When in Taiwan: EAT!
The wonders of Taiwanese night markets
‘Keelung Miaokou Night Market’ by Robert Schall Photography
The fateful trip to Taiwan
Over four years ago, I made a fateful trip to Taiwan, on a whim, and fell in love with the island of Formosa and its charming people. Most of all I fell in love with the food. Especially their night market food or ‘snacks’ as they are affectionately called there. It did not take me long to quickly discover that Taiwan is crazy about street food.
Everywhere in Taiwan, there are what are called Night markets. These are generally bazaars dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than the more businesslike day markets. And these night markets are food meccas. Throngs of people, vibrant smells, a cacophony of sounds, dazzling lights, and innumerable signs give these markets a fantastical, carnival-like atmosphere.
‘Raohe Street Night Market’ by Robert Schall Photography
Taiwan’s night markets
Taiwanese are proud and immensely keen about their street food and night markets. It is very easy to conclude that Taiwan is all about food. There is a sense of industriousness around their food culture. If you want to start your own business, then start a food business. A stall, a cart, a corner take-out joint, a small restaurant in an old garage, and so forth. There are a million and one food-selling businesses on every block.
And night markets? Oh, every city, town, village, and crossroads across the country has at least one. There are over 700 official night markets in Taiwan. Ranging from larger ones, with purpose-built marketplaces, to ones that close down small streets in the evening, right down to theoretically temporary ones. I say theoretically because even these come back every night. During the day, there is just the usual humdrum of a busy street, daytime stores vying for business as usual. Come evening vendors show up with their stalls and start cooking some of the most amazing food you will find in Taiwan. I have even stumbled across ones where the regular road traffic still steals past stalls and throngs of people. Quite an unnerving experience, dodging cars and scooters while munching on delectable morsels of culinary heaven.
It is not all food either, there are stalls hawking clothing, consumer goods, drinks, and even carnival games for kids, or adults, to entertain themselves and win toys. There is something for everyone at these night markets.
‘Food Vendor Stall’ by Robert Schall Photography
‘Braised Everything Stall (Lu Wei)’ by Robert Schall Photography
Are they worth it you ask
If you are into food, you will not be disappointed! There is absolutely something for everyone.
Look, I know, we constantly get to hear that we should be careful about street foods, we hear horror tales from other travelers about contaminated waters, upset stomachs, diarrhea, and so forth when traveling to Asia (well not just Asia). Rest assured that these do not apply to Taiwan’s street food, even in the smallest of villages.
‘Filled Taro Puffs (Liu Yu Zai Yu Bing)’ by Robert Schall Photography
Taiwanese are very conscious about health and safety matters. They always boil their water, whether for drinking or cooking. This is a first-world country, and the quality of their raw produce is top-notch. All you need to worry about is the sensibilities of your stomach vis-a-vis spices and oils.
Personally, I have a stomach of steel, so I have the luxury of trying street vendor’s delights even in the most questionable countries. But I assure you that Taiwan definitely does not fall into that category, and if you have to chance to visit this island, venture into their night markets and try to your heart’s, well stomach’s, desire.
It is really worth it if you ask me!
‘Taro and Sweet Potato Desert (Digua and Yutou Yuan)’ by Robert Schall Photography
What to expect
As you enter a night market the flow of the crowd will carry you just as the currents of a river. As you bob along in this human flow, all these delectable scents will assail your nostrils, and before you know it, your mouth will be watering with desire and anticipation. There is a bit of an art to maneuvering around and you will have to find the right moment to exit the stream and come ashore at one of the stalls.
Hailing from the West, it took me a little while to get used to the lack of personal space and how the crowd presses in on you.
My suggestion is that while you wait in line to place your order, take the time to study what other hungry souls are ordering. And how they are ordering it. Depending on what the stall is selling some will have chairs and tables, overs will be takeaway only and you will have to find a space to sample your bounty.
Look for stalls that have a long line. A telltale sign of good food is a full restaurant, the same applies to any food establishment and thus also here in the night market. A long line is indicative of something worthwhile.
‘Pan-fried Pork Buns (Sheng Jian Bao)’ by Robert Schall Photography
Food is the gateway to a culture
I cannot overstate the importance of food as a gateway into a culture. At least to me, it is. I make it a point to try local foods, to seek out those places where locals go eat. I do not need to travel to faraway places to eat at the same restaurants that I can find at home. There is so much richness in food, not just the culinary aspect of it. Want to learn about a culture, and dive into its culinary panoply? Preparing and consuming delectable dishes is more than just a means of survival. Food is multidimensional, it shapes us and represents our identity, our culture, and society.
So, if you have the chance to visit Taiwan, you would be greatly amiss not to try their culinary wares. There is so much to learn about Taiwan through its dishes.
Taiwan is an island of migrants. People who came from mainland Asia (mostly mainland China) to find a heaven and freedom lost in their homelands. They brought their culinary heritage with them. As you travel around the island you can learn through their dishes where they originally came from.
‘Braised Everything (Lu Wei)’ by Robert Schall Photography
A culinary historical hot pot
The history of Taiwan’s cuisine starts with the aboriginal peoples of the island. From the Ming dynasty on, starting around the 16th century, a large number of migrants from China’s southern provinces, especially the Hoklo people, settled on the island. Of course, they brought their rich culinary heritage with them. Nearly at the same time, the Hakka people from Fujian brought their dishes with them to Taiwan.
