cinavu — Taiwan

Cinavu is a wrapped parcel built from a paste of taro or millet flour spread around a piece of seasoned pork, then folded and tied inside broad shell-ginger leaves before being boiled or steamed until firm. Unwrapped, it resembles a dense, savoury dumpling; the leaf gives the paste a faint herbal scent as it cooks. It is reported from Indigenous communities of the mountains of southern Taiwan, where it appears at gatherings and as everyday food alike, prepared in family kitchens rather than commercial ones. Millet and taro have long been staple crops in these communities, and cinavu is one of several dishes built around them. To prepare it, taro is boiled and mashed, or millet is ground, then kneaded with a little water into a firm, pliable paste. A portion of the paste is flattened by hand, a piece of pork belly or shoulder, seasoned simply with salt, is placed in the centre, and the paste is folded over to enclose it completely. The parcel is wrapped in one or two shell-ginger leaves, tied with a strip of the same plant or with string, then boiled or steamed for close to an hour until the paste turns firm and the meat is cooked through. What distinguishes this dish from other steamed leaf parcels of the region is the paste itself, made from taro or millet rather than rice, which gives it a denser, slightly grainy bite, and the specific leaf used for wrapping, which is not interchangeable with banana leaf without changing the aroma. Households vary the ratio of taro to millet and the amount of pork used, and some add small dried shrimp or other fillings, without one version being set apart from the rest.