Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Cuisines

Taiwan Cuisine

(1). Foreign Cuisine

The advanced and prosperous market in Taiwan has provided a good opportunity for the development of foreign cuisine. In the large and medium-sized cities of Taiwan, restaurants serving foreign food can be seen everywhere, such as Japanese restaurants, Korean restaurants, Dutch restaurants, Thai restaurants, Vietnamese restaurants, and American quick food restaurants.

(2). Inland Cuisine

In Taiwan, the number of people from the mainland is larger than that of Taiwan natives. Therefore, many restaurants in Taiwan serve food from various schools of Chinese cuisines, such as Sichuan cuisines, Henan cuisines, Hunan cuisines, Hubei cuisines, Beijing cuisines, and Northeast China cuisines.

(3). Taiwan Cuisine

Taiwan dishes and snacks are the products of the emergence of various culinary cultures. However, some of the dishes exhibit local characteristics. Some famous Taiwan dishes include:

Quick-boiled Xi Shi Tongue—汆西施舌

The main ingredients in the dish are sea mussels. The mussel has a triangle shell in purplish red. When it opens its smallmouth, one can see its tongue-like flesh. As its flesh is white, refine and tender, it is likened to the tongue of Xi Shi, an ancient beauty. The dishes prepared with mussels are especially delicious and nutritious.

Salty and Crisp Sea Shrimps—盐酥海虾

The ingredients of the dish include fried large shrimps, turnips, cherries, cucumbers, and coriander, plus a large variety of seasonings. This dish is delicious, crisp and pleasing to the eyes.

Chinese Angelicas and Duck—当归鸭

Procedure: Put duck cutlets and Chinese angelicas into cups; add seasonings to the cups, and steam them. This dish is palatable and of high nutrition.

Shark’s Fin in the Shape of Torch—火把鱼翅

Procedure: Process shark’s fins thoroughly; add fish skin, chicken chest meat, egg white, green vegetables, tomatoes, and various seasonings to the shark’s fins; cook them through many processes. Delicious and nutritious, this dish is in the shape of a torch, hence the name.

Four Kinds of Mushrooms—四菇临门

Prepared with four different kinds of mushrooms, this dish is palatable and nutritious.

(4). Some Dishes of the Hakkas

The Hakkas in Taiwan still retain their traditional dietetic customs and habits. By making good use of the local products according to their original culinary culture, the Hakkas have created some special dishes, such as:

Steamed Salty Duck—盐焗鸡

(Similar to the Steamed Salty Chicken of Guangdong)

Tofu in Earthen Pot—豆腐煲

(Boil tofu and a wide variety of supplementary ingredients in an earthen pot.)

Fried Pineapple Slices and Pork Tripe Slices—风梨炒肚片

Fried Fish Ball—炸鱼丸

Fried Turnip Ball—炸萝卜丸子

Interesting Stories of Some Taiwan Dishes and Snacks

Quick-boiled Xi Shi Tongue—汆西施舌

Xi Shi Tongue refers to a kind of sea mussel that lives in the pollution-free offshore areas in Taiwan which are very delicious. Legend has it that in ancient China, after the state of Wu was conquered by King Gou Jian of the state of Yue, Xi Shi was drowned in the sea by Gou Jian’s wife. Later, Xi Shi turned herself into a sea mussel. The sea mussel is white, tender and delicate, like Xi Shi’s tongue, hence the name.

Stewed Sour Vegetables and Pork Tripe—咸菜汶猪肚

Stewed Sour Vegetables and Pork Tripe is a traditional dish of the Hakkas in Mienli County, where the Hakkas live in compact communities. Prepared with pork tripe, sour vegetables, and meat broth, this dish is very tasty, reflecting the Hakkas’ traditional virtues of hard work and plain living.

Stewed Dried Bamboo Shoots in Broth—肥汤纹笋干

Stewed Dried Bamboo Shoots in Broth is one of the local dishes of the Hakkas in Mienli County. Every year the Hakkas women process the bamboo shoots in the surrounding areas of their houses and store them. At festivals and celebrations or to entertain guests, they prepare some dishes with air-dried bamboo shoots. This delicious dish—Stewed Dry Bamboo Shoots in Chicken (or Duck) Broth—is loved by everyone.

Milk Fish Porridge—虱目鱼粥

Milk Fish Porridge is a famous snack of Tainan. The delicious and nutritious porridge has been well received by the people. The legend goes that Zheng Chenggong, a national hero who made great contributions to the recovery of Taiwan, liked to eat the milkfish very much. The milkfish can be used to prepare soup and fish balls. The people in Tainan often cook porridge with the milkfish.

The steps to prepare the fish porridge include: Prepare minced fish meat; boil rice porridge; plunge minced fish meat into the porridge when the porridge is almost done.

Hsinchu Tribute Ball—新竹贡丸

Hsinchu Tribute Ball is a famous snack of Hsinchu in Taiwan. The tribute balls are actually meatballs, which are prepared with minced pork, soy sauce, and other seasonings. Legend has it that in the Jiaqing reign period (1796-1820) of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor once tasted the meatballs presented by Hsinchu County, and thought highly of them. After that, the local official of Hsinchu contributed such balls to the imperial palace every year as tributes, hence the name.

Another legend goes that to make meatballs, the chef needs to beat the pork. According to the South Fujian dialect, “beat” has the same pronunciation as “tribute.” With the passage of time, the balls made by beating pork became “tribute balls.”

Delicious, crisp and refreshing, Hsinchu Tribute Ball is well received by customers.

