Taiwanese cuisine facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Taiwanese cuisine (Chinese: 臺灣料理; pinyin: Táiwān liàolǐ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân liāu-lí, Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄌㄧㄠˋㄌㄧˇ, or Chinese: 臺灣菜; pinyin: Táiwāncài; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân-chhài, Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄘㄞˋ) has many different styles. The first foods of Taiwan came from the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. Over hundreds of years, Taiwanese food has been shaped by Hakka cuisine, the foods of people who moved to Taiwan from mainland China (called waishengren), and Japanese cuisine. However, food from southern Fujian cuisine in China has had the biggest impact.

How Taiwanese Food Developed

A fruit and vegetable market in Taihoku (now Taipei) between 1938 and 1942.

The story of Taiwanese food is a bit unclear and is closely linked to how people moved to the island and who ruled it. Because Taiwan has a complex and diverse identity, it can be tricky to explain its food history.

Taiwanese cuisine began with the food of the native people who lived on the island long ago. Starting in the Ming dynasty in the 16th century, many people from southern China, especially the Hoklo people, brought their rich Chinese cooking styles to Taiwan. At the same time, Hakka people from Fujian developed their own food culture, different from the Hoklo people. Because of these Chinese influences, Taiwanese food is often seen as 'Southern Chinese cuisine'.

During the time of Japanese rule, Taiwanese food was also greatly influenced by Japanese washoku and yōshoku (Western-style Japanese food). After World War II, many people from mainland China moved to Taiwan with the Kuomintang government. They brought even more Chinese cooking styles from places like Guangdong, Chaoshan, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Beijing. Over the years, these regional dishes changed and became part of Taiwanese cuisine.

Ingredients and Food Culture

A paddy field in Hualien County.

Vegetable farmland in Lienchiang County.

A fishing port in Penghu County.

Common ingredients in Taiwan include pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy. Traditionally, rice was the main part of most Taiwanese meals. Before the Japanese came, most rice grown in Taiwan was long-grained indica rice. The Japanese introduced short-grained japonica rice, which changed how Taiwanese people farmed and ate. Today, Taiwanese people generally prefer rice that is plump, smells good, is a bit firm, and sweet.

Taiwan's location on a crowded island also shaped its food. People had to find protein sources beyond farms. So, seafood is a big part of their cooking. This includes large fish like tuna and grouper, smaller fish like sardines and anchovies. Crustaceans, squid, and cuttlefish are also eaten. Milkfish is the most popular fish because it's versatile, tender, and affordable.

Beef is less common than other meats. Some older Taiwanese people still avoid eating it. This comes from a traditional respect for cattle used for farm work. However, after many people from mainland China arrived in the 1900s, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup became very popular. After WWII, American food aid brought wheat, beef, and processed meats like Spam. This changed the Taiwanese diet, making wheat-based noodles, breads, and dumplings more central.

Taiwan has many different fruits because it's in a sub-tropical area. You can find papayas, starfruit, melons, and citrus fruits. Many kinds of tropical fruits, both local and imported, are enjoyed. Fresh ingredients are easy to find in markets.

Taiwanese cooking uses many seasonings for flavor. These include soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, fermented black beans, pickled radish, pickled mustard greens, peanuts, chili peppers, cilantro, and a local type of basil (Chinese: 九層塔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: káu-chàn-tha̍h; literally "nine-story pagoda").

Taiwanese black vinegar is special. It's made from sticky rice and aged in clay pots. It's used to add flavor to dishes and as a dipping sauce.

An important part of Taiwanese food is xiaochi (小吃). These are like substantial snacks, similar to Spanish tapas. Many travelers visit Taiwan just to try xiaochi. The best place to find them is at a night market. Each night market has its own famous xiaochi.

Xiaochi can also be found in fancy restaurants now. These places use better ingredients and creative ways to serve the dishes. The Taiwanese government supports xiaochi and holds national events for them.

Modern Taiwanese food is also shaped by Taiwan's freedom. This allows chefs to try new things and be creative.

