Super savory and perfect with rice: A traditional Hakka stir-fry dish that Taoyuan locals have grown up eating

Text & photos bySanga Sakan

The Zhongli Niujiazhuang near Taoyuan City Hall is a place many locals have been frequenting since childhood — I hadn’t been in over a decade. The last time I came by too late, they were about to close, so I ended up at Fuzi Beef (which was delicious). This time I arrived just after 5 pm and finally got to relive the old flavors.

In Zhongli, apart from the main branch of Niujiazhuang, there’s also an offshoot called Laosan Niujiazhuang. I’ve never tried either. After a quick online search, I found out that their menus differ slightly.

It wasn’t until this revisit that I truly appreciated how satisfyingly flavorful and rice-friendly these dishes are. The cooking method is very traditional — oily, fragrant, and heavily seasoned with a slight Hakka touch. The portions are generous, and the ingredients themselves are flavorful enough to complement the bold seasonings perfectly.

At first glance, I was a bit puzzled — okay, let’s call it Niujiazhuang’s version of Salted Chicken. It’s boneless thigh meat, firm and springy, with just the right amount of saltiness and aroma. It’s tasty on its own, but there’s also a special fermented bean paste on the table (probably for hot pot), which I randomly used to dip the chicken into — surprisingly fun.

Black tofu skin stir-fried with fermented bean paste — crispy, salty, and slightly tangy. My female companion said it’s her favorite dish here.

Heavily oiled, resulting in a slick, aromatic surface that’s very appetizing. The goose intestines are pretty good. It’s not the season for Chinese chives, so some pieces had less-than-ideal texture, but overall it’s still quite good.

Full of basil and garlic aroma, plus a hint of black pepper. The beef liver and heart taste great and are tender and juicy — really goes well with rice.

At first glance, it seems similar in flavor to the stir-fried tripe, but the sourness here is more intense, though not overly sharp. The intestines are probably pre-cooked before stir-frying, so they’re not as chewy. Flavor-wise, though, it’s still quite good.

I wasn’t that hungry at first, but the moment I started eating, my appetite was totally ignited. Only when everything was served did I realize — haha… I didn’t even order any beef. But ordering more would’ve been too much to finish. I’ll figure out when to come back again~

Zhongli Niujiazhuang (County Government Branch)
Address: No. 310, County Gov’t Rd., Taoyuan District, Taoyuan City
Business hours: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 4:30 PM – 8:30 PM (Closed on Mondays)

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