Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively blands, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. The characteristics of Thai food
depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking.
With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America.
Thais were very adapt at 'Siamese-icing' foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other daily products. Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galanga. Eventually, fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh herbs increased. It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn intensely, but briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn for longer periods. Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is served all at once, permitting dinners to enjoy complementary combinations of different tastes.
A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by non spiced items. There must be a harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal.
Eating & Ordering Thai Food
Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon. Even single dish meals such as fried rice with pork, or steamed rice topped with roasted duck, are served in bite-sized slices or chunks obviating the need for a knife. The spoon is used to convey food to the mouth. Ideally, eating Thai food is a communal affair involving two or more people, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes ordered. Generally speaking, two diners order three dishes in addition to their own individual plates of steamed rice,
three diners four dishes, and so on. Diners choose whatever they require from shared dishes and generally add it to their own rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with other dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes are "balanced" by bland dishes to avoid discomfort.
The ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose and palate. A typical meal might include a clear soup (perhaps bitter melons stuffed with minced pork), a steamed dish (mussels in curry sauce), a fried dish (fish with ginger), a hot salad (beef slices on a bed of lettuce, onions, chillies, mint and lemon juice) and a variety of sauces into which food is dipped. This would be followed by sweet desserts and/or fresh fruits such as mangoes, durian, jackfruit, papaya, grapes or melon.
By:Mabel, Natasha, Shamima, Raveena 10S07
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Street Food in Taiwan
Street food is food obtainable from a streetside vendor, often from a makeshift or portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. The food and green groceries sold in farmers' markets may also fall into this category, including the food exhibited and sold in gathering fairs, such as agricultural show and state fair. Most street food is both finger and fast food. Food and green groceries are available on the street for a fraction of the cost of a restaurant meal and a supermarket. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.
Concerns of cleanliness and freshness often discourage people from eating street food. Lack of refrigeration is often construed as a lack of cleanliness or hygiene; on the other hand, street food often uses particularly fresh ingredients for this very reason.
Street food is intimately connected with take-out, junk food, snacks, and fast food; it is distinguished by its local flavor and by being purchased on the sidewalk, without entering any building. Both take-out and fast food are often sold from counters inside buildings. Increasingly the line is blurred, as restaurants such as McDonald's begin to offer window counters.
With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food has become one of the major concerns of public health, and a focus for governments and scientists to raise public awarenesses. FSA hence provides comprehensive guidances of food safety for the vendors, traders and retailors of the street food sector in the United Kingdom.[6] Other effective ways of curbing the safety of street foods are through mystery shopping programs, through training and rewarding programs to market stallers, through regulatory governing and membership management programs, or through technical testing programs.
Taiwan's street food is well-known in Chinese culture, especially that from the area of Tainan. Influences include the (Min Nan) flavor brought by the emigrants during the Ming loyalist rule era and Japanese tastes in the Japanese colonial period, to 1949, when the Nationalist retreated to the island with people from every other province of the mainland. Bubble/Boba Milk Tea originated on the streets of Taiwan. Taiwanese street food includes fried stinky tofu, oyster pancakes, Zongzi (especially in Tainan), fried meatball, sugarcane juice (Taiwanese sugarcane was sweet famous with Cuba), soup of boiled Trionychidae, fish ball soup, Baozi and water fried Baozi, rice cakes made with pork blood, and rice and noodle dishes.
Concerns of cleanliness and freshness often discourage people from eating street food. Lack of refrigeration is often construed as a lack of cleanliness or hygiene; on the other hand, street food often uses particularly fresh ingredients for this very reason.
Street food is intimately connected with take-out, junk food, snacks, and fast food; it is distinguished by its local flavor and by being purchased on the sidewalk, without entering any building. Both take-out and fast food are often sold from counters inside buildings. Increasingly the line is blurred, as restaurants such as McDonald's begin to offer window counters.
With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food has become one of the major concerns of public health, and a focus for governments and scientists to raise public awarenesses. FSA hence provides comprehensive guidances of food safety for the vendors, traders and retailors of the street food sector in the United Kingdom.[6] Other effective ways of curbing the safety of street foods are through mystery shopping programs, through training and rewarding programs to market stallers, through regulatory governing and membership management programs, or through technical testing programs.