Vegetarian and Vegan Food

Vegetarian restaurants are very common in Taiwan. This is mainly because of Buddhism and other religions like I-Kuan Tao. These restaurants offer many different dishes, from all-you-can-eat buffets to regular menus. Vegetarian places often have a left-facing swastika symbol.

In recent years, more young people in Taiwan are becoming vegetarian or vegan for reasons other than religion. They care about animal welfare, their health, and the environment. Taiwanese companies that traditionally made vegetarian products are now making plant-based meats. Taiwan is a leader in this area, with many companies exporting their products around the world.

Regional Food Specialties

Defining dishes by Region
Region	Dish	Han Characters	Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)	Description
Changhua	ba-wan	肉圓	bah-ôan	These are large dumplings made from a soft tapioca starch dough. They are filled with pork and vegetables like mushrooms and bamboo shoots.
Chiayi	turkey rice	火雞肉飯	hoe-koe bah-pn̄g	Bowls of rice topped with shredded turkey. They often come with pickled radish. A special sauce made from turkey drippings and soy sauce is poured over the rice.
Chiayi/Tainan	Coffin bread	棺材板	koann-chhâ-páng	This dish is like French toast or bread bowl soups, but with savory fillings. Thick bread is dipped in egg, deep fried, cut open, and filled with things like black pepper beef or curried chicken.
Daxi	Daxi dried tofu	大溪豆乾	Tāi-khe tāu-koaⁿ	Firm tofu that is fried and cooked in a sweet soy-based sauce, then dried.
Hsinchu	pork balls	貢丸	kòng-ôan	Often eaten in soup (Chinese: 湯; thng).
Hsinchu	rice vermicelli	米粉	bí-hún	Thin, chewy rice noodles. Often eaten 'dry' (Chinese: 乾; ta/kan, without soup) with mushroom and ground pork.
Nantou	yi mein	意麵	ì-mī	Soft, tender noodles served in soup.
Taichung	suncake	太陽餅		One of Taichung's most famous pastries. It is a baked, layered pastry with a sweet center, often made with honey or molasses.
Tainan	milkfish congee	虱目魚肚粥		A breakfast dish that is a type of rice porridge with milkfish belly.
Tainan	ta-a mi	擔仔麵	tàⁿ-á-mī	Also known as slack season noodles. These are yellow "oily noodles" served with minced pork, shrimp, bean sprouts, cilantro, black vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, and egg.
Tamsui	a-gei	阿給	a-geh	Deep-fried tofu stuffed with crystal noodles, sealed with fish paste, and topped with spicy sauce.
Tamsui	Tamsui fish ball	魚丸	hî-ôan	Tamsui is by the ocean, so it's a good place to try their fish balls. These are balls of fish paste filled with meat and garlic, cooked in a light broth.
Tamsui	iron eggs	鐵蛋	thih-nn̄g	Eggs that have been cooked many times in spices and air-dried. They become dark brown, chewy, and very flavorful.

