刈包

choi

Robyn Eckhardt, Consider the Gua Bao. Scene Asia, Aug 23, 2013.
blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/08/23/consider-the-gua-bao/

My comment:
(a) gua bao 刈包 (in Taiwanese/Hoklo pronunciation)--or translated to Mandarin as 割包.  

I did not see or taste it while in Taiwan.

(b) "non-Thais are likely to know the country’s beloved hot and sour shrimp soup as tom yam gong"

tom yum
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_yum
(a spicy clear soup typical in Laos and Thailand)

Quote:

"Literally, the words 'tom yum' are derived from two Tai words: 'tom' and 'yam.'  'Tom' refers to boiling process, while 'yam' refers to a kind of Lao and Thai spicy and sour salad. Thus, 'tom yum' is a Lao and Thai hot and sour soup.

section 1 Selected types: "Tom yum goong or tom yam kung, the version of the dish most popular among tourists, is made with prawns as the main ingredient.

(c) "After all, the Taiwanese specialty is delicious enough to have inspired numerous variations abroad. * * * But the gua bao is Taiwanese through and through. Its filling of soy-sauce-stewed pork, reminiscent of Hokkien dish hong bak, and preserved mustard — a staple in China south of the Yangtze River — speak of the island’s large Hokkien and Hakka populations."
(i) hong bak  封肉  (which definitely is not Hoklo 閩南語)
(ii) For preserved mustard, see meigan cai  梅干菜/霉乾菜
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigan_cai
(Chinese mustard)
(iii) For Chinese mustard 芥菜, see Brassica juncea
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica_juncea
(The plant appears in some form in African, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and soul food cuisine)

(d) "More than just an earthly delight, gua bao is offered during the final annual worship of the Earth God, Taiwan’s most ubiquitous deity. At end-of-the-year celebrations employers give the clamshell-shaped specialty, which with its overflowing filling recalls a purse stuffed with money, to staff. Gua bao is so rooted in Taiwanese culture it even has a nickname: hu yao zhu, or Tiger Bites Pig."
(i) 土地公
(ii) 虎咬豬