30-second overview:
In April 2026, an office argument over whether "red bean cake" (hóng dòu bǐng) is a Chinese-influenced term unexpectedly turned this beloved national snack into a cultural battleground. In fact, wheel cakes originated from Japan's Edo-period "Imagawa-yaki" and were an expensive treat enjoyed only by a select few when they arrived in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era. Not until the 1960s, when red bean cultivation succeeded in Pingtung's Wandan Township, did this snack truly "take root" in Taiwan — growing its own name and story on the island's streets.
"Red bean cake is a Chinese-influenced term — Taiwanese should call it wheel cake!"
In April 2026, this claim set off a fierce "red bean cake war" on Threads. An office worker was corrected by a colleague for calling the snack a "red bean cake," and the argument escalated until a female colleague burst into tears on the spot.1 On the surface it was anxiety about political language; underneath lay a hundred-year, three-generation evolutionary history of this snack in Taiwan.
In fact, on this snack's official Taiwanese identity card, the name written is one full of Japanese spirit: Imagawa-yaki (今川燒).
From Edo's Kanda to Taipei's Streets
At the end of the 19th century, with Japanese colonial rule, this snack — originating near Imagawa Bridge in Edo's Kanda district — arrived in Taiwan. At the time, it was unambiguously a "luxury confection."
"Early Taiwan didn't produce red beans; they all had to be imported from abroad, at very high prices," points out a curator researching Taiwanese food culture. During the Japanese colonial period, this soft-skinned, red-bean-filled treat was a luxury the working class with steady incomes could only occasionally afford.2 Taiwanese people of the time, looking at the round, pattern-stamped pastry, called it "Imagawa-yaki" or "taiko-yaki."
📝 Curator's note
The name of a snack often marks the status it had when it first arrived on this land.
1960: Wandan Red Bean's "Democratization" Revolution
The pivotal shift that turned wheel cakes from "luxury Japanese confectionery" to "national street food" happened in the 1960s in Wandan Township, Pingtung.
According to records from the Agriculture and Food Agency and the Wandan Township Farmers' Association, Pingtung County began growing red beans in the 1960s (Republic of China era: the 50s), when a variety of japonica red beans was introduced from Alishan in Chiayi.3 After Wandan Township farmers successfully completed field trials, in less than three years red beans became the economically important second-season crop after rice in the Wandan area.
In 1970 (Republic of China year 59), a small street stall appeared beside Wandan Elementary School. Founder Huang Yuan-lai began making snacks with the freshest locally grown red beans.4
"A customer bought a red bean cake and ate it right there, then praised it enthusiastically: 'Chiú-ho̍k-chiáh!' (Really delicious!)." This simple word of praise opened the legend of Wandan red bean cakes.5 Huang Yuan-lai's small stall later became today's immensely popular "Huang Family Wandan Red Bean Cakes," cementing the association between "Wandan" and red bean cakes.
1980: Automated Molds and the Birth of the "Wheel"
While Wandan made red bean cakes popular, what truly caused them to "bloom everywhere" across Taiwan's streets was the intervention of Taiwan's machinery industry in the 1980s.
Early red bean cake molds were mostly hand-cast iron pans, capable of baking only 10 to 12 pieces at a time, with uneven heat distribution. In the 1980s, Taiwanese manufacturers developed a rotating circular automated baking pan — whose exterior resembled an enormous wheel — and this is the technical backdrop for why the term "wheel cake" (車輪餅) rapidly spread in northern urban areas.6 This baking pan not only increased production capacity but gave the pastry's edges a crispy, cookie-like texture, formally diverging from the soft Japanese-style "Imagawa-yaki."
📝 Curator's note
Technological innovation often reshapes language. When the baking pan began to rotate, it was no longer merely a vessel for red beans in urban eyes — it was a turning "wheel."
The Language Trap and Cultural Depth
Back to the 2026 controversy. The corrector argued that "red bean cake" is a Chinese-influenced term, on the grounds that it "flatly" refers to all flavors. But viewed through historical context, Wandan residents had been calling it "red bean cake" 50 years earlier — which makes it not a foreign term at all, but a source of pride in local industry.
"We called it red bean cake since we were children — this has nothing to do with politics, it has to do with the red beans from our hometown." A 73rd-year-of-the-Republic-era (1984-born) Wandan native responded helplessly on social media.7
Today's wheel cakes are no longer limited to red bean filling. From classic cream and taro, to distinctly Taiwanese radish with scallion and bubble tea flavors, to French truffle — this snack has shown remarkable adaptability in Taiwan. From a cultural identity perspective, academia has already produced research treating the naming difference between "red bean cake" and "wheel cake" as a concrete specimen of cross-regional power and identity flow.8
From the expensive Japanese "Imagawa-yaki," to the "red bean cake" of Pingtung's fields, to the "wheel cake" on city street corners — this snack has spent a hundred years rolling out a distinctive cultural arc on the palates of Taiwanese people. The next time you bite into that steaming hot filling, perhaps you can set aside the argument over names for a moment and simply enjoy the sweetness that transcends time and space.
Further Reading
- Taiwanese Street Food — Exploring the diverse origins and evolution of Taiwanese street food.
- Taiwanese Pastry Culture — A hundred years of Taiwanese pastry transformation from traditional offerings to modern treats.
- Night Market Culture — The status and competition of wheel cakes and red bean cakes in Taiwan's night markets.
References
Footnotes
- CommonWealth Magazine City: The origin of the wheel cake / red bean cake names ignites an online debate — Reports the April 2026 social media controversy over the red bean cake name and traces its historical origins. ↩
- TLife Taiwan High Speed Rail: Eat a red bean cake — but first get to know the wheel cake! — Introduces the background of wheel cakes arriving in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period and their early social status as a luxury treat. ↩
- Wandan Township Farmers' Association: Introduction to the Red Bean Industry and History — Official record of Wandan red bean cultivation origins, from successful trials in the 1960s to becoming a local specialty. ↩
- Sho Fan Player: Wandan Red Bean Cake Ancestor! 49-year-old shop — Interview with the founding Huang Family store, recording the story from its establishment in Republic of China year 59 to today. ↩
- Small Town News: My Sense of Place — Pingtung Wandan — In-depth interviews with Wandan locals, describing how red bean cakes became the community's collective memory and industrial pillar. ↩
- Academic paper: Wheel Cake and Pancake — A Cross-Cultural Taste Study — Published by Professor Chiu Li-chuan in 2013; explores the naming differences, technological evolution, and cultural metaphors of wheel cakes in Taiwan. ↩
- Threads: Are red bean cakes Taiwanese or Japanese? — Cultural discussion on social media, featuring responses and memories from local netizens about the "red bean cake" name. ↩
- Academic paper: The Forming Red Bean Cake Culture — Cross-boundary Power and Identity Transfer — Master's thesis from NTNU's Taiwanese Literature Department; systematically studies the identity transfer of red bean cakes in Taiwan and globalization phenomena. ↩