Popular Taiwanese Dishes

Common English term	Han Characters	Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)	Mandarin Pinyin	Influence	Description
Gua bao	刈包	koah-pau	guàbāo	Fujian	A flat, steamed white bun shaped like a clam. It's filled with pork belly cooked in soy sauce, pickled mustard greens, peanut powder, sugar, and cilantro.
Cuttlefish geng	魷魚羹	jiû-hî keⁿ	yóuyúgēng	Local	A clear, thick soup with cuttlefish covered in fish paste.
Oyster omelette	蚵仔煎	ô-á-chian	ézǐjiān	Fujian	A chewy omelette made with eggs, oysters, tapioca starch, and Garland chrysanthemum leaves. It has a soft, sticky texture and is eaten with a sweet and slightly spicy sauce, topped with cilantro. This is a very popular snack at night markets.
Oyster vermicelli	蚵仔麵線	ô-á mī-sòaⁿ	ézǐ miànxiàn	Local	A thickened soup with small oysters and steamed misua (Chinese vermicelli noodles).
Bubble tea	珍珠奶茶		zhēnzhū nǎichá	Local	The original milk tea uses black tea, milk, and sugar. The pearls or boba are chewy tapioca pearls. It's a very popular drink, invented in Taichung.
Pig's blood cake	豬血糕 / 豬血粿	ti-huih-ko / ti-hoeh-kóe	zhūxiěgāo/ zhūxiěguǒ	Fujian	A cake made from pork blood and rice. It's usually served on a stick, dipped in soy sauce, with hot sauce if you like, and topped with peanut powder and cilantro.
Lo bah png (Minced pork rice)	滷肉飯/魯肉飯	ló͘-bah-pn̄g	lǔròufàn	Fujian	Minced or ground fatty pork, cooked in soy sauce and spices, served over rice.
Khong bah png (Braised pork rice)	炕肉飯/爌肉飯	khòng-bah-pn̄g	kàngròufàn	Fujian	Pork chunks, cooked in soy sauce and spices, served over rice.
Small sausage in large sausage	大腸包小腸	tōa-tn̂g pau sió-tn̂g	dàcháng bāo xiǎocháng	Local	A grilled Taiwanese pork sausage wrapped inside a grilled, sticky rice sausage. Often served with garlic and basil. You can choose different flavors like black pepper or chili. A common night market snack.
Sanbeiji	三杯雞	sam-poe-koe	sānbēijī	Jiangxi	A chicken dish that means "three cups chicken." It's named because the sauce is made with one cup of rice wine, one cup of sesame oil, and one cup of soy sauce.
Dried radish omelet	菜脯蛋	chhài-pó͘-nn̄g	càifǔdàn	Local	Finely cut Taiwanese-style preserved white radish cooked into an omelet.
olen	黑輪	o-lien'	Hēi lún	Japan	This dish uses fish cake, cooked in a pot with fish soup and other ingredients. It's similar to Oden.
Cucumber pork	瓜子肉	koe-á bah	guāzǐròu	Guangdong	Steamed, minced pork with Taiwanese-style pickled cucumber.
Spicy hotpot	麻辣鍋	ba-luah e	málàguō	Sichuan	This hotpot is very popular, especially in Taipei. The soup is very spicy and includes Chinese herbs. People cook their own ingredients in the soup.
Eel noodles	鱔魚意麵	siān-hî ì-mī	shànyú yìmiàn	Local	Rice eel with Yi mein noodles in a thick, sweet and sour soup.
Danbing	蛋餅	nn̄g-piánn	Dàn bǐng	Local	A breakfast dish made from a thin dough of flour, potato starch, and glutinous rice flour. An omelet is cooked on top.
Chhau-a-koe	草仔粿	chháu-á-kóe / chháu-á-ké	cǎozaǐguǒ	Fujian	A type of kuih (cake) made with glutinous rice flour, sugar, and a paste from Jersey cudweed or Chinese mugwort. It's often filled with dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, white radish, and deep-fried shallots.
Moon shrimp cake	月亮蝦餅	ge̍h-liāng hê-piánn	yuèliàng xiābǐng	Thai/Southeast Asia	Common in Taiwanese Thai restaurants. Shrimp, garlic, and pork fat are mashed, spread on a round spring roll wrapper, covered with another wrapper, then pan-fried. Served with sweet chili sauce.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup	臺灣牛肉麵	dái-wán gu-bà mi	táiwān niúròumiàn	Local	A red-braised version of beef noodle soup.
Tube rice pudding	筒仔米糕	tâng-á-bí-ko	Tǒng zǐ mǐ gāo	Local	A dish of stir-fried glutinous rice that is seasoned and steamed in a bamboo tube.

There's a type of outdoor barbecue called khòng-iô [zh]. To do this, you first build a hollow pyramid with dirt clods. Then, you burn charcoal or wood inside until the pyramid is very hot. Food like taro, yam, or chicken is placed in cans, and the cans are put inside the pyramid. Finally, the pyramid is knocked over the food until it's cooked.