Taiwan's street food is well-known in Chinese culture, especially that from the area of Tainan. Influences include the (Min Nan) flavor brought by the emigrants during the Ming loyalist rule era and Japanese tastes in the Japanese colonial period, to 1949, when the Nationalist retreated to the island with people from every other province of the mainland. Bubble/Boba Milk Tea originated on the streets of Taiwan. Taiwanese street food includes fried stinky tofu, oyster pancakes, Zongzi (especially in Tainan), fried meatball, sugarcane juice (Taiwanese sugarcane was sweet famous with Cuba), soup of boiled Trionychidae, fish ball soup, Baozi and water fried Baozi, rice cakes made with pork blood, and rice and noodle dishes.
Uniqueness of Taiwan Cuisine
Since ingredients were scarce in the region, the Taiwanese food developed as simple preparations cooked out of whatever was available. Thus, sweet potatoes and taro roots were used as substitutes if rice was unavailable. Such adaptations are quite frequent in Taiwanese cuisines, for instance, soups contain quite unusual ingredients like pork bones or bitter melons. Taiwanese creativity in cooking is again evident in their use of seasonings. Black beans, pickles, parsleys, basil, etc are used to add a tinge to the otherwise modest ingredients used. The subtropical island has a rich store of fruits like papaya and melon, which regularly find their way into the dishes of the region.
The cuisine of Taiwan is usually milder than the spicy Szechwan dishes, though it is spicier when compared to the cuisines of northern China. Taiwanese cooks made a good use of staple ingredients like rice, pork, Soya, wine, etc. Seafood is widely used in Taiwanese cuisines. A variety of seafood including tuna, sardines, squids, etc recur as common factors in many of the dishes. Chicken comes next in preference for the Taiwanese taste buds.
The cuisines of Taiwan are therefore simple yet ingenious improvisations that make the Taiwanese dishes a varied and unique experience for the connoisseurs.
In contrast to the refined dishes served at elegant banquets are a wide variety of local foods generally known as xiao-chi in Mandarin (“small eats”), which are something like a delicacy, snack, or one dish of a main meal. These are local dishes with the taste of the countryside. They are the product of folk culture and represent popular aesthetics. Superficially, therefore, xiao-chi seem to be quite the opposite of banquet dishes: folk as opposed to elegance, of different classes, with different flavors. For some time, however, xiao-chi culture has been on the rise, honing its qualities, and attracting attention and praise from all strata of society. This goes to show that there are no distinct boundaries between the two culinary cultures but, rather, that they share much in common.
Xiao-chi are “folk” in that their contents relate to people’s lives; they originated in everyday life, and are permeated with popular features. Taiwan’s xiao-chi have flavors from throughout mainland China as well as from Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Folk xiao-chi are found throughout Taiwan’s culinary world, in all the eight main categories of cuisine, and might be generally termed “Taiwan’s folk xiao-chi.” This comprises both foodstuffs and local produce, which differ in both characteristics and culinary methods. Each area has its own geographic characteristics, resulting in a myriad of folk xiao-chi.
The cuisine of Taiwan is usually milder than the spicy Szechwan dishes, though it is spicier when compared to the cuisines of northern China. Taiwanese cooks made a good use of staple ingredients like rice, pork, Soya, wine, etc. Seafood is widely used in Taiwanese cuisines. A variety of seafood including tuna, sardines, squids, etc recur as common factors in many of the dishes. Chicken comes next in preference for the Taiwanese taste buds.
The cuisines of Taiwan are therefore simple yet ingenious improvisations that make the Taiwanese dishes a varied and unique experience for the connoisseurs.
In contrast to the refined dishes served at elegant banquets are a wide variety of local foods generally known as xiao-chi in Mandarin (“small eats”), which are something like a delicacy, snack, or one dish of a main meal. These are local dishes with the taste of the countryside. They are the product of folk culture and represent popular aesthetics. Superficially, therefore, xiao-chi seem to be quite the opposite of banquet dishes: folk as opposed to elegance, of different classes, with different flavors. For some time, however, xiao-chi culture has been on the rise, honing its qualities, and attracting attention and praise from all strata of society. This goes to show that there are no distinct boundaries between the two culinary cultures but, rather, that they share much in common.
