Taiwanese cuisine

Danzai mian (擔仔麵, dànzǎimiàn) from Dùxiǎoyuè (度小月) of Tainan

Location of Taiwan

Taiwanese cuisine (traditional Chinese: 台灣菜; simplified Chinese: 台湾菜; pinyin: Táiwāncài; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân liāu-lí (臺灣料理)) has several variations. In addition to the following representative dishes from the people of Hoklo (Hō-ló) ethnicity (see Taiwanese people), there are also Aboriginal, Hakka, and local derivatives of Chinese cuisines such as beef noodle soup.

Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of Mainland China, most notably from the province of Fujian (Hokkien), but influences from all of Mainland China can easily be found. A notable Japanese influence also exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Traditional Chinese food can be found in Taiwan, alongside Fujian and Hakka-style as well as native Taiwanese dishes, includes dishes from Guangdong, Jiangxi, Chaoshan, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Beijing.

Ingredients and culture

Pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it.^[1] This is in part due to the considerations of some Taiwanese Buddhists, a traditional reluctance towards slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment and feeling of gratefulness and thanks to the animals traditionally used for very hard labour.^[1] However, due to influeneces from the influx of out of province Chinese in the early 1900s, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup is now one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan.

Taiwan's cuisine has also been influenced by its geographic location. Living on a crowded island, the Taiwanese had to look aside from the farmlands for sources of protein. As a result, seafood figures prominently in their cuisine. This seafood encompasses many different things, from large fish such as tuna and grouper, to sardines and even smaller fish such as anchovies. Crustaceans, squid, and cuttlefish are also eaten.

A pork geng (羹, gēng), a thick soup with tofu and surimi-coated pork

Because of the island's sub-tropical location, Taiwan has an abundant supply of various fruit, such as papayas, starfruit, melons, and citrus fruit. A wide variety of tropical fruits, imported and native, are also enjoyed in Taiwan. Other agricultural products in general are rice, corn, tea, pork, poultry, beef, fish, and other fruits and vegetables. Fresh ingredients in Taiwan are readily available from markets.

In many of their dishes, the Taiwanese have shown their creativity in their selection of spices. Taiwanese cuisine relies on an abundant array of seasonings for flavour: soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, fermented black beans, pickled daikon, pickled mustard greens, peanuts, chili peppers, cilantro (sometimes called Chinese parsley), and a local variety of basil (九層塔 jiǔcéngtǎ, literally "nine story pagoda").

An important part of Taiwanese cuisine are xiaochi,^[2] substantial snacks along the lines of Spanish tapas or Levantine meze.

The Taiwanese xiaochi has gained much reputation internationally. Many travelers go to Taiwan just for xiaochi. The most common place to enjoy xiaochi in Taiwan is in a night market. Each night market also has its own famous xiaochi.

Moreover, the Taiwanese xiaochi has been improving to a higher level. Nowadays, Taiwanese xiaochi not only served in Night Markets but some luxury and high-end restaurants. The prices usually jump 100% or even higher in the restaurants. Also, the Taiwanese government supports the Taiwanese xiaochi and has held national xiaochi events in Taiwan regularly.

