Taiwanese food overlaps with Chinese (China Mainland) and Cantonese (Hong Kong) food but Taiwan has its distinct specialities. Since I plan to be back in Taiwan in July and was drooling over my own Pinterest collection of asian food pictures and overwhelmed by what I have to try when I'm back I thought I would help everyone make a portable checklist of foods to eat in Taiwan (with the names of the food in English and Chinese)! Here goes:
- Oyster Omelette 蚵仔煎
- Squid Balls 花枝丸 - made by pummeling squid and then forming the meat into a meatball that looks white after cooking; often served fried or in soup and of course delicious!
- Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Meat Filling 肉圓
- Stinky Tofu 0.o (You know you have to try it at least once in your life!!!!!) 臭豆腐
- Fried Chicken Steak 炸雞排
- Salt and Pepper Fried Chicken 鹽酥雞／炸甜不辣
- Sticky Rice 筒仔米糕
- Moon cakes 月餅
- Shaved Ice 剎冰／刨冰
- Bubble Tea 珍珠奶茶
- Sweet tofu 豆花
- Taro Ice 芋頭冰
- Ding Tai Fung Steamed Dumplings 鼎泰豐小籠包 - Ding Tai Fung is not the only place with delicious steamed dumplings but it has gotten to be very popular in the last few years; I definitely will write a separate posts are what are things to look for in a top level steamed dumpling!
- Shabu Shabu / Spicy Hot Pot 小火鍋／麻辣火鍋
- Soy sauce braised 滷味
- Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉麵
- Braised Pork Over Rice 滷肉飯
- Yilan Leek Pancake宜蘭蔥油餅
- XO Fish Head Hot Pot 砂鍋魚頭／魚湯
- Pineapple Shortbread 鳳梨酥 - often translated into "cake" but the cookie crust on the outside is much more of a shortbread than any kind of cake
- Oyster Soup Noodle 蚵仔麵線
- Bell Apples 蓮霧 －a crispy and juicy fruit, kind of like a honey crisp but bell-shaped and easier to eat
- Wheel-shaped Pancake 車輪餅
- Sun Shortbread 太陽餅 - another popular pastry, especially in Taichung, with a filling made of a soft malt toffee (麥芽糖）
- Milk Fish 虱目魚 - this is a special type of fish famous in the Tainan region of Taiwan; the meat is juicy and the bones literally falls apart after cooking and is eaten for its mineral nutrients