Many non-dessert dishes are seen as snacks, not main meals. They are similar to Cantonese dim sum or Spanish tapas. These dishes are usually lightly salted, with many vegetables accompanying the meat or seafood.

Delicious Desserts

A plate of tshuah-ping with strawberries and condensed milk.

Aiyu jelly – A jiggly dessert made from the seeds of a creeping fig. It's served on ice.
O'ahping [zh] (Chinese: 芋仔冰; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ō͘-á-peng) – An ice cream made from taro root paste.
Tshuah-ping (also called Baobing) – A Taiwanese shaved ice dessert. It's very common in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Xue-bing (雪花冰) - Also known as "snow ice" or "shaved snow." This is different from tshuah-ping because the ice base is creamy, often flavored (like milk, taro, or chocolate). The shaved snow is very fine and melts quickly. Common toppings include sweetened condensed milk, mangoes, sweetened red beans, boba pearls, or taro.
Bubble tea, also called boba milk tea or pearl milk tea. It has chewy tapioca balls added to milk tea.
Traditional cakes can be different depending on the flavor. There is the moon cake, which has a thick filling, usually from lotus seed paste or sweetened red bean paste. It's surrounded by a thin crust and might have salted duck egg yolks. Mooncakes are traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Grass jelly (Chinese: 仙草; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian-chháu) – Made from Mesona procumbens. Served hot or cold.
Moachi (Chinese: 麻糍; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: môa-chî), a soft rice cake similar to Japanese mochi. The fillings can be different kinds of beans or nuts.
Pineapple cake – A square pastry filled with pineapple. It's one of Taiwan's most famous desserts and a popular souvenir.
Chhau-a-koe – Cakes made with glutinous rice flour dough mixed with a paste from Gnaphalium affine or Mugwort. This gives it a unique flavor and green color. The dough is often filled with ground meat or sweet bean pastes.
Douhua (豆花) - Soft tofu served with syrup and toppings like peanuts, adzuki beans, tapioca, and mung beans. Served hot or cold.
Chocolate - Taiwan grows cocoa in Pingtung in Southern Taiwan. Taiwan is one of the few places that grows cocoa and also makes chocolate.

Night Market Foods

Taiwan's most famous snacks are found in its night markets. Here, street vendors sell many different foods, from finger foods and drinks to sweets and sit-down meals. You can find fried and steamed meat-filled buns, oyster omelets, refreshing fruit ices, and more. Besides food, night markets also have vendors selling clothes, accessories, and offering entertainment.

In 2014, The Guardian newspaper called Taiwan's night markets the "best street food markets in the world."

