Coffin Bread
Have you ever eaten a coffin? Neither have I, but I did have some coffin bread.
Coffin bread is an original Taiwanese dish. It was created in Tainan, my mother's hometown. Tainan is in the south of Taiwan (geographically similar to Camden in New Jersey). Coffin bread was the first suggestion my cousin's friends came up with when trying to determine something unique to Tainan. However, I would not suggest going to get some coffin bread at the hottest time of day in the summer.
Coffin Bread
The inventor of coffin bread was a snack shop owner in Tainan. He filled a thick slice of toast with chicken liver and called it chicken liver bread. It quickly became famous that everyone who visited town would try the dish. A group of archeologists stopped by to try the dish and remarked that the bread looked like a coffin. He liked this description and changed the name of his dish to coffin bread, adding to the curiosity of all future visitors.
Of course, coffin bread rarely contains chicken liver anymore. The deep-fried thick slice of bread is carved out and filled with some type of chowder. Chicken, pork, or seafood (after all, Taiwan is an island) may be in the chowder. Healthier versions have potatoes and vegetables only.
Coffin bread was originally square in shape. Rectangular coffin bread has recently become more popular. It makes the dish resemble a coffin even more and the smaller size makes it an ideal snack while walking around the many night markets in Taiwan. It is cooler at night, so people tend to crave something warm to eat.
Dishes similar to coffin bread are stuffed french toast and soup served in bread bowls. After a day of skiing, my family loves to go inside and order some clam chowder in a bread bowl.
Since many Chinese people are superstitious and will not go near coffin bread, some shop owners use a homophone that translates to titles and riches bread, wishing customers success in the workplace.
Either way, coffin bread is a great street snack with an eerily memorable name!