Regional specialities

A Fenchihu Bento box

• Chiayi: Turkey rice bowls (火雞肉飯 hǔojī ròu fàn) are bowls of rice with shredded turkey layered on top, often accompanied by pickled daikon radish. The rice is drizzled with a kind of gravy made from the turkey drippings and soy sauce.
• Hsinchu: pork balls, 貢丸 （gòngwán）, which are often eaten in soup， 湯 (tang). Rice vermicelli, 米粉 (mǐfěn), are another Hsinchu specialty. They are often eaten 'dry', 乾 (gān, not in a soup) with mushroom and ground pork.
• Dasi, Taoyuan dried tofu (大溪豆乾 dàxī dòugān)
• Taichung: Suncake is the most noted pastries of Taichung. It is baked layered puff pastry with a sweet center often made with honey or molasses. Also, Nagasaki-style Castella and nougats (牛軋糖 niúgátáng, nougat).
• Tainan City Dan zai noodles (台南擔仔麵 Tâi-lâm tàⁿ-á-mī, Táinán dànzǎimiàn), shrimp and meat dumplings (蝦仁肉丸 hê-jîn bah-ôan, xiārén ròuwán), and shrimp crackers/biscuits are among the most notable local dishes. Another popular dish originating in Tainan is "oily rice" (台南油飯 Tâi-lâm iû-pn̄g, Táinán yóufàn), a rice dish containing savoury oils and shredded pork meat, mushrooms, and dried shrimp. Coffin Bread (棺材板 guāncáibǎn) is similar to French toast or bread bowl soups, but filled with savory fillings, such as black pepper beef or curried chicken. Thick cut bread is dipped in egg, deep fried, cut along three sides, opened and filled, and eaten.
• Changhua: Ba-wan, literally meaning 'meat sphere'. They are a kind of large dumpling made from a gelatinous dough and stuffed with pork and vegetables, most commonly mushrooms and bamboo shoots.
• Nantou: Yimian (yīmiàn), which is tasty, soft noodles in soup, and Rou-yuan (肉圓, ròuyuán), which is similar to Ba-wan. Rou-yuan's exterior is made of tapioca starch and is filled with mushrooms, thin shredded bamboo, and a meatball. It is eaten with a reddish sweet and sour sauce
• Tamsui: A-gei (阿給, āgěi), which are deep fried tofu that have been stuffed with crystal noodles and sealed with fish paste and drizzled with spicy sauce on the outside. Tamsui fish ball (魚丸, yúwán), because Tamsui is near the ocean, therefore, it is a good place to try their fish balls, which are balls of fish paste stuffed with meat and garlic cooked in light broth. Iron eggs (鐵蛋, tiědàn), are eggs that have been repeatedly stewed in a mix of spices and air-dried. The resulting eggs are dark brown, chewy and full of flavor compared to normal boiled eggs.

Typical dishes

Blood pudding (豬血糕, zhūxuègāo) on a stick

Many flavors of Taiwanese sausages are sold at a night market vendor

Pork and shiitake geng over rice from an eatery in Taichung

Vegetarian restaurants are commonplace with a wide variety of dishes, mainly due to the influence of Buddhism and other syncretistic religions like I-Kuan Tao.^[1] These vegetarian restaurants vary in style from all-you-can-eat to pay-by-the-weight and of course the regular order-from-a-menu.

There is a type of outdoor barbecue called khòng-iô (焢窯, hōngyáo). To barbecue in this manner, one first builds a hollow pyramid up with dirt clods. Next, charcoal or wood is burnt inside until the temperature inside the pyramid is very high (the dirt clods should be glowing red). The ingredients to be cooked, such as taro, yam, or chicken, are placed in cans, and the cans are placed inside the pyramid. Finally, the pyramid is toppled over the food until cooked.

Many non-dessert dishes are usually considered snacks, not entrees; that is, they have a similar status to Cantonese dim sum or Spanish tapas. Such dishes are usually only slightly salted, with lots of vegetables along with the main meat or seafood item.

Desserts

A plate of bàobīng (刨冰) with strawberries and condensed milk

• Moi-ji (môa-chî 麻糬), a soft rice cake like Japanese Mochi. Flavours of the fillings can vary, ranging from all kinds of beans to nuts.
• Bubble tea, aka boba milk tea; also known as pearl milk tea (珍珠奶茶, zhēnzhū nǎichá) - chewy tapioca balls added to milk tea.
• Grass jelly (仙草, xiāncǎo, sian-chháu) - (Mesona procumbens) Served hot or cold.
• ò-giô-peng (àiyùbīng [愛玉冰]) - a gelatinous dessert, aiyu jelly, made from the seeds of a fig-like fruit, Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang. Served on ice.
• ō͘-á-peng (芋仔冰 yùzǎibīng, yùbīng [芋冰]) - an ice cream made of taro root paste.
• Zukak kway (鼠麹粿 chhú-khak-ké shǔqūguǒ, 草仔粿, chháu-á-ké cǎozǎiguǒ) - Cakes made with a dough from glutinous rice flour and combine with a ground cooked paste of Gnaphalium affine or Mugwort to give it a unique flavor and green color. The dough is commonly filled with ground meat or sweet bean pastes.
• Traditional Cakes - They are not always of the same composition depending on the flavor.