Common English term	Han Characters	Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)	Mandarin Pinyin	Influence	Description
Takoyaki	章魚燒			Japanese	A ball-shaped snack filled with diced octopus and fried in a flour batter. It can be eaten with sauces like wasabi. Commonly found at night markets.
Wheel cake	車輪餅	chhia-lûn-piáⁿ	chēlúnbǐng	Japanese	Pancake batter is poured into hot molds and quickly cooked into small cakes. They come in many shapes and often have fillings like cream, red bean paste, or peanut butter. Similar to Imagawayaki or Taiyaki.
Stinky tofu	臭豆腐	chhàu-tāu-hū	chòudòufǔ	Chinese	Stinky tofu is very popular in Taiwan. It's called "Stinky tofu" because of its strong smell. It was even a favorite food of Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing dynasty. There are two main kinds: soft stinky tofu and dried stinky tofu.
Taiwanese meatball	肉圓	bah-oân	ròuyuán	Local	A sticky, soft tapioca dough filled with pork, bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms. It's served with a savory, sweet, and spicy sauce.
Maize	玉米		yùmǐ	American	Vendors might specialize in one type of corn or offer varieties like savory/salty and sweet corn. The corn is steamed, grilled, or boiled.
Taiwanese sausages	香腸	ian-chhiâng (煙腸)	xiāngcháng	Chinese	Fatty pork sausages with a mild sweet taste. There are several kinds. Sometimes Kaoliang wine is used in the recipe. At night markets, they are often served on a stick with different sauces. Sometimes, they are wrapped in glutinous rice.
Green onion pancake	蔥油餅		cōngyóubǐng	Chinese	A flour pancake with many thin layers, made with green onions. Cheese and egg are popular extra fillings. This snack came from mainland China.
Tanghulu	糖葫蘆		tánghúlú	Chinese	Red candy-coated, bite-sized fruit served on a stick. Sometimes the fruit is stuffed with preserved plums before being candied. Cherry tomatoes and strawberries are also used.
Grilled squid	烤花枝		kǎo huāzhī	Japanese	Grilled squid, often marinated and brushed with sauce while cooking.
Shaved ice	礤冰/剉冰/刨冰	chhoah-peng	cuòbīng/bàobīng	Local	Finely shaved ice with many toppings like peanuts, fruit, azuki beans, and sweetened corn. Sometimes drizzled with condensed milk.
Tempura	甜不辣		tiánbùlà	Japanese	Deep-fried surimi and fish cakes cooked in broth and served with a sweet sauce. It's similar to Satsuma-age, which is called Tempura in some parts of Japan. It's not related to Japanese Tempura (the fried battered food), but more like Japanese Oden.
Taiwanese spring roll	潤餅	jūn-piáⁿ / lūn-piáⁿ	rùnbǐng	Fujian	The Taiwanese spring roll is a thin, slightly crispy flour crepe filled with various ingredients. These can include powdered sugar, peanut powder, egg, vegetables, pork, and even seafood.
Shawarma	沙威馬		shāwēimǎ	West Asian	A sandwich usually made with spiced, grilled chicken. It's served on a soft bun with shredded cabbage, a slice of tomato, sliced onions, ketchup, and mayonnaise. It came from Turkey decades ago, but the seasoning is different from Turkish shawarma.
Popcorn chicken	鹹酥雞/鹽酥雞	kiâm-so͘-ke / kiâm-so͘-koe	xiánsūjī / yánsūjī	American	Popcorn chicken is made from spiced, deep-fried chicken. It's topped with salt and pepper and seasoned with fragrant basil. It's loved for its juicy and tender texture.
Fried chicken fillet	炸雞排		zhá jīpái	American	Fried chicken fillet is one of Taiwan's most popular snacks. It's made from chicken breast that is flattened, marinated, battered, and deep-fried. After cooking, it's sprinkled with ground pepper. It's crispy outside and tender inside.
Rousong or Pork Floss	肉鬆		Ròusōng	Chinese

Many drinks are also sold, from bubble tea stands to juice and tea stands.
Crêpes - Adapted from the original French version, these thin cooked pancakes have a much crispier texture, like a cracker. They were popular in the early 2000s.
Fruit or bean smoothies - Milk or ice is blended with fresh papaya, mango, watermelon, azuki bean, or mung bean.
Fried glutinous rice balls - Slightly sweet.

Food of the Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples

Taiwan's food culture is very diverse, with a lot of influence from Han Chinese people. However, the food of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples is still a very important part of it. Even though indigenous people make up less than 2% of Taiwan's population, their foods and cooking methods are very different from the more common Chinese-influenced dishes.

The diet of the indigenous people depended a lot on nature. They were skilled hunter-gatherers, using the plants and wild animals around them. What they ate depended on where they lived – by the coast or in the mountains. Tribes like Amis, Atayal, Saisiyat, and Bunun hunted and gathered what they grew. Tribes like the Yamis and Thao mainly ate fish. Most foods included millet, taro, sweet potato, wild greens, and game like boar and rat. This is different from the Han people, who mainly ate rice and chicken.

