Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Nanjing, China
      Weekend Trip to Nanjing China
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
      Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
    • Wakaran Hong Kong
      Wakaran Wan Chai
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    Home » Recipe » Meat » Pork

    Taiwanese "Meat ball" (Bawan)

    Published: Sep 28, 2009 · Modified: Oct 27, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    IMG_1431

    Bawan is the quintessential Taiwanese street snack. Steamed or fried, it literally means "meat ball" and is a dumpling of sorts filled with meat, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. The semi-translucent chewy outside is made with rice flour and sweet potato flour, giving it this unique texture that's super fun to eat.

    Taiwanese-style Bawan
    This recipe is adapted from Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan by members of NATWA
    For a printer-friendly version of the recipe please click here.

    Ingredients:
    Long Grain Rice FlourOuter Covering
     8 T long grain rice flour (see picture at right)
    12 T sweet potato flour
    5 ⅔ cups water
    1 lb sweet potato flour

    Filling
    2 T vegetable oil
    2 bunches of scallions, chopped

    11 dried black mushrooms
    1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced (or ground pork)
    1 can (8 oz) bamboo shoots (sliced)
    1 lb shrimp (about 22)
    3 T soy sauce
    1 T sugar
    Sweet Chili Sauce1 T salt
    1 teaspoon pepper
    Sauce (sweet rice paste)
    1 cup long grain rice flour
    3 cups waster
    ½ cup sugar

    Garnishes
    Cilantro, chopped
    Soy sauce
    optional: sweet chili sauce (see picture at right)

    Precooking preparations:
    1.  If you purchased fresh shrimp, devein the shrimp, remove heads and tails.  I bought one pound of raw frozen shrimp, so I just defrosted it and removed the tails.

    2.  Soak dried mushrooms in hot water until soft (about 10 minutes), and cut each one in half

    Making the Covering
    1.  In a large pot, combine the long grain rice flour, 12 T of sweet potato flour, and water.
    2.  Cook at high heat, stirring CONTINUALLY!
    3. After it has come to a boil, remove from heat and let cool.
    4.  Add 1 lb of sweet potato flour and mix thoroughly.  Set aside.

    Making the filling
    1.  Heat wok at high heat and add the vegetable oil.
    2.  Stir fry the scallions and the mushrooms briefly for about a minute.
    3.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry until the meat appears done (shrimp turns pink, pork is opaque)
    4.  Add flavoring agents (soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper).  Mix thoroughly

    BawanCollage1 
    From top left, left to right: 1. Chopped scallions & mushroom 2. Saute scallions & mushrooms first in hot wok!  3.  Add meat and bamboo 4. First step in making the bawans - put on a cabbage or napa leaf!

    Constructing the Bawan
    You have 22 pieces of shrimp, 22 mushroom halves.  This is no accident.  You will fill each dough piece with one piece of shrimp, one mushroom, and a little bit of bamboo and pork. Warning, this stuff is really sticky!  It sort of has the consistency of gooey paste.  I find it's a bit easier to work with if you hold the bawan on top of a cabbage leaf (see pictures above).  It's easier to handle the gooey paste if you wet your fingers constantly.  I ended up putting a plate full of water nearby just so I could constantly wet my fingers.

    Bawan Collage 2From top left, left to right: 1. Second step in making bawans - add filling! 2. Third step - cover with dough 3.  White, gloppy paste-like bawan covering 4.  Bawans resting, not yet steamed

    1. Put a circular dollop of dough onto a leaf. Using wet fingers, push in the middle a bit for the filling.
    2. Add the filling (1 shrimp, ½ mushroom, etc)
    3. Put another smaller dollop of dough on top
    4. Using wet fingers, try to pinch the edges together to form a ball
    5. Set aside

    Cooking the Bawans
    Steam bawans in a 2-tiered steamer.  Ideally, you would have a multi-layer Chinese bamboo steamer.  However, if you don't, a normal steamer works fine too.  I just lined the steamer with cabbage leaves and placed the bawans on top.

    Steam for about 10 minutes.

    Steaming Bawans

     Bawans about to be steamed  . . . nooooo!!!! Save us!



    Making the Sweet Rice Paste Sauce
    1.  combine long grain rice flour, water, and sugar in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil (remember to stir!) and then remove from heat. 

    Garnishing the Bawans
     For each bawan, add a bit of soy sauce (about 1 tsp), cover with some sweet white paste sauce, and garnish with cilantro.  If you have access to sweet chile sauce, you can use that as well.

    Enjoy!

    Bawan
    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Appetizer

    • Miso Eggplant
      Miso Glazed Eggplant -Nasu Dendaku
    • Japanese Potato Salad
      Japanese Potato Salad
    • Instant Pot Chinese Pumpkin Cake [Pressure Cooker] Plus VIDEO!
    • Nasi Lemak - Malaysia's national dish

    Recent Posts

    • Weekend Trip to Nanjing China June 20, 2025
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong June 17, 2025
    • Wakaran Wan Chai June 15, 2025
    • Godenya Hong Kong (revisited) June 12, 2025
    • The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star) June 6, 2025
    • Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai June 2, 2025
    • Always Joy Hong Kong May 29, 2025
    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025

    Trackbacks

    1. Snack Attack: Taiwan’s Best Street Food – backpackerlee says:
      February 23, 2016 at 7:12 pm

      […] Made of sweet potato starch and rice flour, Ba Wan (肉圓) is a kind of oversized dumpling, that is often filled with egg or meat (especially pork) and then coated in thin gravy. The resulting juiciness is one of the Taiwan’s most popular dishes! Make your own Ba Wan at home! […]

      Log in to Reply
    2. A 227-Day Borscht! Received from China, France, Russia, Sweden, & Taiwan – The Snail Mail says:
      October 3, 2016 at 10:51 am

      […] stamps show the delicious Taiwanese street food: Ba-wan, stinky tofu, and sugar […]

      Log in to Reply
    3. Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken | Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Recipe | Eat the Love says:
      May 30, 2018 at 5:22 pm

      […] Soup Steamy Kitchen’s Taiwanese Noodles with Meat Sauce Recipe Tiny Urban Kitchen’s Taiwanese “Meat Ball” (Bawan) Rasa Malaysia’s Taiwanese Three Cup […]

      Log in to Reply
    4. Cheng Banzhang Taiwanese Delicacy Lai Chi Kok - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      June 27, 2019 at 2:02 pm

      […] profiles that slant towards Taiwanese favorites such as Taiwanese meat sauce over rice, “bawan” (meat filled glutinous rice dumplings), and Taiwanese grilled […]

      Log in to Reply
    5. Taiwanese Meatball Dumplings – Vegan Bawan – James Talon Art says:
      July 15, 2021 at 1:43 pm

      […] at the beginning of the film, it always stuck out to me as iconic. It is speculated to be Bawan, a type of Taiwanese meat ball dumpling. I definitely wanted to make it, but there are hardly any […]

      Log in to Reply
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen