Caozai guo

Caozai guo

A batch of chhú-khak-ké in a steamer
Origin
Alternative name(s)	Chau-a-ke, chu-khak-ke, shuchu guo
Place of origin	Fujian, China
Region or state	Taiwan, Hakka-speaking and Hokkien-speaking areas
Dish details
Main ingredient(s)	glutinous rice flour, sugar, ground cooked paste of Gnaphalium affine
Other information	Served during Qingming

Caozai guo
Chinese	草仔粿
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin cǎozaǐguǒ Min - Hokkien POJ chháu-á-ké
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	鼠麴粿
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin shǔqúguǒ Min - Hokkien POJ chhú-khak-ké

Caozai guo (Chinese: 草仔粿; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chháu-á-ké), or shuchu guo (Chinese: 鼠麴粿; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhú-khak-ké) is a type of kuih (粿) with a sweet dough made with glutinous rice flour, sugar, and a ground cooked paste of Gnaphalium affine (鼠麴) or Mugwort (艾草). The herbs give the dough and the finished kuih a unique flavor and brownish green color^[1]. The kuih is a found in Fujian, Hakka, Taiwanese cuisine.

The kuih is usually made in Qingming Festival as a celebratory food item. Although the kuih can be made from either herb, mugworts is more commonly used in making Hakka-style kuih.^[1][2]

The herb flavoured dough is commonly filled with ground meat, dried daikon, or sweet bean pastes. In Taiwan, a filling consisting of Dried shrimp, shitake mushrooms, dried and shredded daikon (菜脯), and deep-fried shallots is commonly used.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 連, 經綸, "鼠麴粿", Encyclopedia of Taiwan (行政院文化建設委員會), http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/web/content?ID=11861 
2. ^ 吳, 韻如, "草仔粿", Encyclopedia of Taiwan (行政院文化建設委員會), http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/web/content?ID=11835 

External links

• Related types of Taiwanese Kuih
• Photo guide for making Caozai guo
• Photo guide for making the filling