Wanluan Pig’s Trotters—万峦猪脚

Wanluan Pig’s Trotters is a famous dish of Pingtung Township. The pig’s trotters produced by Wanluan County are the best, hence the name of the dish. If one goes to Wanluan County, one will find many delicatessens selling pig’s trotters, and the people who come to buy stewed pig’s trotters jostle each other in a crowd. The pig’s trotters sold by Wanluan County are delicious, tough, chewy, aromatic, dry, not greasy and easy to be carried about. After tasting the delicious food, many customers usually buy some for their friends and relatives. Wanluan Pig’s Trotters is well known throughout Taiwan Island.

Formation and Characteristics of Hong Kong Cuisine

Hong Kong used to be a fishing port. After the Opium War in 1932, Britain occupied Hong Kong, which covers an area of 1,061 km. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Due to Hong Kong’s special position, the economy of Hong Kong developed rapidly, and in the 1980s, Hong Kong became a well-known metropolis in the world.

Hong Kong boasts more than 8,000 restaurants of various sizes, which can receive several million customers a day. Some restaurants are luxurious, some are middle-class restaurants and cafeterias, and the others are sidewalk snack booths. They can meet the demands of different customers.

The restaurants in Hong Kong serve both Chinese and Western food. The Chinese restaurants offer the dishes and snacks of all the local schools of Chinese cuisine, and Western restaurants, all kinds of food from other countries in the world.

Thanks to the fierce competition in the catering trade, the restaurants in Hong Kong provide unique and excellent services. With a wide variety of ingredients, the restaurants in Hong Kong can prepare all kinds of dishes and are especially good at preparing seafood dishes. Most of them adopt the cooking techniques of Guangdong Cuisine. Most of the dishes and snacks show overall excellence in color, smell, taste, and shape. Furthermore, the dishes are tonic, sanitary and nutritious, with the distinct characteristics of the era.

Famous Hong Kong Dishes and Snacks

Except for numerous restaurants serving the dishes of all the local schools of Chinese cuisine, Hong Kong also has thousands upon thousands of snack booths and dining cars spread all over the city. Therefore Hong Kong is known as the “Paradise of Delicacies.”

The seafood dishes of Hong Kong are the most famous, and the chefs in Hong Kong adopt both the Chinese and foreign cooking techniques to prepare seafood. Some dishes have the same names as those in the mainland, but there are great differences in ingredients and cooking techniques.

Famous local dishes include:

Aromatic Phoenix and Swallow—风燕飘香

The ingredients of the dish include edible bird’s nests, chicken chest meat, night-fragrant flowers, and lotus leaves, plus a wide variety of seasonings. This dish is beautiful in color, strong in smell, and rich in nutrition.

Huaishan Suckling Pigeon—怀山乳鸽扎

Prepared with Chinese yams, suckling pigeons, Xianggu mushrooms and ham, and a wide variety of seasonings, this dish is tonic and nutritious.

Shark’s Fins in the Shape of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate—太极花式翅

The ingredients of the dish include shark’s fins, some supplementary ingredients and many kinds of seasonings. This dish is in the shape of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, hence the name. This delicate dish is nutritious and tonic.

Hundred Flowers and White Gourd Balls—百花冬瓜球

With shrimp meat, white gourd, yolk and water chestnuts as the raw materials, plus many types of seasonings, this dish is overall excellent in color, shape, and taste.

Hong Kong serves a large variety of snacks, such as:

Wonton Stuffed with Vegetable and Meat—菜肉云呑

Jiaozi Dumpling Stuffed with Beef—牛肉饺

Jiaozi Dumpling Stuffed with Shark’s Fins and Fresh Shrimps—鱼翅鲜虾饺

Jiaozi Dumpling Stuffed with Crystal Chinese Cabbages—水晶白菜饺

Lemon Pancakes—柠檬馅饼

Formation and Characteristics of Macao Cuisine

Macao was originally a small fishing village. In the 16th century, the Portuguese colonists forced a landing and occupied it at the excuse of drying the soaked goods in the sun. In 1999, the Chinese government formally recovered Macao. During the 400- some years, the small fishing village was developed into a world-renowned city. Along with the constant economic development of Macao, the catering trade became flourishing, and Macao Cuisine took shape.

Over a long period of time, the Portuguese culinary culture exerted a certain influence on Macao Cuisine. Therefore, people can taste real Portuguese dishes in Macao.

Macao Cuisine has the characteristics of South China Cuisine, especially Guangdong Cuisine. Due to the influence of the cuisine of different countries and the varied schools of Chinese cuisine, Macao Cuisine has a diverse culinary culture style.

Special Dishes and Snacks of Macao

Tourism plays an important role in Macao’s economy. Macao is known as the “Gambling City of the Orient,” and gambling is one of its important income resources. As its economy flourishes, its catering trade also witnesses great progress. Many delicious foods of Asian, European and American origin can be found in Macao. Hence Macao is also called the “Paradise of Delicacies.”

Popular foreign dishes in Macao include:

Portuguese Chicken—葡国鸡

Braised Beef from the Ox's Chest—烩牛胸

Braised Oxtail—烩牛尾

Crab Curry—咖喱蟹

Aromatic and Spicy Braised Chicken—香辣烧鸡

Cooked Fish with Fruit Juice—果汁烧鱼

(A Thailand dish)

A lot of dishes from the mainland of China can be found in Macao, such as:

Braised Pig’s Head—扒烧猪头

(A dish of Yangzhou)

Braised Sea Cucumber and Pork’s Trotters—参烧蹄筋

(A dish of Shandong and Northeast China)

Yangzhou Meat Balls—扬州狮子头

(A dish of Yangzhou)

Dong’an Young Chicken—东安子鸡

(A Hunan dish prepared with young chicken cutlets, peppers and various kinds of seasonings.)

Jinling Grilled Duck—金陵叉烧鸭

(A dish of Nanjing)