There is the moon cake which has a thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste or sweetened red bean paste and surrounded by a relatively thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. It is traditionally eaten during the festival is for Lunar worship and Moon watching. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals.

There are other cakes that can mix salty ingredients with sweet ones to create a balance while enjoying these delicacies with tea. The crust could be shiny from applying a layer of egg yolk before putting in the oven, or not in that case it is often whiter and the crust has more layers.

Night market dishes

A partitioned Taiwanese crepe (潤餅, jūn-piáⁿ, rùnbǐng) whose wheat-based wrapper is unfried.

Surrounded by ocean on all sides, seafood has been an important staple in the Taiwanese diet. Here is grilled squid sold at a night market vendor.

Taiwan's best-known snacks are present in the night markets, where street vendors sell a variety of different foods, from finger foods, drinks, sweets, to sit-down dishes. In these markets, one can also find fried and steamed meat-filled buns, oyster-filled omelets, refreshing fruit ices, and much more. Aside from snacks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, night markets also have vendors selling clothes, accessories, and offer all kinds of entertainment and products.

• Various drinks are also often sold, ranging from bubble tea stands to various juice and tea stands.
• Crêpe - Adapted from the original French version, a very thin cooked pancake, it has a much crispier texture, rather like a cracker. Very popular in the early 2000s.
• Fruit or bean smoothies - milk or ice is blended on the spot with fresh papaya, mango, watermelon, azuki bean, or mung bean.
• Fried glutinous rice balls - slightly sweet in flavor.
• Fried chicken pieces - thumb-size chunks of deep-fried chicken sprinkled with white pepper, chilli and fried basil.

Food of the Taiwanese Aborigines

Taiwan’s food and food culture is very much diversified and largely influenced by the exodus of Han people. However, one part of the Taiwanese food culture that remains integral is that of the Indigenous Taiwanese people. Though the Indigenous only make up less than 2% of Taiwan’s overall population, it is notable that their foods eaten and ways of preparation are distinguishable from the more typical Chinese-influenced cuisine.

The Aborigines’ diet very much depends on nature. With profuse vegetation and wild animals, Aborigines were natural hunter-gatherers. Essentially, much of what Aborigines ate depended on their environment – that is, whether they lived in coastal or mountainous areas. Tribes like Amis, Atayal, Saisiyat and Bunun hunt what they can, and gather what they cultivate. On the other hand, tribes like the Yamis and the Thao have fish as a predominant source of food. Majority of foods consisted of millet, taro, sweet potato, wild greens and game like boar and rat. This is in contrast to the main foods eaten by the Han, which consisted of rice and chicken.

Game meats for those living in the mountainous areas include deer, and flying squirrel intestines, a delicacy as regarded by the Bunun people. Another is ‘stinky’ meat – that is, ‘maggoty game’ that has begun to rot, which is then barbecued, fried, seasoned with garlic and ginger then served with spicy sauce.

The Amis, apart from meat, had much greens to eat, largely due to the belief that anything a cow ate, was also edible by humans. The Bununs, who are primarily hunters of wild animals, would dine on stone-grilled pork, boar, deer, and hog roast. The Yami tribe, located off Taitung coast, fed on many types of fish, including the prized ‘flying fish’ (or Alibangbang). A speciality includes rice, mixed with river fish and wild vegetables, served in large bamboo trunks.

Apart from being a staple-food, millet was always produced as wine. Not just for drinking, millet wine played an important role in being used as offerings during festivals, births and weddings. Millet wines are all made in the homes of the Aborigines. Sticky rice is put into a wooden steamer after being soaked in water. Once cooled, the rice is put into a pot of water, then pulled out and combined with rice yeast. After four or five days of being placed in a large jar, the rice is placed in a sieve or rice bag, whilst the alcoholic liquid drips out and is stored away.

Also important to the Indigenous Taiwanese people’s cuisine are the sweet potato and taro, favoured for their perennial nature and low maintenance. The cultivation of root vegetables rather than typical seedling plants was notably prominent, with archaeological evidence suggesting as early as fourth millennium BC, from the Dapenkeng site, in Guanyin Mountain, New Taipei City.

