Many people are not aware of a single dish from Taiwan. Taiwan’s beautiful history is often not taught in many history classes and oftentimes forgotten on the world map. Growing up in the United States, I myself struggle to continue honoring my Taiwanese heritage and spreading information about Taiwanese Culture. There are many beautiful dishes that are flavorful and unique. Many people do not know this fact, but boba tea, a drink that was made popular through social media, actually originated from Taiwan. I listed some of my favorite Taiwanese dishes that will hopefully be spread and enjoyed by others.
Braised Pork Rice (Ru Ruo Fan)
This is actually my favorite dish growing up that I would eat at every single restaurant in Taiwan. This is my biggest comfort food. It is steamed fluffy rice topped with soy-braised pork belly and usually served with a tea egg. It is fatty, savory and known for being a big comfort food for many Taiwan citizens.
Taiwanese Shaved Snow (Xue Hua Bing)
Many other Asian cuisines have their own spin on shaved snow, but the Taiwanese version is my favorite. The shaved snow has the texture of ice cream but is more fluffy and soft. Usually topped with many delicious toppings like mango, boba, red bean and mochi. Eating shaved snow is a perfect way of feeling refreshed on a hot Taiwan day. My personal favorite way to have Taiwanese shaved snow is with fresh mangos, condensed milk and vanilla ice cream.
Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou mian)
This is my dad’s favorite dish and is also considered the national dish of Taiwan. It is made with noodles, beef broth, braised flavorful beef, pickled mustard greens and an egg. Usually, the beef broth soup is slowly simmered for days so the broth would be flavorful and the meat is tender. It is a hard dish to get right, but once made it is very delicious.
Lemon Aiyu Jelly
One of my personal desserts to have on a hot summer day. It is commonly in boba drinks and is a lemon jelly that has an unique texture. It is usually paired with lemon and honey and is a lot healthier than regular boba but equally delicious. Lemon jelly simply does not compare, as the texture of Aiyu is really unique.
Taiwanese Fried Chicken
I will forever believe that Taiwanese fried chicken is better than American fried chicken. It is in bite size pieces that are perfect for sharing and seasoned with salt, pepper and a lot of basil. They are a perfect late night food and can often be found at street markets.
There are a lot of Taiwanese dishes that deserve more recognition, but these are more commonly known and ones I personally grew up eating. I have high hopes that more Taiwanese dishes will grow in popularity and more people will be able to enjoy eating Taiwanese foods.