Sinwan Steamed Buns Introduction
Tsai Chong-Ming (born in 1951) was originally an employee at the Taiwan Salt Corporation's Chiayi Salt Field. His wife is a seamstress, sewing clothes for the villagers to supplement their household income. Starting in the 1970s, the rise of ready-made garment factories greatly impacted the sewing business, leading to a significant drop in income. To provide his wife with a side job while caring for their children and to increase the family income, Tsai Chong-Ming went to the Wushulin Salt Field in Kaohsiung to learn the methods of making buns and steamed buns from his older brother and sister-in-law. His brother and sister-in-law were employees at the Wushulin Salt Field welfare association and had learned from an older man from mainland China who made buns and steamed buns to increase their income. After mastering the methods of making buns and steamed buns, Tsai Chong-Ming returned to Xinwan to start selling them. Initially, his skills were not polished, so he would ask an older man from mainland China, known as "Haikongzi", who worked at the Budai Salt Industry Office for advice, continuously improving and developing until achieving the reputation they have today. His son, Tsai Cheng-En (born in 1979), returned to help and learn in 2010, and officially took over the business after getting married in 2014. The production of buns and steamed buns begins the day before. On the afternoon of the previous day, they first knead the dough and let it ferment, then wake up at 12:30 AM to knead again, shape it, allow for a second fermentation in a fermentation box, and finally steam them in a steamer. The first batch comes out at 3 AM.
