40 Taiwanese foods we

can't live without Part 1

From mountains of shaved ice to chicken cutlets as big as your face,
Taiwanese eats all come with superlatives

By Hiufu Wong


Taipei travel essentials: passport, cash, extra stomach.

Small eats are the big thing in Taiwan where the philosophy is eat often and
eat well.
Sure, there's the internationally accepted three-meals-a-day format of dining, but
why be so limited when you can make like the Taiwanese and do some gourmet
snacking at any time of the day, all day, every day?
The capital Taipei has around 20 streets dedicated to snacking.
Every time you think you've found the best streetside bao, the most incredible stinky
tofu stand or mind-blowing() beef noodle
soup, there's always another one that surpasses it.

Taiwanese food is a mash-up of the cuisines of Min Nan , Teochew
and Hokkien Chinese communities, as well as Japanese cuisine.
The results of these culinary marriages(marriage )
are diversely delicious.
When we asked some Taiwanese friends about the best food on their island, the
argument that ensued almost broke up life-long friendships.

"We almost had a war -- we just have too many good eats," was the typical reply.
Food: it's serious, it's respected, it's all excellent in Taiwan.
1. Braised pork rice ()
A Taiwanese saying goes, "Where there is a wisp of smoke from the kitchen
chimney, there will be lurou fan" (braised pork
with rice). The popularity of this humble dish cannot be overstated.
"Lurou fan" is synonymous with Taiwan.
The Taipei city government launched a "braised pork rice is ours" campaign last
year after Michelins Green Guide Taiwan claimed that the dish is from Shandong
Province in mainland China.(

)
A good bowl of lurou fan has finely chopped , not quite minced
, pork belly, slow-cooked in aromatic soy sauce with five
spices . There should be an ample amount of fattiness , in
which lies the magic .
The meat is spooned over hot rice.
A little sweet, a little salty, the braised pork rice is comfort food perfected
.
2. Beef noodle ()
You know it's an obsession when it gets its own festival.

Beef noodle soup is a dish that inspires competitiveness and innovation in chefs.
Everyone wants to claim the title of beef noodle king.
Lin Dong Fang's beef shanks with al dente