For those in the mountains, game meats included deer and flying squirrel intestines, which the Bunun people considered a special treat. Another unique food is 'stinky' meat – game that has started to rot. It's then barbecued, fried, seasoned with garlic and ginger, and served with spicy sauce.

The Amis ate many greens, believing that if a cow could eat it, so could humans. The Bununs, who hunted wild animals, ate stone-grilled pork, boar, deer, and hog roast. The Yami tribe, on the Taitung coast, ate many types of fish, including the special 'flying fish' (Alibangbang). A special dish includes rice mixed with river fish and wild vegetables, served in large bamboo trunks.

Besides being a main food, millet was always used to make wine. Millet wine was not just for drinking; it was also important for offerings during festivals, births, and weddings. Millet wines are made in the homes of the indigenous people.

Sweet potato and taro are also important to indigenous Taiwanese cuisine. They were favored because they grow easily and don't need much care. Root vegetables were grown more than typical seedling plants. Evidence shows this happened as early as 4000 BC.

Because they didn't have modern cooking tools like refrigerators or gas stoves, indigenous people used other ways to prepare food. After hunting, they would preserve meat with millet wine or salt. Another method involved heating stones with fire, then placing them inside a pot with meats and seafood. The food would cook from the heat of the stones. Most foods were steamed, boiled, or roasted to blend flavors while keeping the original taste. Meat was also cooked over a fire on a bamboo stick.

Modern Indigenous Cuisine

Even though Taiwan has many different foods, some restaurants keep the spirit of indigenous cuisine alive. Chefs in these restaurants might change traditional recipes a bit for modern tastes, but they still focus on natural foods. There are competitions that encourage chefs to use traditional indigenous ingredients in healthy and creative ways. These efforts help promote the wonderful taste of indigenous Taiwanese cuisine.

The importance of wild greens to indigenous food is becoming more recognized. Wild greens are both plants found in the forest and those grown in gardens.

Drinks in Taiwan

Taiwanese people drink less alcohol than people in South Korea and Japan. This might be because about half of Taiwan's population has a gene that makes it harder to process alcohol. During the Japanese colonial period, making alcoholic beverages became an industry. In 1922, the government took control of all alcohol production. Modern Taiwanese drinking habits and how drinks are made are still influenced by this time.

Coffee

The first coffee plants in Taiwan were brought by the British to Tainan in 1884. The first small farms grew coffee in New Taipei City's Sanxia District. Tainan is still a major center for coffee culture in Taiwan. Coffee production reached its highest point in 1941 after the Japanese introduced arabica coffee plants. Most coffee sold in Taiwan is imported. In 2020, there were over 15,000 coffee shops in Taiwan. That year, people in Taiwan drank more coffee than tea for the first time.

Tea

Taiwanese tea is considered some of the best in the world, and Taiwan has a unique tea culture.

Whisky

Taiwan has a new but growing whisky industry. This is helped by a huge local market for whisky, especially single malt scotch. Taiwan is the only whisky market where people drink more single malt whisky than blended whisky.

Wine

For a long time, making wine independently was against the law in Taiwan because of a government monopoly. Independent winemakers became legal in 2002. In 2014, a Taiwanese wine won its first gold medal at an international competition. In 2019, a red wine from Taichung won a gold medal in France.

Fine Dining in Taiwan

Fine dining in Taiwan often mixes different food styles. For example, wedding parties in Taiwan usually start with Japanese sashimi, followed by traditional Taiwanese and Chinese dishes.

The Michelin Guide started reviewing restaurants in Taipei in 2018 and Taichung in 2020. In 2020, 30 restaurants in Taiwan received Michelin stars. The Cantonese restaurant Le Palais has three stars, making it the highest-rated restaurant in the country. The 2020 list also gave the Bib Gourmand award to 54 restaurants in Taipei and 21 in Taichung.

There are big differences between fine dining in Taipei and Taichung. In Taichung, there's a focus on grand events with large tables and private rooms. Restaurants often have many parking spaces. In Taipei, fine dining restaurants are generally smaller, with most customers being couples or small groups. