Shapowei Tusundong Stall
×Tusundong (worm jelly)
Why you must eat itA jelly set from the boiled-down broth of a marine peanut worm called "tusun," the worm's body left visible inside. It startles the eye, but the taste is a clean, briny jelly with a distinctive springy bite. Eaten cold with soy, mustard, sweet-chilli, coriander and shredded radish, it is a genuine Minnan delicacy. Long eaten along the coast from Xiamen to Quanzhou, it is also a cooling plate for summer.
Tusundong is a laborious traditional food: the marine worms (rich in natural collagen) are washed, boiled down, poured into moulds and chilled to set. The jelly holds not by agar but by the gel from the worms themselves. Xiamen, Jinjiang and Anhai are its heartland, sold plate by plate at stalls and small shops. A harbour quarter like Shapowei is exactly where such coastal delicacies turn up. If you want to try it, start with a little.
- Nearest
- Daxue Rd (Shapowei)
- Hours
- 11:00-21:00
- Price
- 8–12 CNY / plate