() noodles in a herbal soup

are a perennial favorite . The streetside eaterys
secret weapon is the dollop of homemade chili-butter (
) added last.
3. Oyster omelet ()
Here's a snack that really showcases the fat of the land
of Taiwan. You've got something from the sea and something from the soil.
The eggs are the perfect foil for the little oysters easily found around the
island, while sweet potato starch is added to give the whole
thing a gooey chewiness -- a signature Taiwan food
texture.
No wonder it was voted best snack to represent the island in a poll of 1,000
Taiwanese by Global Views Monthly in 2007.
4. Bubble tea ()
Bubble tea is representative of the "QQ" food texture that Taiwanese love. The
cute-sounding phrase refers to something that is very chewy,
just like the tapioca balls that are the "bubbles" in bubble
tea.
It is said that this unique drink was invented out of boredom (
). Liu Han-Chieh threw some sweetened tapioca pudding into
her iced Assam tea on a fateful day in 1988 and one of the greatest Taiwanese
exports was born.
Huge variations on the theme have since emerged, including
taro-flavored tea , jasmine tea or coffee, served cold or hot.
5. Coffin bread ()
This Tainan specialty is a mutated offspring of French toast and
chowder.()
An extra thick piece of bread is hollowed out to resemble a flat bread bowl. It
is toasted to harden it and then filled with seafood chowder .
Legend says a Taiwanese chef who studied Western cooking invented this
bread-soup-bowl-with-corners.
One day an archeologist tried the toast and told the chef, It looks just like the coffin
I am excavating now.
Thus, the chowder soup took on its morbid Chinese name, which means
"coffin bread."
6. Slack Season danzai noodles ()
You've gotta love a place called Slack Season and it's the first pit stop on any trip to
Taiwan.
The iconic eatery originated in Tainan about a century ago. A fisherman sold noodles
during the slack season and the joint became so successful that he quit
fishing altogether.
The signature bowl of Slack Season noodles is served in shrimp soup with bean
sprouts , coriander , minced pork () and fresh shrimps(
).
This bowl of comforting flavors is so addictive that a man from Tainan
ate 18 bowls in a row , according to Slack Season.
7. Pan-fried bun ()
Do you like the fluffiness of cake as well as the crunchiness of potato
chips? The pan-fried bun gives you the best of both worlds .
These buns are made with spongy white Chinese bread that are
pan-fried on the bottom. Break them open to reveal the moist porky filling
.
A Shanghainese staple , the Taiwanese version differs in
two ways: it is slightly bigger in size and it hits the pan upside-down
1.2.
.
8. Gua bao ()
It's a hamburger, Taiwan-style.
A steamed bun sandwiches a hearty filling of braised pork belly
, pickled Chinese cabbage and powdered peanuts .
The filling is chopped up into small pieces and mixed together so there's a bit of
everything in every bite. Consider doing this with Western hamburgers.
Take in a big mouthful and enjoy the salty, sour and sweet flavors and the
greasy pork swimming in your mouth .
9. Iron egg ()
It's called the "iron egg" because this mini egg is tough as nails . With a rubbery
consistency these chewy eggs dyed black from long-braising
in soy sauc , are a highly addictive
delicacy in Taiwan.
Often made from quails' eggs , the little balls are cooked for hours in soy
sauce then air-dried . The whole process is repeated over several days until the
protein becomes tough and acquires the desired amount of chew.
10. Pineapple cake ()
This iconic Taiwanese pastry is one of the best souvenir (
)options. These mini pineapple pies are filled with candied pineapple
.
If you want the best pineapple cake experience, try SunnyHills which uses
only local pineapple as filling . It yields a darker filling
, rougher texture () and a more sour
taste.
The traditional pies at other shops are filled with a mix of pineapple and chewable
bits of winter melon . They have a fruity sweetness and a golden casing of
crumbly buttery pastry.
Stores that replace pineapple completely with winter melon to cut costs
are committing a big no-no OK
11. Tian bu la ()
Tian bu la refers to fish paste that has been molded into various shapes
and sizes, deep-fried, then boiled in a broth
. Before eating, the pieces of solid fish paste are taken out of the broth and
smothered in brown sauce .
Doesn't sound like much , but it delivers plenty of the sweet flavors
and chewy textures beloved by Taiwanese. Tian bu la is basically a Taiwan take on
Japanese oden, with more sugariness, tougher fish cakes and a signature sauce.
After finishing the pieces of fish cakes, there's more to come. Get some soup from
the vendor and add it to the remaining sauce in the bowl. Mix and drink the flavor
bomb.(bomb
)
12. Ba wan ()
The ba wan is Taiwan's mega dumpling (
dumpling).
Made with a dough of rice flour, corn starch and sweet potato starch, it looks almost
translucent after cooking. Pork, veggies and sometimes eggs are stuffed
inside and gravy is poured on top.
It is commonly believed that ba wan was invented during periods of scarcity
. The simple pork dumpling was then a luxurious snack
enjoyed only during the Lunar New Year festival .
13. Fried chicken ()
In the fried chicken hall of fame , Taiwan deserves its own exhibit
. Not only has it made the giant fried chicken cutlet
(No. 35 on this list ) a cult classic ,
but its popcorn chicken () is dangerously
addictive.
The chicken is chopped into bite-sized pieces (), marinated ,
dipped in batter and deep-fried . A generous sprinkling of salt and
pepper complete the morish morsels . It's a
ubiquitous snack on the city streets.
14. Flaky scallion pancake ()
There is nothing more appetizing than the sight of a flaky scallion pancake
being slowly torn apart . Add cheese
and egg fillings to maximize the visuals().
Devour this night market staple in a few bites to
ensure it is steaming hot and chewy.
15. Oyster vermicelli ()
A bowl of great oyster vermicelli should have a thick, flavorful soup base while the
thin rice noodles and oysters should still retain their distinct texture
.
Some people will add chopped intestines for a funky
dimension to the soup.(
)
It is a gooey, slurpable dish, more soup than
noodle, with an intense briny taste .
16. Stinky tofu ()
This is the world's best love-it-or-hate-it snack
and Taiwan does it just right .
The "fragrant" cube of bean curd is deep-fried and draped with sweet and
spicy sauce. If you hold your nose , it looks and tastes just
like a plain ol' piece of fried tofu, with a crisp casing
and soft center like pudding .
But what's the fun in eating that? Inhale deeply and relish the stench
, the smellier, the better.
17. Sweet potato ()
Leaving taste, smell and nutritional value aside , the sweet potato stands
out for one particular reason in Taiwan -- it is shaped like the island
. For this, the sweet potato occupies a very special place in every
Taiwanese heart.
Taiwan-grown sweet potatoes are added to soup with ginger, or roasted by street
vendors in ovens converted from oil-drums, or ground to a flour and added to other
dishes to give texture, or fried into sweet potato chips.

As long as the beloved root vegetable is in it, Taiwanese love it.
18. Shaved ice mountain ()
One good thing about the hot, humid and stormy summers in Taiwan is the excuse
to eat shaved ice mountain.
An oversized pile of shaved ice is heaped with fresh fruit and
flavorings , such as mango pieces, juice and sweet condensed milk
. It wins hands down just by looks alone
Hands down easily, unquestionably.
A more traditional take is a smaller option, less dramatic but with freshly made mini
rice balls.
19. Pepper cakes ()
The must-have at Rao He night market , the pepper cake is a crispy pocket
filled with juicy pork that is infused with the aromatic bite of
black pepper . Baked on the wall of a clay oven, the pies
are a delicious ode to the pepper plant.
Make sure you get more than one, or risk the overwhelming sense of regret when
you have to wait again in the long queue for more.

20. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House ()
Xiaolongbao may be a Shanghainese delicacy , but some argue that the
Taiwanese perfected it . Taiwanese
restaurant Din Tai Fung does its Shanghai comrades proud with their succulent
pork soup dumplings.
Din Tai Fungs bite-sized xiaolongbao have a consistently high quality
. Their paper-thin wrappings hold rich hot broth and
tender pork meatballs.
Gasps can be heard intermittently at Din Tai Fung as diners
brave the scalding hot soup that squirts out () upon
biting the dumpling.