Taiwan Day 11: Undeniably Taiwanese Snacks / 一眼看出就是台灣小吃 (Taipei: Wanhua District / 台北市: 萬華區)

One of the best things about Taiwanese cuisine is that there is a vast variety of little snacks or small eats (小吃 / Mandarin: xiǎo chi).  The Taiwanese thrive on these small eats primarily because they are convenient and affordable.  Not only do they get served up quickly, they come in individual servings most of the time.  It is easy to grab and eat in a hurry.  Even if you are in a large group, each person can still eat what they want without having to collectively decide on what to order.  Oh, and these xiaochi can be found on just about every street corner and alleyway.  Art and I were at Ximending (西門町) when a pang of hunger overcame us, so we stopped to have some of our favorite Taiwanese snacks.

The first thing that comes to mind when I need to satisfy my hunger quickly is braised pork rice (滷肉飯 / Mandarin: lǔ ròu fàn / Taiwanese: loh bah bng), also known as stewed pork rice or minced pork rice depending on how it is prepared.  Ground pork, usually stewed with shiitake mushroom and crispy fried shallots, covers a bowl of steamed white rice and gets garnished with a florescent pickled radish.  It is simple bowl of savory satisfaction that cannot be beat.

Arguably the most famous of Taiwanese street foods is the oyster omelette (蚵仔煎 / Taiwanese: ô-ah jian), more commonly known as oyster pancake in English.  It really is an omelette since it is made predominantly of scrambled eggs and because there is no bread like portion to make it a pancake.  Fresh oysters and green veggies are scattered throughout the crisp egg round, and sweet potato starch holds it all together while providing a very glutinous and chewy 'Q' texture.  Sweet chili sauce, a typical condiment used in Taiwanese cooking, is spread across the top.  There is no name for this in Mandarin because this is a truly local item that has been made since the days of Formosa.  The chef can whip this petite and protein packed pancake for you in no time.  I love it.

Neither fried chicken nor food on a stick is Taiwanese in nature, but it is something that is crazy popular on the streets of Taipei.  Whether it is little bite sized pieces of salt and pepper seasoned popcorn chicken or the giant, pounded, deep fried chicken filet from Shilin Night Market, fried chicken must be eaten.  It is just so crispy.  No matter what time of day your hunger pangs develop, the deep fried chicken makes it seem like happy hour.  All that is missing is beer.

These traditional Taiwanese snacks were delicious and held us over until dinner.  Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Ximending Pedestrian Area (西門町)
台北市萬華區漢中街
Hanzhong Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City
MRT: Ximen Station, exit no. 6 / 捷運西門站, 6號出口

ML - 20130710

Taiwan Day 9: Childhood Memories of Stewed Pork Rice / 懷念三元號圓環老店 (Taipei: Datong District / 台北市: 大同區)

When my aunt finally had some time to hang out, I asked her to bring me somewhere that she and my dad used to eat when they were younger.  She led me to a restaurant that used to occupy a space within the central ring of shops at the intersection of Chongqing North Road (重慶北路), Nanjing West Road (南京西路) and Tianshui Road (天水路).  It has relocated just off the roundabout (圓環) due to the municipal government's mandated renovations, which many of the older generation locals in the area gripe about.  How often have you heard the elders mention that things just aren't the way they used to be?

The location may not be the same, but the flavors of its stewed pork rice (滷肉飯) have remained constant.  The stewed pork rice is old school here.  It is easy to see.  The meat is minced, ground, or chopped into bits and pieces and stewed in a sauce of soy and sugar.  When it is spooned atop the rice, it seeps into any space that it finds.  It is fully incorporated.  The meat is nowhere close to the glossy chunks or gleaming cubes of pork belly that are found in restaurants elsewhere.  The pork used here is lean ground meat.  It is far from greasy, but still... this is a hot mess.  It is saucy; it is soupy.  It is home style.  It is the way my dad, my aunts and uncles ate when they were little.  It is delicious.

