Different culture in different places

Food culture represents one face by which a country knows itself and by which it shows itself to the world. Due to its great ethnic diversity, Taiwan has a wide variety of such faces and, moreover, these have increased and strengthened with the rise in local awareness. This diversity of cuisines includes 8 main categories: Holo (also called “Minnanese,” or simply “Taiwanese”), Hakka, and Aboriginal Cultures, as well as the various cooking styles with long histories from the length and breadth of China such as northern style, Hunan, Jiangzhe (from the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang), Hong Kong (Cantonese), and Sichuan. In general, therefore, it can be said that Taiwan’s varied cuisine shows ethnic, geographic, economic, and other cultural influences.

With the emergence of a stable foundation of economic prosperity over the last half-century, Taiwan’s people became more particular about their eating culture, giving it new life and enriching its content. The eight major categories of dishes covered include a comprehensive range of both everyday and more refined foods. These siao-chih are intimately bound to popular customs. Becoming familiar with Taiwan’s foods enables the diner to better understand the country and its peoples, and the place that foods occupy in their hearts.

Aboriginal Cultures

The mysterious customs and traditions of the aborigines, Taiwan's indigenous people, such as the Harvest Festival (Smatto), the Worship of Hunting (Mabuasu), spiritual rituals, totemism, and snake worship, give an extra dimension to Taiwan's culture. The aboriginal tribes of Taiwan form the most northern branch of the Austronesian language group, and ethnically belong to the Malay race. Most aborigines have retreated into the mountains; but although many are faced with assimilation, still some 13 different tribes that have their own languages, traditions, and tribal structure can be distinguished: the Amis, the Atayal, the Paiwan, the Bunun, the Puyuma, the Rukai, the Zou, the Saisiyat, the Yami(Tawu), the Sao, the Kavalan, the Truku and the sakizaya. Orchid Island's Yami(Tao) tribe has been relatively isolated due to the island's geographical location, and was the last to come in contact with the Han Chinese; this tribe, therefore, has been able to preserve its aboriginal culture the best.

Hunting and fishing played an important role in the lives of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and so meats and fish figure prominently in their festive cuisine. Some aboriginal groups fermented millet wine, which is also now celebrated as a characteristic cultural trait.

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HAN (China)

Cantonese food:

Cantonese cooking is known for its meticulous methods of preparation, whether fried, roasted, stir-fried, steamed, or boiled, and the vessels used to contain this food are known for their exquisite nature.

Sichuan food:

The most prominent characteristic of Sichuan cooking is that it uses the most common materials to produce dishes with a most uncommon flavor. It is best known, of course, for its spicy hotness.

Beijing food:

This culinary tradition combines the features of Qing Dynasty court dishes, Moslem cuisine, and Mongolian tastes, and Beijing food can be eaten in a surprising variety of ways. Beijing chefs place heavy emphasis on cooking time and slicing techniques, and they strive for bland tastes and soft and tender textures.

Jiangzhe food:

Shanghainese food is the representative cuisine of this tradition, which originated in the lower reaches of the Yangzi River and the southeastern coastal areas of the country. Because the many rivers and lakes in this area produce rich harvests of shrimp, crabs, eels, and the like, Jiangzhe cuisine concentrates on seafood.

Hunan food:

The preparation of meats by smoking is one of the most prominent features of richly flavored Hunan cuisine. Hunan has one thing in common with Sichuan in its cuisine: many of their dishes use large amounts of chili peppers, making them very hot and spicy.

HAKKA

As one representative feature of Hakka culture in Taiwan, cuisine became a central element in the rejuvenation of Hakka culture. Each Hakka occasion has its special dishes, including ciba rice cakes in earlier times and lei (“pounded”) tea more recently, both of which combine delicious flavor with activity, thus encouraging people to participate in Hakka culture.

Hakka cuisine is traditionally characterized by the three principles of “salt, fragrance, and fat.” While these are the features of Hakka festivities, daily cuisine tends to be simple and plain, sometimes barely filling the stomach, a characteristic that is rarely seen by non-Hakka people. Cuisine has also changed over recent years to keep up with social and lifestyle changes, and a taste of traditional Hakka flavors has become a popular reason for an excursion following introduction of Taiwan’s two-day weekend. The main characteristics of Hakka cuisine include retention of the ingredients’ inherent flavors, use of special spices and dipping sauces, and unique pickled vegetables. Most importantly, local cuisine with special home-style flavor (also known as “mom’s cooking”) can be found in each township or even in each village, making it worthwhile to seek out local Hakka cuisine in out-of-the-way places.

In addition to developing contemporary cuisine from Hakka traditions, elements of cooking from all parts of China have been co-opted since Taiwan’s retrocession in 1945. This has led to development of numerous urban delicacies that have caught the attention of the food and drink market. Hakka moving from Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli to metropolitan Taipei improved the northern Chinese wheat-based cuisines, creating, for example, Yonghe soya milk. In recent years, this has become an urban delicacy both at home and abroad. Hakka cuisine both traces its traditional roots and absorbs nutrition to create new opportunities, while also opening its arms to features from a wide variety of places. It thereby masters the taste buds of people today and adds its unpretentious style to the ranks of Taiwan’s culinary creativity.

Tofu Pudding

This is where I start saying everything is my favorite. Well, Dou Hua is definitely one of my favorites. It's the most tender tofu served hot with sweet ginger syrup and sweet boiled peanuts. It is the most delicious dessert you will ever have. I could eat 10 bowls of Dou Hua for every meal.---By Holy Shitake