Given the versatility of both vegetables, they were usually boiled or steamed, and eaten by itself or as ingredients in soups and strews. Without the need for advanced agricultural technology, taro and sweet potatoes were a prime preference for farming. Canadian missionary George MacKay said of 19th century Taiwan: ‘the bulb of the sweet potato is planted in March. In about six weeks the vines are cut into pieces eight inches long, which are planted in drills, and from these vine-cuttings the bulbs grow and are ripe about the end of June. A second crop is planted in a similar way in July and is ripe in November.’ (Ibid). The influence of sweet potatoes and taro has been vast. They are still widely present in modern day Taiwan, be it on the streets, night markets, or in successful food chains like ‘Meet Fresh’ (or 鮮芋仙).

Due to the absence of contemporary culinary utensils such as the refrigerator, gas stovetops and ovens, the Indigenous resorted to other means to prepare their food. Upon bringing back hunted game meat, the Aborigines would preserve the meat with either millet wine or salt. Another cooking technique involved the heating up of stones by fire, which are then placed inside a vessel with other certain meats and seafood, which are cooked from the heat of the stones. Foods were mostly prepared by steaming, boiling or roasting, in order to infuse flavours together, yet preserve the original flavours. This again is contrasted with the Han, who adopted skills like stir-frying and stewing. Meat was also put on a bamboo spit and cooked over the fire.

A cookbook published in 2000 by the CIP and National Kaoshiung Hospitality College, listed some foods of the main Taiwanese Aboriginal tribes, showing the Aborigines’ adherence and passion for natural foods.

• Bunun tribe: Bunun millet cake (布農粿); Millet rice (小米飯)
• Amis tribe: Alivongvong (meat and sticky rice dumpling packed in leaves) (阿里鳳鳳); Stir-fried wild vegetables
• Puyuma tribe: Yinafei mountain cake (以那馡山地粿); Fried wild rat with basil (九層野鼠)
• Atayal tribe: Grilled meat on stone (石板烤肉); Langying (steamed sticky rice cake) (朗應)
• Paiwan tribe: Millet Qinafu (millet and pork meat-ball) (小米奇那富); Jinbole (Sorghum and pork dumpling packed in a banana leaf) (金伯樂)
• Yami tribe: Boiled taro and crab (芋泥加蟹肉); Grilled fish Steamed dried fish (蒸魚乾)
• Tsou tribe: Bamboo cooked rice (竹筒飯); Banana cake (香蕉糕)
• Rukai tribe: Qinabu (taro and meat dumpling) (奇那步); Grilled boar
• Saisiyat Grilled boar with papaya (木瓜拌山豬肉); Assorted wild flowers (野花拼盤); Cassava and spareribs soup (樹薯排骨湯)

Though Taiwan is home to many cuisines, there are still restaurants which keep the spirit of Aborigine cuisine alive. Whilst chefs in such restaurants may need to tweak traditional recipes to suit contemporary tastebuds, emphasis of natural foods is still extant.The annual Indigenous Peoples Healthy Cuisine and Innovative Beverage Competition, partly sponsored by the Council of Indigenous Peoples and the Tourism Bureau provides prize money to contestants who creatively use traditional indigenous ingredients in healthy ways. Other similar competitions are held by local governments (such as Kaoshiung City). In Tainan, indigenous people may sell their food at the Cha Ha Mu Aboriginal Park. Such trends are all to promote the wonderful taste of Aboriginal Taiwanese cuisine.

Gallery

• A small sample of Taiwanese cuisine
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  Popiah(薄餅, báobǐng) with vegetables and powdered peanuts as filling

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  Oyster omelette (蚵仔煎, kèzǎijiān) from Chien-Cheng Circle, Datong District (Taipei).

• 

  A bowl of oyster vermicelli (蚵仔麵線, kèzǎi miànxiàn)

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  Ba-wan served with sweet and savory sauce

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  Sun cakes (太陽餅, tàiyángbǐng) in a box

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  Gongwan and vermicelli in soup (貢丸米粉, gòngwán mǐfěn)

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  A-gei served with sauce

See also

• Chinese cuisine

References

External links

• Popular Food Culture in Taiwan
• Taiwan Tiger's Taiwanese Food Page
• BBC TWO Chinese food made easy
• Jaysun Eats Taipei

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