It is hard not to imagine the thoughts, goals, and ambitions that ran through my father and his siblings' minds when eating a bowl of this messy, saucy pork rice.  Back then there was silence during meal time for my parents.  Not only was the pork stewing away in the pot, but the burrowed desires of a better life were stewing away in their heads as well.  Even to this day it is not easy for the elder generation of Taiwanese to express or communicate their emotions explicitly.

The only time a hint of their childhood memories come to light is when my dad makes this saucy, sliced garlic pork (蒜泥白肉).  This is another dish that elicits family history whether it is happy or painful.  For me, I only know this dish when cooked in our home kitchen in America, but my dad his siblings know of this dish the way that I experienced it.  The thin cuts of blanched pork are laid out on a platter before being drenched in sweet soy sauce paste, minced garlic, and a mound of freshly shredded ginger.  The raw biting garlic will undoubtedly leave a lasting taste on your tongue for a while... much like the memories of eating at the roundabout shops have left for the Lin family.

If this strangely emo post has not already turned the glories of pork upside down for you, continue reading... there's more! Not everyone is fond of their childhood memories, and not everyone appreciates the lingering garlic flavor on their tongue.  Fortunately, there is a pork spare rib soup (排骨湯) available to cleanse your palate and wash away bad memories.  The deep fried pieces of spare rib sink down deep into the depths of the soup, adding flavor and substance to the mild broth brewed from daikon.  A hearty yet mild flavor, the broth is substantial enough to rinse away any flashbacks of which you are not fond but just subtle enough to remind you that there were no regrets.

Oh, wow, that was a cliff of a conclusion.  Until next time, let's dream of getting S.O.F.A.T.

Read the post on 三元號 by TaiwanWalker in Chinese here.

三元號 (San Yuán Haò)
台北市大同區重慶北路二段11號
No. 11, Chongqing North Rd., Section 2, Datong District, Taipei City 

ML - 20130708

173. Taiwan Day 6: Fast Food from Formosa Chang / 快吃鬍鬚張快餐 (New Taipei: Yonghe District / 新北市: 永和區)

If you need a quick bite during lunch, Formosa Chang (鬍鬚張) is the place to go.  When I was a study abroad student in Taiwan, I frequently dropped into one of the many locations in Taipei for a speedy and affordable meal before heading to class.  A bowl of stewed pork rice, a side of vegetables, and an order of soup set me back about 145 NTD (less than 5 USD).  And I was always able to sit, order, eat, and pay in under half an hour... with time left to grab an ice cream bar from the 7-Eleven down the street.  On the sixth day of my trip to Taiwan, Diana and I dropped by Formosa Chang for some a fast lunch.  We were on the way to teach her class how to play some American party games (think Uno and Big Booty), and Diana planned to bring them ice cream from 7-Eleven for being hard working students.  It looks like we have a recurring theme here...

Our meal centered around the stewed pork rice (滷肉飯), a sweet and savory saucy mess of fatty minced pork poured over steamed white rice and served with pickled ginger.  Two small bowls, petite enough to hold in the palm of your hand... one for me, one for Diana.  The bowls also come to medium and large sizes for the famished.

Eating with Diana means that ordering a plate of vegetables is inevitable.  Luckily for me, I have no problem with veggies.  Today we ordered both the bamboo and a local Taiwanese vegetable known as A-tsai, which has a texture that is a hybrid of spinach and lettuce.  Although it has been blanched, it still retains a crunchiness and an inherent greenness that makes it seem like sort of a salad rather than a completely cooked dish... aside from the savory minced meat sauce that accompanies it, of course.

We also ordered soup too, but oh, would you look at that! Time flies when you're eating good food.  We needed to run, almost literally, to buy ice cream bars for two dozen already overly energetic Taiwanese elementary school children.  Gotta run! Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Formosa Chang (鬍鬚張)
新北市永和區永和路一段108之1號
No. 108-1, Yonghe Rd., Section 1, Yonghe District, New Taipei City
multiple locations in Greater Taipei and northern Taiwan

ML - 20130705