Xiao-chi are “folk” in that their contents relate to people’s lives; they originated in everyday life, and are permeated with popular features. Taiwan’s xiao-chi have flavors from throughout mainland China as well as from Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Folk xiao-chi are found throughout Taiwan’s culinary world, in all the eight main categories of cuisine, and might be generally termed “Taiwan’s folk xiao-chi.” This comprises both foodstuffs and local produce, which differ in both characteristics and culinary methods. Each area has its own geographic characteristics, resulting in a myriad of folk xiao-chi.
Chinese Support Shark Conservation, But Still Demand Shark Fin
There is growing public support in China for shark conservation measures, but little understanding of the role of shark finning in declining shark populations, reveals a survey by WildAid, an environmental group.
Delicacy
Shark fin soup, a delicacy served at Chinese weddings and high profile banquets, is believed by many Chinese to bring good health. WildAid found that few Chinese know the low nutritional value of the product or understand how shark fin is produced. The group faulted Chinese media for doing little to publicize shark conservation or the negative impacts resulting from eating shark's fins.
Close to Extinction
Demand for shark fin is presently at an all time high, thanks largely to a rapidly expanding middle class in
"Recent research has proven that many shark species and populations have experienced precipitous declines over the past 20 years, some by as much as 99%," said Steve Trent, President of WildAid. "Science also tells us that shark species are highly vulnerable to over-exploitation. Now we are witness to an explosion in the consumption of shark fin soup in
WildAid's research, based on surveys carried out in
"This survey shows two key things: first that consumers are largely unaware of where shark fin comes from, of over-fishing, illegal shark fishing or finning and secondly, that there is strong support for much better shark conservation and management," said
Done by Gabriel Wan 09s27
The origin of the taiwanese cuisine
Taiwanese cuisine originated in Fukien. This province, located in southern China, began to prosper in the Sung dynasty (960-1279). During that period the Yangtse River area, rich in fish and rice, was already well developed. Merchants from Hangchou and Ningpo, port cities in the delta, were bustling between their home ports and Fuchou in Fukien, bringing to Fuchou the art of Chiangche(now Shanghai) cuisine.
Fukien is mountainous as well as maritime, rich in both mountain produce and seafood. When the multiple varieties of indigenous ingredients met and blended with the advanced culinary products from Hangchou and Ningpo, the result was Fukienese cuisine--now one of eight major Chinese regional cuisines.
Fukien cuisine can further be divided into the northern Fukienese cuisine(around Fuchou) and the southern Fukienese (around Chuanchou, Changchou, and Amoy.) Most of Taiwan's Han Chinese immigrants were from southern Fukien, so southern Fukienese cuisine became Taiwanese mainstream cuisine.
As in other colonies, the newcomers in Taiwan subsisted on simple foods until they were well settled and prosperous; survival was more important than being fussy about taste. At the end of World War II, Taiwan was basically an agricultural society, and the best foods were eaten by top officials and the rich only. Taiwanese cuisine evolved gradually over hundreds of years. Japanese cuisine(the Japanese occupied Taiwan from 1895 to 1945) left some traces as well, like the use of miso(salty soybean paste), sashimi(raw fish), and takuan(preserved radish.)
Taiwanese food tends to be simple and light, with most of the flavors of the ingredients preserved. Regional snacks abound, like Hsinchu kungwan, Tainan tan-tzu-mien and kuantsaiban, Wanluan port feet, Chiayi mushrooms and shark-fin stew. Nineteen forty-nine was a dramatic turning point for Taiwanese cuisine. That year, when the communists took over the mainland, over two million people from all parts of China fled to Taiwan, bringing with them, among many other things, their cooking skills and tastes.
