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''Ageh'' () or ''Tamsui ageh'' () is a speciality food originating from
A dissection of a-gei from two well known vendors
Taiwanese cuisine Culture in New Taipei Stuffed dishes Taiwanese noodle dishes {{Taiwan-cuisine-stub
''Ageh'' () or ''Tamsui ageh'' () is a speciality food originating from Tamsui District
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
of New Taipei City
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
and consists of a piece of fried tofu
Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...
, stuffed with cooked Cellophane noodles, and sealed with surimi, which is widely sold by vendors in the district. The name ageh was derived from ''aburaage
is a Japanese food product made from twice-fried soybeans. It is produced by cutting tofu into thin slices and deep-frying them first at 110–120 °C, and then again at 180–200 °C. ''Abura-age'' is often used to wrap , and is added to miso ...
'' (, ), a fried and stewed Japanese tofu packet from which the ageh is made.
Culture
The ageh was reportedly created in 1965 by Iông-tēⁿ Gím-bûn (楊鄭錦文), who combined various food items sold at her Chin-lí street (真理街) food stall to sell as a new food item. This original ageh consisted of fried tofu that has been emptied of its center, stuffed with cellophane noodles cooked in stewed ground pork, its opening sealed and covered with a carrot and surimi mixture, and then steamed to completion. The dish incorporates several techniques from other dishes, including the stuffing of abura-age in the manner of '' inarizushi'', the capping of tofu with surimi to make Yong Tau Foo, and the use of cellophane noodles as a filling for many stuffed pastries. The individual a-gei are served with either a plain soy-based or a sweet chili sauce. A-gei is commonly eaten with a bowl of stuffedfish ball
Fish balls are rounded meat balls made from fish paste which are then boiled or deep fried. Similar in composition to fishcake, fish balls are often made from fish mince or surimi, salt, and a culinary binder such as tapioca flour, corn, or p ...
soup in the winter and a glass of cold soy milk
Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
in the summer.
Vendors
Well known vendors of a-gei in Tamsui include: *Original store a-gei (老店阿給) *Three sisters a-gei (三姊妹阿給) *Wenhua a-gei (文化阿給)See also
*Taiwanese cuisine
Taiwanese cuisine (, Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄌㄧㄠˋㄌㄧˇ, or , Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄘㄞˋ) has several variations. The earliest known cuisines of Taiwan are that of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. Over hundred years of histor ...
* Iron egg
* Tea egg
Tea egg is a typical Chinese savory food commonly sold as a snack, in which a boiled egg is cracked slightly and then boiled again in tea, and sauce or spices. It is also known as marble egg because cracks in the egg shell create darkened ...
* List of stuffed dishes
This is a list of stuffed dishes, comprising dishes and foods that are prepared with various fillings and stuffings. Some dishes are not actually stuffed; the added ingredients are simply spread atop the base food, as one cannot truly stuff an oy ...
References
External links
A dissection of a-gei from two well known vendors
Taiwanese cuisine Culture in New Taipei Stuffed dishes Taiwanese noodle dishes {{Taiwan-cuisine-stub