I am always writing about international cuisine, but today, I am going to take everyone to my country and into a local, traditional Taiwanese restaurant for some authentic island taste.
Taiwanese cuisine has many different facets and influences. It is originally based on dishes from the Mid- to Southern parts of China, especially Fujian province. However, Japanese culture and ingredients play an important part in Taiwan’s cuisine due to the island’s 50 years of history being a Japanese colony. Furthermore, Taiwan’s cuisine is also influenced by its indigenous population ( Austronesian ) who have inhabited the island dating back 8000 years.
Being a sub-tropical island surrounded by the ocean, seafood predominates the Taiwanese cuisine. Almost everything is eaten from the sea from large fish such as tuna and grouper, to sardines and even smaller fish. Crustaceans such as lobsters, shrimps crabs as well as squid, and cuttlefish are also very popular. Other creatures like jellyfish, sea urchin and sea cucumbers (slugs) are very much treasured by the gourmet seekers as well.
Pork, beef, chicken are common meats while lamb is less popular on this island. Nothing is wasted and all parts of animals are usually used as food. For example, the parts of chicken that are eaten include the stomach, liver, intestines, feet, head, testicles and even the fatty tail as well. Chicken testicles are considered a super delicacy, favored by women who think they are good for the luminosity of the skin. They have the texture of soft tofu, but without much taste and are usually cooked in soup or stirred fried with sesame oil.