Taiwanese cuisine ( or ) is a popular style of food with several variations, including Chinese and that of Taiwanese indigenous peoples, with the earliest cuisines known of being the indigenous ones. With over a hundred years of historical development, southern Fujian cuisine has had the most profound impact on mainstream Taiwanese cuisine but it has also been influenced by Hakka cuisine, the cuisines of the waishengren (people of other provinces), and Japanese cuisine.
Taiwan's cuisine is tied to its history of colonization and modern politics makes the description of Taiwanese cuisine difficult. As Taiwan developed economically, fine dining became increasingly popular. Taiwanese cuisine has significant regional variations.
Night markets in Taiwan form a significant part of the food culture. Vegetarian and vegan food are very common. Taiwanese cuisine is popular around the world with some items like bubble tea and Taiwanese fried chicken becoming global phenomena.
History
According to Katy Hui-wen Hung, "Taiwanese food history is as murky as Taiwanese politics". This is because Taiwanese cuisine is intricately tied to patterns of migration and colonization. Local and international Taiwanese cuisine, including its history, is a politically contentious topic. Taiwan's complex and diverse identity makes Taiwanese cuisine difficult to define. Tense political relations between Taiwan and China also complicate the history.
The history of Taiwanese cuisine began with the cuisine of the aboriginal peoples of the islands of Taiwan. In the 16th century Hokkien and Hakka communities immigrated to Taiwan and brought their cuisines with them. Due to this part of its heritage Taiwanese cuisine is often considered as a part of regional Han cuisine. Early European influences came from the Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Due to the period of Japanese rule, Taiwanese cuisine was also strongly influenced by Japanese washoku and yōshoku. During Japanese rule Japanese dishes and foodways such as bento, sashimi, rice balls, and miso soup were introduced to Taiwanese cuisine.
After WWII, the Kuomintang retreat to Taiwan brought along many Han cuisines outside the province of Fujian or Southeast China. After that, the dishes from China especially Guangdong, Chaoshan, Shanghai, Sichuan and Beijing could be easily found in Taiwan.
According to Taiwanese chef Fu Pei-mei, authentic Chinese culinary traditions were properly preserved in Taiwan. 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. The authenticity of regional Han cuisine in Taiwan has been challenged. Some sources trace the origin of instant noodles to Taiwan's jisi noodles, in particular a variation deep-fried in pork fat to be later boiled in water before serving introduced by the Qingji Ice Dessert Parlor in 1951. Following the commercialization of instant noodles Taiwanese companies including Uni-President. In 1973 Wei Lih Food Industrial introduced the first packaged instant noodle meant to be consumed "dry" (without soup or with soup on the side).
The Tatung electric steamer was introduced in the 1960s and became a staple of Taiwanese home and restaurant kitchens. The widespread adoption of the food court during the 20th century formalized more traditional hawkers and vendors. Food courts also became an important part of the malls and shopping centers which proliferated across Taiwan.
In 2002, the accession of Taiwan to the World Trade Organization forced Taiwanese farmers to compete with global markets. Many responded by shifting from staple crops to high end and niche produce primarily for local consumption. Agrotourism was also more widely adopted, with visitors to farms often being served and/or taught how to prepare dishes with the products from the farms.
In the early 21st century, ideas about sustainability and local food became more prominent in Taiwanese culinary and agricultural circles. An increased emphasis has been placed on understanding the history of food as well as incorporating indigenous foodways into mainstream Taiwanese cuisine.
