The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island

by Cathy Erway

The acclaimed food writer offers an insider's look at Taiwanese cooking from home-style dishes to authentic street food in “this appetizing collection” (Publisher Weekly, starred review).   While certain dishes from Taiwan are immensely popular, like steamed buns and bubble tea, much of the cuisine still remains relatively unknown in America. In The Food of Taiwan, Taiwanese-American Cathy Erway, the acclaimed blogger and author of The Art of Eating In, explores the rich culture, history, and culinary traditions of Taiwan—including nearly 100 recipes.   Recipes range from familiar dishes, such as Pork Belly Buns, Three Cup Chicken, and Beef Noodle Soup, to more uncommon fare, like the Stuffed Bitter Melon, Oyster Noodle Soup, and Dried Radish Omelet. Tantalizing food photographs intersperse with beautiful shots of Taiwan’s coasts, mountains, and farms as well as images of bustling city scenes, making this book just as enticing to flip through as it is to cook from.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Cultural, Reference, Travel

458 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2015

Reviews

[E.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a long-time resident of Taiwan, I have deeply mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it provides the best introduction I know of to the food culture of this (truly) beautiful island. The recipes chosen include a wide range of ubiquitous and beloved dishes, the photos are excellent, and the sidebars on subjects like stinky tofu, Q texture, and train bento are well-chosen and informative. Unlike many photo-heavy cookbooks that offer a romanticized, touristic view of their target cuisine, this book accurately conveys the charming blend of pragmatism and whimsy, tradition and innovation that makes Taiwanese food so special.

However, as other reviewers have noted, the recipes are hit and miss. For example, the San Bei Ji was so salty it was borderline inedible, while the Niu Rou Mian was far heavier on the soy sauce than any version I've had in Taiwan. Furthermore, since the photos are often of restaurant or street-stall preparations rather than homemade, they are not necessarily helpful guides for the home cook. The Kong Xin Cai in the photo looks to be dotted with pieces of garlic and ginger, despite the recipe calling for neither. This may seem like a small complaint, but for cooks unfamiliar with the dishes, photos are an important cue as to their proper colors and proportions. In this book, they can't really serve that purpose.

I hope that this book gets a second edition with the recipes adjusted, because Taiwan deserves more high-quality, informative cookbooks in English.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, easy to replicate recipes. If you have always wanted to try the night markets, but can't afford the airfare, invest in some solid ingredients and DIY at home.

[Belvedere · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another mediocre cookbook written by a new generation of "foodies" focused on Asian cuisines as the West is finally starting to embrace them after decades of discrimination beginning with the first Chinese immigrants from Taishan. I have to roll my eyes when she says that Taiwan is "diverse" even though it has a higher percentage of Han Chinese than mainland China does and is one of the most ethnically homogeneous states in the world. Large populations of indigenous Austronesian people were purged by the Han Chinese settlers and they suffered even more brutality under Japanese rule. Like most "Taiwanese cookbooks", it focuses exclusively on the Chinese cuisine of Taiwan. While the photographs are nice, author Cathy Erway is not a chef and it shows. Her recipe selection is lacklustre and the measurements are completely off. Erway's writing ability is limited and her knowledge of Chinese history and culture is shallow since this book is full of factual inaccuracies.

She makes no mention of the legendary background of 'three cup chicken' which originated from Jiangxi province so she attributes its name to a lack of written records and says it is a Taiwanese invention. She say that the Hakka were not considered "Han Chinese" when this was only the case among the Southern Chinese (who in turn were not considered "Han" by Northerners). She calls Manchu peoples the outdated imperialist and somewhat offensive Japanese term "Manchurians". She mistakenly believes that 'beef noodle soup' is uniquely Taiwanese even though it is a direct descendant of the 'Sichuan beef noodle soup' which in turn derives from 'Lanzhou beef noodle soup' created by Hui Chinese Muslims. She says that 'stinky tofu' is hard to find outside Taiwan even though it originated in Beijing and was Empress Dowager Cixi's favorite dish (and like many tofu dishes the invention is attributed to a person from Anhui province). She says that 'gua bao' is of Taiwanese origin so it includes Hakka and Hokkien influences even though it was introduced to Taiwan by Fuzhounese immigrants who are neither Hokkien nor Hakka. She says that the 'oyster omelette' is rooted in Fujianese cuisine even though it is actually a Teochew dish from the Chaoshan region of Guangdong province and she goes on to say "nowhere is it enjoyed with as great enthusiasm as in Taiwan". Are you kidding me? Have you ever actually seen how popular it is in its original homeland of Chaoshan? It's even bigger in Thailand than it is in Taiwan.