In a few years, restaurants, small street eateries, and food stalls of various Chinese regional tastes--from Canton, Shanghai, Peking, Hunan, Shanhsi, Chaochou, Fuchou, Szechuan, Chianghsi, and Shantung, as well as Mongolia, sprang up all over the island. Throughout history, there has never been any other place in China where so many styles of Chinese cuisine have existed side by side. This situation has infused Taiwanese cui-sine with new substances and spirits, and Taiwanese cuisine has undergone even further change since. Taiwanese chefs have been willing and eager to learn from other chefs. The result is a greatly enriched Taiwan-ese cuisine, full of outside influences while at the same time maintaining its own character. Today, Taiwanese restaurants offer dishes derived from regional Chinese and indigenous cuisines--and even foreign dishes.
Like Fukien, Taiwan is rich in fish, rice, and mountain produce. With plenty of rainfall, the island harvests hundreds of thousands of tons of salt- and fresh-water fish and other seafood. Crustaceans, mollusks, and eels are considered delicacies by the Taiwa-nese; oysters and clams are a regular part of the diet, with clams being eaten raw or cooked. A popular side dish is raw clams soaked in a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, and hot pepper. Oysters have multiple uses in dishes from oyster soup to various kinds of stir-fried oysters. O-a-chianan, omelet made of oysters, eggs, and corn starch mixed, fried, and served with sweet and sour sauce, is very popular.
Pork and poultry are widely used in Taiwanese cuisine; beef and lamb are becoming popular too. The order of prestige of poultry now is goose, duck, and chicken, while 30 years ago it was chicken, duck, and goose. However, chicken has firmly established its position in Chinese cuisine in general and is often used as a secret weapon in a Chinese kitchen. Sometimes a whole chicken is used along with other ingredients for a single dish, but diners don't see any trace of chicken in the final product--the chef uses only its broth. Chicken is roughly divided into two categories: grain-fed and indigenous. It is graded this way because the grain-fed bird is confined, raised en mass, and of foreign variety, while the indigenous kind runs loose and is said to taste sweeter, juicier, and more solid than the grain-fed type. Well-trained taste buds can tell the difference. Also, some consider that chicken with black skin or feet tastes better than that with white skin or feet.
Health or 'tonic' foods, like ginseng chicken and tangkuei duck, are also popular in Taiwanese cuisine. As the people of Taiwan become more affluent and health conscious, they emphasize such foods more than ever. Rice is widely used in Taiwan to make snacks. The most popular of these is kuei. It appears in many forms and tastes: salty or sweet, leavened or unleavened, plain or otherwise. Lopokao is a beloved food made of rice, radish, and shrimp.
Taiwan doesn't produce wheat, but this grain has nevertheless played a role in Taiwanese cuisine. In Taiwan, people eat ti-kha mi-soan(pork feet with fine noodles) especially after they have had bad luck; back in the old days, poor folks even made a delicious noodle soup to go with plain rice and make the whole meal more palatable. O-a mi-soan(oysters and fine noodles) and tan-tzu mien(noodles with fermented pork sauce) are Taiwanese favorites.
There are countless Taiwanese eateries around the island, some of them specializing in only a few dishes or even a single item. Besides, each region of Taiwan has its own food specialties.
Fukien is mountainous as well as maritime, rich in both mountain produce and seafood. When the multiple varieties of indigenous ingredients met and blended with the advanced culinary products from Hangchou and Ningpo, the result was Fukienese cuisine--now one of eight major Chinese regional cuisines.
Fukien cuisine can further be divided into the northern Fukienese cuisine(around Fuchou) and the southern Fukienese (around Chuanchou, Changchou, and Amoy.) Most of Taiwan's Han Chinese immigrants were from southern Fukien, so southern Fukienese cuisine became Taiwanese mainstream cuisine.
As in other colonies, the newcomers in Taiwan subsisted on simple foods until they were well settled and prosperous; survival was more important than being fussy about taste. At the end of World War II, Taiwan was basically an agricultural society, and the best foods were eaten by top officials and the rich only. Taiwanese cuisine evolved gradually over hundreds of years. Japanese cuisine(the Japanese occupied Taiwan from 1895 to 1945) left some traces as well, like the use of miso(salty soybean paste), sashimi(raw fish), and takuan(preserved radish.)
