Rice dumplings

If you’ve lived in Taiwan long enough, you’ve probably eaten or, at the very least, seen some rice dumplings. They usually look like this before unwrapping:

Inside is a delicious little rice “hot pocket” stuffed with a variety of goods, usually meat and some vegetables.

They really are quite good. Mrs. Expatriate’s mother usually gets them from friends who make them by hand. My favorites have fatty pork inside them.

Anyway, I was going through Gukeng one day (a small town in Yunlin county) and happened to notice an old man and woman hard at work making string. Naturally curious, I asked them what they were doing. They told me that they were making string for rice dumplings. It was pretty amazing that it’s still made by hand. Here’s a few pictures and a video of them working.