Taiwanese cuisine
This claim to authenticity, common among Fu's generation, was in part due to the Kuomintang's Chinese nationalist political messaging which extended well beyond cuisine.
High-end restaurants, or wine houses, served Chinese cuisine such as Peking duck, shark fin with bird's nest soup, and braised turtle to the colonial elite.
[citation needed] Milkfish is the most popular fish in Taiwanese cuisine; it is valued for its versatility as well as its tender meat and economical price.
American food aid in the decades following WWII which primarily consisted of wheat, beef, and processed meats like Spam permanently changed the Taiwanese diet with wheat-based noodles, breads, and dumplings taking a more central role in the cuisine.
[21] Taiwanese cuisine relies on an abundant array of seasonings for flavor: soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, fermented black beans, pickled radish, pickled mustard greens, peanuts, chili peppers, cilantro (sometimes called Chinese parsley)[22] and a local variety of basil (九層塔; káu-chàn-tha̍h; 'nine-story pagoda').
[28] An important part of Taiwanese cuisine is xiaochi (小吃),[29] substantial snacks along the lines of Spanish tapas or Levantine meze.
During the COVID-19 pandemic these chefs saw a significant downturn in business due to the lack of people hosting large traditional functions, especially those around the Lunar New Year.
[35] Vegetarian restaurants are commonplace in Taiwan with a wide variety of dishes, mainly due to the influence of Buddhism and other syncretistic religions like I-Kuan Tao.
There has also been a rise in veganism with concerns about animal welfare, personal health, environmental sustainability, and climate change driving both trends.
Aside from snacks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, night markets also have vendors selling clothes, accessories, and offer all kinds of entertainment and products.
[56] Street vendors used to be common across Taiwan but due to increasing regulations and health safety concerns are now primarily found at night markets and food courts.
[56] Some, such as Shilin Night Market, have become as popular with tourists than they are with locals leading to complaints that they have lost a measure of their authentic flavor though commercialization.
Game meats for those living in the mountainous areas include deer, and flying squirrel intestines, a delicacy as regarded by the Bunun people.
Also important to the Indigenous Taiwanese people's cuisine are the sweet potato and taro, favored 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.
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.
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.
Whilst chefs in such restaurants often tweak traditional recipes to suit contemporary tastebuds, emphasis of natural foods is still extant.
[66] Rinari, in rural Pingtung County, is an aboriginal restaurant of national significance whose twenty seats are notoriously hard to secure.
[69] The first coffee plants on Taiwan were imported by the British to Tainan in 1884 with the first significant small scale cultivation taking place in New Taipei City's Sanxia District.
[70] More recently, Starbucks' outlets in Taiwan have introduced local drinkers to espresso-based milk beverages, which are often milder than the brews traditionally served there.
[72] That year, a Taiwanese, Berg Wu, won the World Barista Championship; the victory helped bring to attention Taiwan's substantial involvement in coffee culture.
[74] By 2024, a significant percentage of specialty coffee shops were roasting their own beans, and tourists had started visiting Taiwan specifically to go "cafe hopping".
[75] Yusan Kaoliang Chiew (Chinese: 玉山高粱酒; pinyin: Yùshān Gāoliáng Jiǔ) is produced by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation.
This claim to authenticity, common among Fu's generation, was in part due to the Kuomintang's Chinese nationalist political messaging which extended well beyond cuisine.
[119] It promoted Taiwanese venues internationally, sponsored chefs, hosted food festivals and competitions, and emphasized elements such as bubble tea, oyster omelette, and Taiwan's night markets.
General Tso's chicken was invented by the KMT's head chef Peng Chang-kuei in the 1950s to feed visiting American military dignitaries.
Many of the immigrants to the United States during this period had been born in China and fled to Taiwan with the retreating KMT, particularly former residents of the Dachen Islands who had been evacuated in 1955.
In 2018, there was a rapid growth in the number of authentic Taiwanese restaurants in New York City[125][126][127] and across the country, which coincided with an increased interest in regional Chinese food and in Taiwan itself.
[138][139] In 2023, the TCE was held at the Taipei World Trade Center the and featured four areas "Gourmet Tastes, Culinary Exploration, Government Pavilion, and Exotic Foods.