Taiwanese food tends to be simple and light, with most of the flavors of the ingredients preserved. Regional snacks abound, like Hsinchu kungwan, Tainan tan-tzu-mien and kuantsaiban, Wanluan port feet, Chiayi mushrooms and shark-fin stew. Nineteen forty-nine was a dramatic turning point for Taiwanese cuisine. That year, when the communists took over the mainland, over two million people from all parts of China fled to Taiwan, bringing with them, among many other things, their cooking skills and tastes.
In a few years, restaurants, small street eateries, and food stalls of various Chinese regional tastes--from Canton, Shanghai, Peking, Hunan, Shanhsi, Chaochou, Fuchou, Szechuan, Chianghsi, and Shantung, as well as Mongolia, sprang up all over the island. Throughout history, there has never been any other place in China where so many styles of Chinese cuisine have existed side by side. This situation has infused Taiwanese cui-sine with new substances and spirits, and Taiwanese cuisine has undergone even further change since. Taiwanese chefs have been willing and eager to learn from other chefs. The result is a greatly enriched Taiwan-ese cuisine, full of outside influences while at the same time maintaining its own character. Today, Taiwanese restaurants offer dishes derived from regional Chinese and indigenous cuisines--and even foreign dishes.
Like Fukien, Taiwan is rich in fish, rice, and mountain produce. With plenty of rainfall, the island harvests hundreds of thousands of tons of salt- and fresh-water fish and other seafood. Crustaceans, mollusks, and eels are considered delicacies by the Taiwa-nese; oysters and clams are a regular part of the diet, with clams being eaten raw or cooked. A popular side dish is raw clams soaked in a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, and hot pepper. Oysters have multiple uses in dishes from oyster soup to various kinds of stir-fried oysters. O-a-chianan, omelet made of oysters, eggs, and corn starch mixed, fried, and served with sweet and sour sauce, is very popular.
Pork and poultry are widely used in Taiwanese cuisine; beef and lamb are becoming popular too. The order of prestige of poultry now is goose, duck, and chicken, while 30 years ago it was chicken, duck, and goose. However, chicken has firmly established its position in Chinese cuisine in general and is often used as a secret weapon in a Chinese kitchen. Sometimes a whole chicken is used along with other ingredients for a single dish, but diners don't see any trace of chicken in the final product--the chef uses only its broth. Chicken is roughly divided into two categories: grain-fed and indigenous. It is graded this way because the grain-fed bird is confined, raised en mass, and of foreign variety, while the indigenous kind runs loose and is said to taste sweeter, juicier, and more solid than the grain-fed type. Well-trained taste buds can tell the difference. Also, some consider that chicken with black skin or feet tastes better than that with white skin or feet.
Health or 'tonic' foods, like ginseng chicken and tangkuei duck, are also popular in Taiwanese cuisine. As the people of Taiwan become more affluent and health conscious, they emphasize such foods more than ever. Rice is widely used in Taiwan to make snacks. The most popular of these is kuei. It appears in many forms and tastes: salty or sweet, leavened or unleavened, plain or otherwise. Lopokao is a beloved food made of rice, radish, and shrimp.
Taiwan doesn't produce wheat, but this grain has nevertheless played a role in Taiwanese cuisine. In Taiwan, people eat ti-kha mi-soan(pork feet with fine noodles) especially after they have had bad luck; back in the old days, poor folks even made a delicious noodle soup to go with plain rice and make the whole meal more palatable. O-a mi-soan(oysters and fine noodles) and tan-tzu mien(noodles with fermented pork sauce) are Taiwanese favorites.
There are countless Taiwanese eateries around the island, some of them specializing in only a few dishes or even a single item. Besides, each region of Taiwan has its own food specialties.
Mouth-watering exhibitions in Taiwan
The Taiwanese are constantly trying new recipes and ideas. Since the Taiwanese come from many different places, they have an open mind, are accepting of change and like new things. Every time you go to Taiwan, you will see a new fruit, a new vegetable and, hence, a new recipe.
The 17th Taipei Chinese Culinary Exhibition showcased some of the most exquisite food displays. Since 1989, Taiwan's innovative chefs have displayed their culinary expertise and creativity at the Taipei Chinese Culinary Exhibition at the Taipei World Trade Center. It is one of the most important culinary shows in Asia.