Half a century under Japanese rule, at the beginning of the 20th century, brought its influence, thus you will find a strong Japanese Washoku (traditional Japanese foods literally translating to ‘food of Japan’) and Yōshoku (western-influenced Japanese cuisine) representation on the island. After the second world war the Kuomintang (KMT), led by Chiang Kai-Shek, fled to Taiwan, following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, and brought with them a myriad of dishes from more northern regions of China.
‘Tandoori Oven Full of Pepper Pockets (Hu Jiao Bing)’ by Robert Schall Photography
Must try foods
The easiest answer to what foods you should try when in Taiwan is: EVERYTHING! There is something for everyone. But then I am writing about night markets here, so let me make some suggestions of what I think you would be remiss not to try when visiting Taiwanese night markets:
Pepper Pockets — Hu Jiao Bing: deliciously seasoned meatball, usually beef or pork, inside of a bread bun, think calzone, and cooked in a charcoal-fired Tandoori oven until it’s crispy on the outside but dripping with juice inside. Be careful when first biting into one as the inside with all its juices can be steaming hot.
Braised Everything — Lu Wei: Grab a small basket or bucket and fill it with any number of ingredients you find presented in front of you. These range from various meats, pork, duck, beef, and various innards, right through variations of tofu to vegetables and all kinds of seafood. These all get chopped into bite-size pieces and then turned into a stunningly delicious dish by cooking them in a dark soy stew-like broth. This broth typically has a rich and complex flavor blend derived from ginger, star anise, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, and Sichuan peppers.
Pan-fried Pork Buns — Sheng Jian Bao: Tasty, moist pork wrapped in a half-soft, half-crispy yeast dough. Can’t go wrong with these.
Stinky Tofu — Chou Dou Fu: Can’t miss this. You won’t be able to miss it, you can smell these from quite a distance. But this odorous fermented bean curd is a very popular Taiwanese street food delicacy. You can find this dish barbequed, stewed, braised, steamed, or deep-fried. My personal suggestion is to go for the deep-fried variant when you first try it.
Oyster Omelet — O A Jian: Juicy, fresh plump oysters, a generous helping of beansprouts, eggs, and tapioca starch omelet delivers a tasty gummy texture delicacy topped with a ketchup chili sauce.
Flame-Torched Beef — Huoyun Shaizi Niu: The name says it all really. Delicious, bite-sized cuts of barbequed beef that have been finished off, if not completely cooked, with a blow torch and then expertly seasoned with salt and pepper. Quite the spectacle to watch being prepared, but a must for any beef lover.
Scallion (Green Onion) Pancakes — Cong Zhua Bing: These green onion flatbreads are pan-fried and usually come with an egg. You can pick from several condiments to add such as basil, cheese, chili sauce, corn, kimchi, and more. Basil and cheese are very good additions if you ask me.
Taiwanese Hamburger — Gua Bao: Take a mouthwatering, thick-cut slice of barbequed pork belly, stuff it into a steamed rice bun, pack said bun with cilantro, pickled mustard greens, and ground peanuts, and voila, you have a spectacular Taiwanese hamburger.
Fried Chicken Steak — Da Jipai: Think chicken schnitzel but way better. The seasoning they sprinkle over this deep-fried crunchy hammered flat chicken filet sets this dish apart. You can also get bite-size deep-fried chicken pieces when you go to a deep-fried everything stall.
Deep Fried Everything — Sian Su Ji: Similar to the braised everything, here everything gets deep fried. Pick what you want from a wide assortment of produce, meats, fish, and vegetables, they are cut to bite-sized morsels, then deep fried, and you get to munch away.
Pig’s Blood Cake — Zhu Xie Gao: Now don’t run away from this, I know blood makes this dish sound unappetizing, but really, it is great. Little cubes of steamed pig’s blood mixed with sticky rice, often then coated with ground peanuts, and served with cilantro and a tantalizing dipping sauce.
Iron Eggs — Tie Dan: These eggs have been repeatedly stewed in spices and then air-dried, giving them a slightly rubbery texture with a mouth-watering flavor for all egg lovers. Great for first-timers to the ‘délice’ that stewed eggs can be. If you are more daring then try the Century Eggs (Pi Dan), they are preserved in clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls until they become jelly, translucent black colored with a creamy dark yolk.
Small Sausage in Large Sausage — Daichang Bao Xiaochang: Ran out of bread for a hot dog? No problem let’s just make a rice sausage and use that instead. This delicacy consists of a Taiwanese pork sausage slid into a cut-open sticky rice sausage drizzled with a sweet soy and garlic sauce.
Portuguese Egg Tarts — Pu Shi Dan Ta: A little sweet and scrumptious pastry with a flakey crust and an egg-yolk-rich custard filling. I will forever be grateful for Portugal’s influence here from when they ruled the island of Formosa (Taiwan).
Fried Sweet Potato Balls — Digua Qiu: Taiwanese donut holes basically, made from sweet potatoes and deep-fried until they puff up into crispy airy balls with a slightly chewy center. Can also be made from taro.
Red Bean Wheel Cakes — Che Lung Bing: Japanese-style round pancake-like cakes filled with red beans. These also come filled with custard and matcha. Best eaten fresh and still warm.
‘Clear Broth Meat Filled Soup’ by Robert Schall Photography
GO! Experience it
These 16 suggestions are just a tiny fraction of what there is on offer in these Taiwanese night markets. My little article here barely scrapes the surface. Your culinary senses will be in overdrive when you go and explore these markets for yourself. There is something for everyone there. So, go and dig it, and experience the culinary delights that Taiwan has to offer!
An abbreviated version of this blog was first published by Globetrotters publication on Medium.com here: Globetrotters: When in Taiwan: Eat!
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