Yeah, Taiwan has an interesting food culture but you don't need to make up a mythology behind it and steal the recipes from other Chinese regions to credit Taiwan for them. If you’re a Chinese cuisine buff then this book is pointless. At least she didn’t call 'xiao long mantou/bao' a Taiwanese dish too.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am proud of Ms. Erway for convincing a publisher to send her and a hip photographer to Taiwan to eat food and get awesome photos. Fortunately for us, the resulting work is informative and fun--recipes interspersed with history, thoughts on texture, cultural facts, etc. A problem I have with many new cookbooks appears here as well--a relative dearth of vocabulary. Things are "studded", "spiked" and "prepared simply" dozens of times.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great cookbook with amazing photos. Part travelogue and part cookbook, this book delves into the history of Taiwan and the author's own family history as well. Cathy thoughtfully chooses ingredients that are readily available in American supermarkets. She includes classic Taiwanese favorites such as shaved ice, oyster pancakes, beef noodle soup, ba wan, and night market snacks. She even included a section on stinky tofu, although there was no recipe to be had. The one item that I think is missing is pork chop on rice (or minced pork on rice).

[Peter Bergmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of basic traditional Taiwanese dishes and background on Taiwan. It feels like societal exposure and understanding of Taiwan has advanced considerably since this book was published in 2016 so some of the aspects or chapters felt a bit dated or obvious but I could tell later books I’ve read on Taiwan have drawn from this one as a foundational text. Pictures were stunning and nostalgic too. Recipes generally simple but the traditional (no fusion or trendy takes) which I liked.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived in Taiwan for 3 months and have been back to visit relatives a few times. This cookbook evokes much of what I love about Taiwanese culture and food. The recipes yield authentic Taiwanese food without being overly complicated, which is hard to find in a good ethnic cookbook.

[S Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful island, beautiful book. I appreciated the history and the photography. I had been in Taiwan in 1984 and remember the delicious food. There's one recipe I've been trying to duplicate since then. It's a sweet tofu custard with ginger sauce and peanuts. I found out it's called Tian Dou Hua. I've always used silken tofu, but this recipe uses soy milk thickened with gelatin. I think I will continue to use ready-made silken tofu, though. It's easier. I was introduced to this dessert at a street stall by a couple English students of mine. There are a couple other recipes I'd like to try, but I will not eat pork bellies. I think I may have eaten them in China, not knowing what they were. I thought it was just some fat with a thin crust of meat. Back in 1984, China didn't seem to have much meat. You'd get one chunk of this on top of a bowl of white rice. I also couldn't find a recipe for a street food that I liked. It was grilled chicken livers in sauce. My best approximation is chicken livers cooked in barbeque sauce. There is a recipe for eggplant, but I won't know if it's the same dish I enjoyed at a restaurant. At the time, after I had travelled through Southeast Asia, I thought the Taiwanese food was incredible. The only problem with this cookbook is that there weren't any recipes for the incredible smoothies I loved. I think banana-papaya was a favorite.

[YingYu Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive book with background information and tidbits of personal stories. Altogether, it blends and makes a beautiful cookbook and memoir.

I personally enjoy the presentation of the overall book. The color is toned down to make a graceful and serene atmosphere. The introduction is down to earth and graceful instead of making a showy, exotic, and toothy.

While there are parts that the author may not cover, it is overall a good read. I enjoy this book very much, and am very inspired.
:)

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been very difficult to find Taiwanese cookbooks in English. I'm so happy I found this one. I greatly appreciate that the recipes use ingredients that are available outside of Taiwan, while still getting the taste of dishes as close as possible to the real thing. The pictures are beautiful, and the hardcover version could easily be a coffee table book. I also enjoyed the background information on Taiwan, though the politics section is a bit outdated now.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, fun recipes, informative stories about Taiwan and pretty pictures.

[Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best pineapple tart recipes I've found, although it would be helpful if recipes were a bit more clear on instructions.

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh this book overflows with deliciousness !

[Darice Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Taiwanese I appreciate recipes from our heritage recorded in English. Currently my go-to recommendation whenever anyone asks on traditional Taiwanese cuisine.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting cookbook of Taiwanese food! As with many cookbooks, I have not yet actually cooked anything from it, but I enjoyed reading through it and have saved a number of recipes to try.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much I'd cook, but boy did it make me want to go to Taiwan.

[Amuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty but I was not convinced to cook any of the recipes.