanded after World War II into Taipei's largest tourist night market. Pig blood cake became one of the symbolic items through which visitors discover Taiwan's night market culture, while locals regard it as an ordinary late-night snack.

How to eat it like a local

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Roll the peanut powder on evenlyThe correct technique is to slowly roll the whole skewer through the peanut powder tray until all four sides are fully coated. A bite that misses peanut powder loses the full flavor balance.
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Cilantro is optional — just say soCilantro is traditional, but if you don't enjoy it, simply tell the vendor to leave it off. The flavor remains complete without it — no need to feel awkward about asking.
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Eat it fresh while it's hotOnce pig blood cake cools, the texture becomes noticeably harder and the experience suffers. Buy it and eat as you walk — don't let it sit.
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Take small bites to appreciate the springinessGlutinous rice steamed at high density is chewy and compact. Too large a bite overrides the peanut fragrance. Small, slow bites let you taste both the rice and the layering of pig blood cake.

Local knowledge

Verified endorsements

  • Pig blood cake preparation: glutinous rice and pig blood are mixed and steamed into blocks, skewered on bamboo, dipped in sweet soy paste, rolled in peanut powder, and topped with cilantro — a traditional representative street snack at Taiwan night markets.
  • Shilin Night Market is Taipei's largest tourist night market, listed by the Taipei City Government as a recommended attraction, drawing large numbers of domestic and international visitors daily.

Visiting tips

  • Shilin Night Market is extremely crowded on weekends. Weekday evenings are recommended; peanut powder stalls typically start opening from around 5 p.m.
  • Pig blood cake has a distinctive aroma. First-timers may want to start with a stall that has a lighter flavor profile; some stalls offer chili sauce on request.
  • MRT Jiantan Station exit leads directly to the market. Parking is difficult; public transit is strongly recommended.

Source: field survey data on Taiwan night market food culture. Photos to be replaced with Dio's on-site shots.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is pig blood cake made of?

Pig blood cake is made by steaming glutinous rice mixed with fresh pig blood, then coating it in sweet soy paste, peanut powder, and cilantro.

Is the peanut powder coating essential?

Peanut powder is central to the traditional way of eating pig blood cake; most stalls roll it on by default, though you can ask a vendor to adjust it if you prefer less.

When did pig blood cake become associated with Shilin Night Market?

Pig blood cake first appeared in Taipei's Datong district in 1945 after World War II, and as night market vendor culture spread, Shilin Night Market became the most common place for visitors to first encounter it.

Sources

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