Ingredients and culture
Common ingredients of Taiwanese cuisine are pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy. Traditionally, rice formed the basis of most Taiwanese diets. Before the Japanese colonial period, most rice grown in Taiwan was long-grained indica rice. The Japanese introduced short-grained japonica rice which quickly changed both the farming and eating patterns of the Taiwanese. Due to Japanese influence, the Taiwanese generally prefer rice that is plump, aromatic, slightly firm, and sweet. Differences between the Taiwanese and Japanese rice preferences are demonstrated by differences in their cuisine with Taiwan's more flavorful and aggressive cooking methods calling for highly aromatic rice while the Japanese prefer a more subtle and pure taste and smell. During the Japanese Colonial period, Taiwanese cuisine was divided. 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. In the meantime, those without wealth or connections primarily ate rice, porridge, pickled vegetables, and sweet potato leaves. Cooking oil was considered a luxury and was only used for special occasions.
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. Milkfish is the most popular fish in Taiwanese cuisine; it is valued for its versatility as well as its tender meat and economical price.
Beef is less common than other proteins, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. This stems from traditional reluctance toward slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment and feeling of gratitude and thanks to the animals traditionally used for very hard labor. However, due to influences from the influx of Chinese in the 1900s, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup is now one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan. 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. Rice consumption in Taiwan reached a height of 80-90 kilograms per person per year in the 1960s and 1970s before falling as consumers shifted consumption to wheat-based foods. However, the Taiwanese still consume a large quantity of rice, particularly brown rice and exotic varieties like black, purple, and red rice. Recently rice consumption in Taiwan has enjoyed a renaissance with both growers and consumers devoting the level of care and attention to the rice that is given to high-value crops like tea.
Dumplings were a minor part of Taiwanese cuisine until the expansion in wheat consumption following WWII. Dumplings and dumpling like foods (such as xiaolongbao which is actually a small steamed bun because its wrapper contains yeast) are very popular in modern Taiwanese cuisine with most combining Chinese and Taiwanese influences. In Taiwan dumplings are often paired with hot and sour soup.
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. Typical spice mixes in Taiwanese cuisine are five-spice powder and hujiaoyan (literally pepper salt; a mixture of white pepper, salt, MSG, and sugar). 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) and a local variety of basil (). Widespread use of sugar is part of the legacy of Taiwan's commercial sugar industry.
Taiwanese black vinegar has more in common with Worcestershire sauce than other black vinegars and is considered an outlier among black vinegars. Its base is sticky rice which is then aged with other ingredients in clay pots. It is used as a condiment and seasoning. Kong Yen is the largest producer of Taiwanese black vinegar. According to Bon Appetit, compared to Chinese black vinegars it is "simpler, fruitier, and cleaner." Taiwanese soy paste is a soy sauce based paste thickened with rice flour and sugar. Taiwanese mayonnaise is made with both egg whites and egg yolks and is sweetened.
An important part of Taiwanese cuisine is xiaochi (小吃), 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 xiǎochī. The most common place to enjoy xiǎochī in Taiwan is in a night market. Each night market also has its famous xiǎochī. Moreover, the Taiwanese xiǎochī has entered more "refined" eating environments. Nowadays, Taiwanese xiǎochī can be found in luxury and high-end restaurants. These restaurants use higher quality ingredients and creative presentations, reinventing dishes whilst keeping the robust flavors. The prices usually jump by twice the price or even higher in the restaurants. The Taiwanese government supports the Taiwanese xiǎochī and has held national xiǎochī events in Taiwan regularly.
Grilling is an important part of Taiwanese cuisine with many Taiwanese grilling at home and street side grills being a ubiquitous feature of night markets. Rechao () is a style of Taiwanese cuisine that uses a wok to stir-fry food. Rechao establishments create settings for numerous Taiwanese to connect with each other as they dine and converse.
Roadside banquet chefs are ubiquitous in Taiwan; these small (often single-person) catering firms provide on-location cooking for wedding banquets and other celebrations often held on the roadside. 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. The banquet industry returned after the pandemic but have faced criticism for a lack of innovation and the repetition of traditional dishes.
Vegetarianism and veganism 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. These vegetarian restaurants vary in style from all-you-can-eat to pay-by-the-weight and the regular order-from-a-menu. Vegetarian restaurants and foods are often marked with a left-facing swastika.