Rice Pudding （碗粿）
Let’s talk about the most important ingredient, rice. Initially Taiwan, like all other south east Asia countries, cultivate “indica” and “javanica” rice, these are longer, non-sticky type of rice that are often found in India, Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Africa etc.
However, during the Japanese colonization, a time where war was frequent, the main goal of Taiwan was to become an agricultural hub to support mainland Japan. They wanted to grow “japonica” rice instead, also dubbed as “short rice”.
Therefore, they sent two agricultural experts Iso Eikichi and Suenaga Megumu to:
1) Adapt the japonica rice to grow in Taiwan’s climate
2) Cross pollinate indica and japonica rice
For the rice puddings, it is important to use aged “indica” rice (been left for at least a year to dry up). Then it must be soaked and churned. The amount of water used to produce a certain consistency is crucial in making the rice potage evenly soft across all areas.
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| 鎮傳四神湯 |
Braised pork, dried prawns and dried radishes are placed at the base of the bowl, with the potage poured over it to be steamed.
This is then drizzled with some sesame sauce and garlic or chili sauce. Decadent when it is eaten with Four herb soup (四神湯).
Tainan is not a city of Michelin stars, but it is by definition, a city that is worth a special visit.
I’ve been to too many famous cafes that leverage on its previous glories (a writer, a politician, an artist who frequents there), and you get served with rolled-eye waiters and lifeless food.
“Sorry but we have a minimum order.”
“Meme, I don’t have all day for you.”
In Tainan, you will only experience a rustic sincerity, honesty and a love for fresh ingredients.
Paul Bocuse championed farm to table concept? Please, Tainan has been doing that at least for four hundred years!
If you come to Tainan, then here are some of the dishes that you must try.
Beef Soup
When we arrived this late afternoon, the storeowner, a chubby chef greeted us with a big smile under his black framed glasses. He could have been mistaken as a student I would say. “We have the freshest beef today, I’d like to give you guys a big bowl!” He said.
“Thank you for your kindness! I am afraid this is our 8th street food store we’ve been to, and we couldn’t possibly eat more”.
Most Tainan locals drink beef soup for breakfast, something warm to awaken the tummy for a full day work.
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| 盛 牛肉湯 |
The interesting thing is that since Taiwan was largely an agricultural island, farmers saw cattle as their partner and family and hence do not eat them. It was during the Meiji Restoration, when the Japanese started selling high-end beef in West market（西市場） in 1920-30s, did the Taiwanese start to consider beef as an option.
Every morning the butchery will get a taxi to deliver the freshest beef to individual stores, so the meat is often always slaughtered within 24 hours, if not just in a few hours. Each store has their own soup recipe that varies from boiling T-bones, old chicken, carrots, pineapple, bitter melon to yam leaves for at least 8 hours. Some stores would even add soya bean remains to the soup to absorb the oil and impurities. This reminds me of how , Oldřich Sahajdák a 2 star Michelin chef told me how they cook their soup. They would add vegetables as well as yeast to prepare perfectly clear broth.
The beef chuck would be thinly sliced, about 20-30mm thick like sashimi, and boiling hot soup will be poured over it. It is usually medium rare when served.
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