Dàcháng Bāo Xiǎocháng

大腸包小腸

Small Sausage in Large Sausage

Taiwanese Hot Dog

Taiwan

Regional

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A Taiwanese night-market sandwich with no bread at all – a grilled glutinous-rice sausage is split lengthwise to act as the bun, and a smaller, sweet Taiwanese pork sausage is tucked inside. It is finished with thick soy sauce paste, raw garlic, pickled mustard greens, pickled cucumber, cilantro, Thai basil and crushed peanut, so every bite is chewy, snappy, sharp and crunchy at once.

Dàcháng Bāo Xiǎocháng – sausage in a grilled rice-sausage carrier

Photo: Venturists

History

Small sausage in large sausage – in Chinese Dàcháng Bāo Xiǎocháng, literally 'large intestine wraps small intestine' – is described as a snack sausage sandwich invented in Taiwan in the late 20th century, in National Chung Hsing University's Taiwan Night Market Snacks (2013), cited by Wikipedia. A Taichung food guide from 2004 appears in that work's reference list, and the style is described as popularised in the 1990s.

Its origin is contested, and no single birthplace is settled. One account traces it to a Hakka working snack from Hualien, in eastern Taiwan. Another credits its formalisation at Fengjia Night Market in Taichung, where the Guan Zhi-Lin stall has operated since the late 1990s – a guide to the market notes that whether the snack was truly invented there or merely perfected there is still debated, and the stall still draws a queue every night.

What is not debated is the form. A segment of Taiwanese pork sausage is wrapped in a slightly bigger, fatter sticky-rice sausage and usually served chargrilled, and deluxe versions in night markets across Taiwan add condiments such as pickled mustard greens, pickled cucumber, garlic, hot peppers, wasabi and thick soy sauce paste. The same name and the same core build are used by unrelated stalls in Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taipei today.

Make it at home

Recipe in progress — we’re still checking the details.

About this recipe

We’re still checking the ingredients and method against published recipes. Details may change.

We haven’t kitchen-tested or finished checking this recipe yet.

Ingredients

Glutinous-rice sausages (sticky rice in casing) – the 'large sausage' that replaces the bun
Taiwanese pork sausages, smaller and sweet – the 'small sausage'
Thick soy sauce paste
Raw garlic, sliced
Pickled mustard greens, chopped
Pickled cucumber, sliced
Fresh cilantro leaves
Thai basil leaves
Crushed peanut
Chilli or wasabi, to taste (deluxe versions)

Instructions

Grill the glutinous-rice sausages over medium heat, turning often, until the outside is crisp and lightly charred and the rice inside is hot and chewy.
Grill the Taiwanese pork sausages alongside until cooked through, browned and snappy.
Split each rice sausage lengthwise, taking care not to cut all the way through, so it opens like a bun.
Brush the cut rice with thick soy sauce paste.
Tuck one pork sausage into each split rice sausage.
Top with sliced raw garlic, pickled mustard greens, pickled cucumber, cilantro, Thai basil and crushed peanut, plus chilli or wasabi if you like.
Serve at once, hot, while the rice casing is still crisp outside and chewy inside.

Local favorites

Where to Try It

Every restaurant below is in this style's home turf – the place it comes from – and its own menu or website confirms it serves the style today. This isn't a 'near you' list: origin is the reason each place was chosen.