In the mainland China exhibit, the "Water Banquet" of Luoyang was selected as the main theme since each year a special regional cuisine or style of food is introduced. This entry was a Royal Banquet from the Tang Dynasty some 1,300 years ago inspired by Empress Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, once a Luoyang resident.
As the story goes, the empress wanted to have swallow nest soup but the main ingredient was missing. A search was conducted, but a thousand-year-old turnip weighing over 20 kg (about 44 lbs.) was found instead and presented at Wu Zetian's court. The master chefs in the imperial kitchen took part of the turnip, cut it into strips and blended it with pork and other flavors. After cooking it for eight days, they were able to create Luoyang Agar—a dish resembling bird's nest soup that is always served at the start of any Water Banquet. This banquet comprises 24 dishes of cold appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and main courses.
The Water Banquet dishes were refined and developed over centuries, combining local ingredients in broths to help residents stay healthy and fit. It is known as the "Water Banquet" because of the predominance of soups and watery dishes, which were thought to be well suited to the very dry desert-like climate of the Luoyang region.
From the "Land of Plenty" you will see Mother Tian's Recipes. This group represents a legion of wives and mothers around Taiwan who have joined together under the auspices of various local agricultural associations to both refine their own culinary skills and develop an entirely new line of food that centers on the three core principles of value, health and good taste.
The 17th Taipei Chinese Culinary Exhibition showcased some of the most exquisite food displays. Since 1989, Taiwan's innovative chefs have displayed their culinary expertise and creativity at the Taipei Chinese Culinary Exhibition at the Taipei World Trade Center. It is one of the most important culinary shows in Asia.
In the mainland China exhibit, the "Water Banquet" of Luoyang was selected as the main theme since each year a special regional cuisine or style of food is introduced. This entry was a Royal Banquet from the Tang Dynasty some 1,300 years ago inspired by Empress Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, once a Luoyang resident.
As the story goes, the empress wanted to have swallow nest soup but the main ingredient was missing. A search was conducted, but a thousand-year-old turnip weighing over 20 kg (about 44 lbs.) was found instead and presented at Wu Zetian's court. The master chefs in the imperial kitchen took part of the turnip, cut it into strips and blended it with pork and other flavors. After cooking it for eight days, they were able to create Luoyang Agar—a dish resembling bird's nest soup that is always served at the start of any Water Banquet. This banquet comprises 24 dishes of cold appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and main courses.
The Water Banquet dishes were refined and developed over centuries, combining local ingredients in broths to help residents stay healthy and fit. It is known as the "Water Banquet" because of the predominance of soups and watery dishes, which were thought to be well suited to the very dry desert-like climate of the Luoyang region.
From the "Land of Plenty" you will see Mother Tian's Recipes. This group represents a legion of wives and mothers around Taiwan who have joined together under the auspices of various local agricultural associations to both refine their own culinary skills and develop an entirely new line of food that centers on the three core principles of value, health and good taste.
Rural roots of taiwan's food culture
Food culture represents one face by which a country knows itself and by which it shows itself to the world. Due to its great ethnic diversity, Taiwan has a wide variety of such faces and, moreover, these have increased and strengthened with the rise in local awareness. This diversity of cuisines includes eight main categories: Holo (also called “Minnanese,” or simply “Taiwanese”), Hakka, and vegetarian foods, as well as the various cooking styles with long histories from the length and breadth of mainland China such as northern style, Hunan, Jiangzhe (from the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang), Hong Kong (Cantonese), and Sichuan. In general, therefore, it can be said that Taiwan’s varied cuisine shows ethnic, geographic, economic, and other cultural influences.
