Taiwan’s enigmatic peanut ice cream roll is a delicious, but also befuddling mix of taro, pineapple, and peanut ice cream, thin shavings of peanut brittle, and…cilantro (?!) wrapped in a thin spring roll-style wrapper called run bing. You might have seen it on social media with reels highlighting Taiwan’s night markets, or more recently, in reels about a small shop in Portland, Oregon serving peanut ice cream rolls to a long line of fans. When Jimmy Ma had the idea to recreate this quirky dessert at the Lime Stand, a hand-smashed lime tea shop he co-owns with partner Elaine Li, he didn’t think about the extensive trial that each component of this dessert would put them through. They eventually found spring roll wrappers that mimicked the unique thin crepe texture of Taiwan’s run bing. They sourced local ice creams and prepared the cilantro. But finding the large brick of peanut brittle proved challenging. This challenge was the start of the wayward journey behind Lime Stand’s viral summer special.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What inspired you to bring the peanut ice cream roll to Portland?
Jimmy: I first tried it three years ago when traveling in Taiwan with Elaine’s family. We were in the mountain town of Jiufen, it was a super hot day. Our driver just ordered it for us without asking. We all took a bite and were like “Whoa, this is so good!” It left an impression.
Earlier this year, I went back to Taiwan with my brother. I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to track down this peanut candy and do something with it. We ended up taking a two-hour detour to the rural village where they make it. When we got there, I was expecting it to be a factory. It was some guy’s house. When we walked in, it was this person’s living room. They were watching TV. He took out his accounting books and showed us how much it was for one, how much for shipping, this and that. It was a lot of information that I couldn’t process at first. I had to take some time, so we didn’t even buy it there. On the way back, I was thinking, “What the heck was the point of coming here if we’re not going to buy it?” As soon as we got back to the Airbnb, I called the owner. We were leaving in three days. At that point, it was a rush.
We had him ship it to the nearest shipping location, and we picked it up in this kind of receiving area. We had to walk 15-minutes from the nearest train station to this receiving area. When we got there, it was two 40-pound bricks in two boxes. At that point, we just had two boxes, no handles or anything.
How did you manage to get 80-pounds of peanut brittle back to the U.S.?
We got an Uber right outside the receiving area and we went to a shipping packaging shop where they sold shipping supplies. The lady working there was so nice, but she was shocked that we were doing this! She was so nice and helpful. We got a bigger box, placed the smaller boxes of peanut brittle in the bigger box with bubble wrap, and made handles around the box with tape—a lot of tape! We could now hold it, but it was super heavy. We planned to use this service at Taipei Main Station, where you can check your bags within 24-hours of your flight and they take them to the airport, but they wouldn’t take it! They required that the items had to be on wheels. We first had to find a temporary storage at the Station big enough to store our stuff. Then we ran around trying to find the right size luggage with wheels for it. We were eventually able to get it all to the airport.
Did you get stopped at all?
Yeah, so we did get checked. I thought it was fine, because it’s just candy, you know? A customs officer asked us to open it, so we did and showed them what it was. At that point, we were cleared, but we had to tape the handles back on. We were actually flying into Seattle, because that’s where we flew out of.
Wait so, you have these two huge bricks, and it wasn’t even a direct flight?
Yeah. We flew into Seattle, took the train from the airport to Chinatown where my family lives, and then we had a ten-minute walk. It would’ve been very hard with those peanut bricks. My brother had this crazy idea. He just put it on the scooter, one brick on a Lime scooter (funny name coincidence, but no relation to Lime Stand) and wheeled it home. Then he came back to get the other one. After that, I transported the [remaining] luggage. From there, I took the FlixBus from Seattle down to Portland, but luckily, I didn’t have to walk. So that was the whole thing.
What about that special peanut brittle shaver you’d see vendors using at the night market?
It’s like a wood planer, a tool used to shave off pieces of wood. I actually bought one when I was in Japan, and I brought it with me. The peanut brittle proprietor said that it was okay, but it was too small. He showed me the one he had, basically the same thing but it has been modified so that the blade is larger and deeper. It has more space to hold more peanut brittle shavings. So we bought that from him too.
Okay, so you got the bricks to Portland, and it seems like the hard part was behind you, what were your thoughts on the other components?
We knew we had a freezer, that’s all there was. For the ice cream, we wanted to find businesses that would do it with us, like a collab. We connected with Small Eats, a Taiwanese business that operates out of the Vancouver (Washington) Farmer’s Market. We got black sesame and taro ice cream from them. We also got some ice creams from Tillamook and Cascade Glacier.
Just from personal experience, the run bing (crepe) is a b-tch to make!
Yeah it is so hard to make! We tried different methods. We tried using the brush (with a thin batter on a nonstick pan) method. It’s not great because you end up with a lot of small holes. We tried using a crepe maker and an iron. It’s hard to put on and comes out too thick.
Yeah, you have to be really good at doing the hand method (rubbing a thin layer of dough onto a flat hot surface with the sticky dough in your hand).
I tried doing the hand thing for three days straight, and I’m just not good at it. It’s extremely difficult. We ended up having to sacrifice the run bing a little bit with a Spring Roll wrapper,
I’m really impressed at how you pulled this all off. So this seems like a one-off experience, but what did you learn from this and what would you suggest to other businesses trying to recreate an interesting dish from another country?
I think the thing is that we’re not actually creating the Taiwanese peanut ice cream roll. We’ve made it work and we made changes. This is the same thing with out teas. Our hand-smashed lime teas are not drinks that are uniquely from us. We’ve had to make changes to make things work here. I think what I’ve learned is you can make anything work if you really want to as long as you think about the risks.
What has the response been like from the Taiwanese-American community?
It’s been incredible. We have people who grew up eating this in Taiwan, and bringing their friends to try it. They’re so excited to share this piece of their childhood locally in Portland.
The flavors and textures are just like back in Taiwan. The only difference is the crepe wrapper; the spring roll skins are a bit drier.
But overall, seeing the joy it brings people to have this rare treat from their memory. There’s no better feeling as a business owner.
What’s next for Lime Stand after the peanut candy runs out?
Well, we’re down to 40 percent of brick left, with the final day to get it being August 23rd. We’re hoping to use the remainder in some collaborations with other businesses.
But Lime Stand has always been about showcasing unique flavors you can’t easily find here. We see it as an R&D lab to test new things out, made possible by our tiny shop’s cheaper rent.
For the winter, we’re thinking of doing a warm mung bean or black sesame drink, or ice cream but made from rice milk in the traditional Taiwanese style. There’s no end to the childhood flavors we want to share with Portland. With Elaine handling the business side and me focused on the craft, we’re excited to keep chasing down new ideas and ingredients to bring to our community.
Follow Portland-based The Limestand at @thelimestand on Instagram.
TaiwaneseAmerican.org Food Editor Tiffany Ran is a chef and writer based in Seattle, Washington. Her writing has been featured in Seattle Magazine, Vice Munchies, Goldthread, Seattle Weekly, Lucky Peach, and more. She runs a Taiwanese pop-up called Babalio Taiwanese Pop Up, showcasing lesser known dishes and aspects of Taiwanese cuisine. She is very passionate about tracing and contributing to the growing recognition of Taiwanese cuisine in the U.S.
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