TheLunarCat

Taiwan has been exposed to many different cultures. In the 16th century the Portuguese came to the island, not to conquer but to put them on the world map. In 1624 the Dutch came to the island and then the Spanish in 1628. These nations had a bit of a scuffle, but the Dutch defeated the Spanish 20 years later. Then along came the Ming Dynasty of China who ousted the Dutch in 1662 and then they in turn were ousted just over 20 years later by the Qing Dynasty of China in 1683.  They stayed until 1895 and during this time many Chinese people emigrated to Taiwan, including the ethnic group called the Chinese Hakka from Southern China.

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In 1895 Taiwan was invaded by the Japanese, but after World War II the Japanese handed Taiwan back to China - which was then the ruled by the Nationalist Party and was called the Republic of China.  Following this, a civil war broke out in China between the Nationalists (Republic of China) and the Communists (The People’s Republic of China), with the nationalists losing and relocating to Taiwan, whilst mainland China became the People’s Republic of China.

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Today elements of the original Aboriginal culture still persist, but the Chinese (including Hakka) and Japanese have had a big influence on the food and culinary practices of modern day Taiwan.

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Taiwan is an island, so seafood features prominently in the cuisine, including large fish such as tuna and grouper, smaller fish such as sardines and anchovies, but Milkfish is the most popular. Crustaceans such as squid and cuttlefish are also eaten.

 

Taiwan's sub tropical climate with mild winters and fertile soil means that tropical fruits such as banana, grapes, guava, jujube, mandarins, oranges, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, pomelo, dragonfruit, strawberries and more are grown on the island.  Two thirds of the island is mountainous, but the west side of the island features terraced tablelands and plains, so this is where the bulk of farmland is located. The land has rich volcanic soil with plenty of rainfall and good climate so vegetables and other crops are abundant. Rice is Taiwan’s most valuable crop followed by bamboo shoots, cabbages, watermelons, shiitake mushrooms, leafy vegetables, and green onions. Main livestock includes pigs, chickens and ducks over cattle.

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Taiwanese cuisine features indigenous flavours with outside culinary influences which have combined to become the “salty-sweet” trademark of modern Taiwanese food.

 

As over 60% of the population are descendants of the indigenous Aboriginals, indigenous food culture and ingredients are important. Indigenous techniques such as steaming, grilling, slow cooking and boiling are used but stir-frying and stewing were introduced by the Chinese Han. About 4.5 million people in Taiwan are Chinese Hakka and this is where the thick, basil-heavy soups, pan-fried mi fen rice noodles, use of sesame seeds, mint leaves, and mung beans originated from. The Chinese from Fujian brought dishes such as minced pork on rice and gua bao (pork belly buns) to the island during the Qing Dynasty and later.

 

Japanese food trends have also been adopted by the Taiwanese as a result of their Japanese occupation. Rice and sugar crops appeared as a result of Japanese occupation - this lead to an appreciation of sweets and sugar in cooking. Many Japanese dishes have been adapted to use cheaper and more readily available Taiwanese ingredients, including pickled vegetables, tempura, sushi, ramen and desserts. The Taiwanese people want to be seen as an independent nation - so distinctive dishes have developed over time including beef noodles (their national dish), bubble tea, oyster omelette, stinky tofu, buns, sweet breads and dumplings, which were the result of wheat products introduced to Taiwan after WWII by USAID.

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