This situation can be illustrated using the example of Changhua County in west-central Taiwan. While Changhua’s one city and 25 townships have a variety of distinctive geographic conditions, there is an overall tendency toward agriculture, meaning that Changhua foodstuffs tend to have a rural flavor. Local influence can be seen on top of this, however, such as in the seafood ingredients used for coastal dishes such as o-a-tsian (oyster omelet) and o-a-mi-suann (slender noodles with oysters), which are considered Changhua specialties. Agricultural communities throughout Taiwan tend not to include beef as a staple of their diet, so Changhua’s meat dishes are also generally based on pork. These include rice with stewed pork, and bah-uan (rou-yuan in Mandarin), which are meatballs in a large dumpling. These are so famous that, throughout Taiwan, they are known as Changhua rou-yuan. These meatballs are made using bamboo shoots and mushrooms as well as pork, and the dough is generally made using sweet potato starch. This shows how such dishes are closely bound to the agricultural societies that produced them. Local religious activities have also contributed to the development of pastry making, so that Changhua’s many old pastry shops now enjoy a widespread reputation.
The situation in Taoyuan can be contrasted to that in Changhua. The culinary culture of the 13 conurbations of this northern county was originally similar to that of Changhua discussed above. Following settlement by large numbers of mainland veterans and the arrival of foreign workers, however, local cuisine has been influenced markedly. Initial Han-Chinese inhabitants of Taoyuan had been mostly descendants of immigrants from the Zhangzhou area of mainland China’s Fujian Province. The rich tapestry of local inhabitants also includes indigenous Atayal, Hakka, and immigrants from Matsu Island and Yunnan Province, giving rise to an equally rich variety of cuisines.
Following the arrival of foreign laborers, Southeast Asian restaurants have also prospered, while the hot and spicy beef noodles of the veterans’ community has become another feature of local food over the last few decades.
This situation can be illustrated using the example of Changhua County in west-central Taiwan. While Changhua’s one city and 25 townships have a variety of distinctive geographic conditions, there is an overall tendency toward agriculture, meaning that Changhua foodstuffs tend to have a rural flavor. Local influence can be seen on top of this, however, such as in the seafood ingredients used for coastal dishes such as o-a-tsian (oyster omelet) and o-a-mi-suann (slender noodles with oysters), which are considered Changhua specialties. Agricultural communities throughout Taiwan tend not to include beef as a staple of their diet, so Changhua’s meat dishes are also generally based on pork. These include rice with stewed pork, and bah-uan (rou-yuan in Mandarin), which are meatballs in a large dumpling. These are so famous that, throughout Taiwan, they are known as Changhua rou-yuan. These meatballs are made using bamboo shoots and mushrooms as well as pork, and the dough is generally made using sweet potato starch. This shows how such dishes are closely bound to the agricultural societies that produced them. Local religious activities have also contributed to the development of pastry making, so that Changhua’s many old pastry shops now enjoy a widespread reputation.
The situation in Taoyuan can be contrasted to that in Changhua. The culinary culture of the 13 conurbations of this northern county was originally similar to that of Changhua discussed above. Following settlement by large numbers of mainland veterans and the arrival of foreign workers, however, local cuisine has been influenced markedly. Initial Han-Chinese inhabitants of Taoyuan had been mostly descendants of immigrants from the Zhangzhou area of mainland China’s Fujian Province. The rich tapestry of local inhabitants also includes indigenous Atayal, Hakka, and immigrants from Matsu Island and Yunnan Province, giving rise to an equally rich variety of cuisines.
Following the arrival of foreign laborers, Southeast Asian restaurants have also prospered, while the hot and spicy beef noodles of the veterans’ community has become another feature of local food over the last few decades.
Taiwanese cuisine
Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of China, most notably from the province of Fujian (Hokkien), but influences from all of China can easily be found. A notable Japanese influence exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Traditional Chinese food to 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.
Pork, seafood, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. 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 to such beasts of labour. Curiously, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup remains one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan, in spite of this traditional aversion.
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.
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 inventiveness 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, literally "nine storey pagoda").
Hence, the resulting dishes thus combine and form interesting tastes which make Taiwanese cuisine simple in format yet complex in experience.
Pork, seafood, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. 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 to such beasts of labour. Curiously, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup remains one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan, in spite of this traditional aversion.
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.
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 inventiveness 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, literally "nine storey pagoda").
Hence, the resulting dishes thus combine and form interesting tastes which make Taiwanese cuisine simple in format yet complex in experience.
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