They’re sweet, tasty, and are one of the most popular snacks in Taiwan, but unlike their beverage cousin — bubble or pearl milk tea, which has gained popularity worldwide — few people outside Taiwan know what red bean cakes are.
Thick round cakes slightly bigger than golf balls, they are made of waffle-style batter, which is poured into round-shaped molds and then filled with red bean paste. When the two sides of a mold are pressed together, they form an easily portable snack that tastes best when eaten right away.
But even people from China, which shares a similar culinary heritage as Taiwan, hadn’t seen the snacks until they came to Taiwan.
PHOTO: CNA
That’s about to change.
Red-bean cake makers are hoping to take the snacks overseas and turn them into one of Taiwan’s best known products.
Their campaign is getting some help from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is a huge red-bean cake fan, and has inadvertently raised the profile of the snacks since he took office in 2008.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
In a widely shown picture taken at a Double Ten National Day party in 2008, Ma was caught putting a red-bean cake in his mouth while his wife Chow Mei-ching (周美青) stared at him.
During Ma’s trip to visit allies in the South Pacific region, red-bean cakes were prepared for guests at a party aboard a Navy vessel.
And on many other occasions — such as ceremonies, media interviews or visits to markets, Ma has been treated to red-bean cakes.
Red-bean cakes are believed to have originated from a Japanese dessert known as “Imagawayaki.” The desserts in Japan, which were first baked over 200 years ago, are often found at Japanese festivals or supermarket food courts.
However, the desserts have become much more widely available in Taiwan, where they can be found being made fresh on many streets. Long lines are often found outside famous red-bean cake stores.
“Red-bean cakes have been successfully localized in Taiwan,” said Andy Wu (吳恩文), a food critic and radio host of a food program, adding that the flavor of the cakes is mostly determined by the quality of the red beans.
“Although red beans from Pingtung County’s Wandan Township (萬丹) in southern Taiwan are smaller than Japanese ones, they have a richer flavor,” Wu said.
An owner of a red-bean cake shop said there are more than 5,000 red-bean cake vendors in Taipei City and county alone.
As red-bean cakes are popular throughout the country, many people — especially middle-aged, unemployed people, want to step into the business. All they need is the right machine.
One of the most successful makers is Wu Chin-yang, a former billionaire who lost his fortune in a failed investment and began to sell red-bean cakes late last year.
Wu sells up to 1,000 red-bean cakes a day in Taipei, at NT$10 apiece.
“I got to make something different to succeed in fierce competition,” said Wu, whose shop is located near the largest computer market in the city.
He spent several months inventing a machine to produce the cakes in a larger size — at about 7cm in diameter and 100g in weight.
He also asked for help from a Japanese relative — who owns a traditional bakery in Japan — to create a unique recipe so the treats will not lose crispness even when they become cold.
People from the US, South Africa, New Zealand and Italy have been so taken by his product that they have expressed interests in buying his machines and learning from him so they can sell red-bean cakes in their countries.
Meanwhile, the growing number of Chinese tourists has not only brought red-bean cake vendors more business, but also made Wu eye the vast Chinese market.
A local bank has asked Wu about the possibility of working together. It said it was willing to offer loans to Wu to expand his business into China if he could set up 100 vendors. In return, it wants him to put its logo on his machines.
Chen Jia-tse, a Taiwanese businessman working in southern China, said the outlook for the red-bean cake business is bright, especially as most people in southern China like to eat sweets.
“It is absolutely doable to sell a red-bean cake at 3 yuan [US$0.44] there,” Chen said, adding that a small cup of Taiwanese pearl milk tea is priced at least 8 yuan — nearly 50 percent higher than that it is in Taiwan.
Victoria Bi, a Chinese manager from Shanghai, said red-bean cakes were the most delicious thing she ate during a recent two-week visit.
“I have never seen such desserts in China, I really want to bring some red-bean cakes back to Shanghai, “ Bi said, adding that the price was surprisingly low.
However, it seems there is not much room for vendors to raise red-bean cake prices.
“My customers almost all disappeared after I raised the price by 20 percent,” said an owner of a renowned store, who was forced to restore the original price.
Unlike bubble tea, which has inspired people overseas to buy the tapioca ingredients to make the beverages at home, red-bean cakes might face challenges on the global market.
For one thing, many Westerners are not used to eating sweet beans, as they are much more accustomed to lentils or other bean being cooked in salty dishes.
Andy Wu said red-bean cakes usually taste better when hot, so they may not be easy to promote as take-away items.
If these obstacles can be overcome, however, fans hope red-bean cakes can take the culinary world by storm.
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