Despite the English expression “dirt poor,” there is nothing “poor” about soil. It is in fact rich with life. Randomly pick up a clump of earth, and it is likely to contain as many as 10 billion microorganisms. Taiwan, moreover, has extremely varied soil.
In the Age of Discovery, when Portuguese explorers saw Taiwan from their ships, they exclaimed “ilha formosa,” meaning “beautiful island.” And in the preface to his General History of Taiwan, written nearly 100 years ago, Lien Heng described Taiwan as “a beautiful island in a swirling sea.” Regardless of era or ethnicity, everyone’s first impression of Taiwan is of a beautiful island set between sea and sky, with a richly abundant flora and fauna.
Children in Taiwan enjoy a wealth of resources for learning languages, and those resources continue to grow. Not only do elementary schools offer optional courses in Southeast-Asian languages, but now, after five years of work, the Ministry of Education has finished compiling a series of 30 books in three sets to help the children of Southeast-Asian immigrants set down a foundation in the languages of their parents.
Some 85% of the world’s bamboo cover is located in Asia. This evergreen perennial occupies 6% of Taiwan’s total forest area. Our ancestors used to tap into the island’s rich bamboo resources for everyday purposes.
Factors including war, the Covid-19 epidemic, and climate change have caused shortfalls in the supply of soybeans, wheat, and corn, leading to a global protein crisis. Taiwanese firms are using biotechnology to transform silkworm pupae and mung bean hulls—both formerly waste products—into healthy functional pet food and animal feed.
“Do you like your bawan fried, or steamed? Do you add a rich sauce or a light, refreshing seasoning?” You can tell what part of Taiwan someone is from based on their preferences in eating bawan. And here’s a tip from old epicures: After eating the bawan, try pouring four-herb soup or bone broth into the bowl to enjoy the fresh sweetness of the soup mixed with the sauce.
Over the past decade and more, Taiwanese foods that have become world famous include not only bubble tea and the xiaolongbao (broth-filled steamed pork dumplings) of the Din Tai Fung restaurant chain but also gua bao. This food, whose Mandarin name is based on its Taiwanese pronunciation, kuah-pau, features delicious pork wrapped in a steamed bun. Its half-open serving style allows scope for all kinds of creative ideas. Are you familiar with it?
Radish cake—made with daikon radishes but also known as “turnip cake” or “carrot cake” in English—is a classic dish served at the Lunar New Year. Rectangular blocks of this steamed snack, which are usually fried before eating, are the stuff of childhood memories for many. Yet few people know that this side dish became part of Taiwan’s culinary tradition as a way of commemorating the last claimant to the throne of the Ming Dynasty.
In his famous “culinary triangle” theory, the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss defines two of the triangle’s corners, roasting and smoking, as representing natural processes, whereas he describes the corner of boiling, which uses the medium of water or other liquid in a manmade receptacle, as a cultural behavior. The concept has been demonstrated as applicable to societies around the world.
Once, in the product display room of the former Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone, a visitor from Latin America pointed to the historical products section and said, “Hey! I had one of those portable stereos when I was young!” Ting Shih-te, who has worked at the Kaohsiung Branch of the Export Processing Zone Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs for over 20 years, replied, “Yes! That was made in Taiwan and shipped from our export processing zone right here.”
