This young gal sold zhongzi, too, but it was her yutou gao ($2) that attracted attention from the moment she set out her wares. The body of this steamed "cake" is composed of rice flour and taro (or, elsewhere, yam); the top is dressed with dried shrimp, sausage, peanut, and spring onion. Ideally you'd enjoy your yutou gao immediately after it had been steamed; it can also be eaten cold or panfried just before serving. A little chili sauce never hurts.
Unlike the older lady I've referred to as a streetside "small eats" vendor, and who is a semi-regular along the Grand St. stoopline, this younger lady has appeared just once that I've seen.
Taro cake vendor
Grand St. (Elizabeth St.-Bowery, south side), Manhattan
The Cantonese romanization (jyutping) of taro cake would be wu6 tau2 gou1. Wu6 gau2 is taro and gou1 refers to pudding/cake.
Posted by: Ana Chiu | May 12, 2012 at 11:33 PM
Thanks for writing. I used the romanization that best reflected what (I thought) the vendor was saying; "yutou gao," as you may know, is also cited in the literature. If I come across this young gal again, I'll ask her to write the name — her English is good enough — and we'll see if her cake goes by yutou gao, wutau gou, or something else entirely!
Posted by: Dave Cook | May 13, 2012 at 08:49 AM
yup! 芋頭餻, yùtou gāo in mandarin
Posted by: peter | May 14, 2012 at 01:36 AM
This is great! It doesn't get better than mobile food. Check out New York City's awesome website foodtoeat.com that allows users to order delivery or pick-up from FOOD TRUCKS and RESTAURANTS!
Posted by: Kevin | May 21, 2012 at 01:02 PM