With its cheerful pink and white flower bedecked sky-blue paint job, there’s no mistaking the Biàn D
ng truck. The name translates to “lunch box” in Mandarin, but don’t expect your standard Chinese menu. This truck is Taiwanese to the max. “Biàn Dng has a similar meaning to bento box in Japanese but in Tawainese culture,” co-owner Thomas Yang explains, “it’s a little weird sounding: bee-yen dong. Most people don’t get it, they say be-ann dANG. We just want to build enough of a reputation that people will recognize it.”
Roaming around the city, the Biàn Dng truck has assumed the role of the city’s unofficial Taiwanese culinary ambassador. Their mission? Introducing New Yorkers to Taiwanese comfort food. Their weapons? Fried goodness. While the truck’s menu has expanded since their launch in 2009, fried chicken and fried pork chops over rice remain top sellers. The secret is in the family sauce, a hearty minced pork gravy punctuated by sour notes from bits of pickled mustard greens. The overall effect is meaty, salty, sour, and satisfying. Or, as Thomas says, “crackalicious.”
While Biàn Dng has built its reputation on pork sauce, the origins of the truck trace back to Thomas’s undergrad days at Baruch college, when he first noticed the ever-present halal carts near campus. As a budding entrepreneur, the business model intrigued him. He mentioned opening a chicken and broccoli cart to friends. “It started as a joke, and then I started thinking about it more. It’s something that stuck in my head.” When Thomas realized there weren’t any places in the city serving the Taiwanese dishes he loved as a kid, he knew he was onto something.
Partnering with a friend and his sister, Diana, they brought in his uncle, Steven Yang, a highly skilled master chef, to run the kitchen. As with any family business the stakes are higher when everyone is invested, and the siblings stick to their competencies. Diana keeps the truck running smoothly while Thomas operates the overall business, which includes stakes in other mobile food ventures, including Fun Buns NYC and the Fishing Shrimp Truck. As a first generation American, Thomas wasn’t afraid of hard work on the way to success. “I remember my dad working six days a week out-of-state. I would see him once a week.”
“When you hear someone say ‘I really love your food,’ this makes my week. It’s really gratifying.”
Establishing a following was their first challenge. “A big problem is awareness and people’s affinity to try new things. People know what pizza is,” Thomas laments. Customers can’t crave something if they don’t know what it is. And in an age saturated with low-carb and low-fat health crazes, eaters need to know that the food is worth breaking their diets for. On their first few outings, “we could not give away a platter of food.” Everything changed when MidtownLunch.com guru Zach Brooks alerted his loyal following that the truck—then known as NYC Cravings—had finally made it to Midtown for lunch, and pandemonium ensued. Thomas and Diana went from zero customers to a hungry hoard. “We were so swamped that day. We couldn’t even fulfill most of the demand,” Thomas says. Days later when Brooks posted his full review proclaiming “For those of us who wished we worked in Chinatown, this is our new favorite truck,” the truck had arrived.
Balancing the crowds and the wait is always a challenge. “People tend to think we’re fast-food, but we cook everything fresh on the truck. You can actually see us fry it.… Even though we make the food fast, we’re not fast-food.” Soon the accolades started to roll in. In their first year on the road, they were named one of the top ten food trucks in the country by GQ and received a Vendy nomination in the Rookie of the Year category. Long-term the Yang siblings would like to open the restaurant that their now departed father always dreamed of. But for now as their fan base expands, Thomas hopes to make Taiwanese culture accessible through food. “I think food is a big part of culture.… I hope that’s what I can give away.”
Adapted from Steven Yang’s recipe
Biàn Dng’s minced pork sauce is the stuff of legend, and it’s also a closely guarded family secret. The key to a rich gravy with this recipe is using pork belly, the meat from the fatty under-side belly of a pig. Most American ground pork is very lean, so be sure to ask your butcher to give you the right type. If pork belly sounds fancy to you, just remember that it’s also the fatty end of American bacon. This dish uses a special dark soy sauce that’s a bit sweeter and slightly less salty that your standard soy sauce. Look for dark soy sauce and pickled mustard greens at Asian specialty markets.
1 pound pork belly, minced
4½ tablespoons dark soy sauce, divided
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
5 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
2½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup pickled mustard greens, for serving
2 cups cooked white or brown rice, for serving
Combine minced pork belly with 2½ tablespoons of soy sauce and sugar. Mix with your hands to thoroughly work the soy sauce and sugar into the meat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat a large pan or cast-iron skillet on high for 2 minutes. Add the pork belly and use a spatula to break up the pork and stir constantly until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes.
Scoop out the pork belly and put aside, reserve the rendered fat in the pan.
Add the garlic and shallots to the pan, and stir fry over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the rest of the soy sauce and the five-spice. Return the pork belly to the pan.
Dissolve 2½ tablespoons cornstarch into cups of water. Add water to pork belly mixture. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve hot alongside pickled mustard greens over rice.
Inspired by Steven Yang’s recipe
Tea-soaked eggs are a popular Taiwanese snack. The longer you soak the eggs, the stronger the tea flavor becomes. Any black tea will work here, but feel free to choose your favorite to customize it. For instance Lapsang Souchong will give the eggs a wonderful smoky flavor. This recipe is inspired by the Yang family recipe.
6 large eggs
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons tea leaves
3 star anise
1 small stick cinnamon
Place eggs in a medium saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs. Rinse eggs with cold water so the shells are cool enough to handle, then carefully crack each egg to slightly break the shell. The more places you crack the eggs, the more intricate the pattern will be.
Return the eggs to the pan, then add soy sauce, salt, sugar, tea leaves, star anise, and cinnamon stick, then stir. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 3 hours, adding water as necessary to keep the eggs covered. Remove from heat and refrigerate in a covered pan to steep overnight or up to 12 to 18 hours. Serve cold.
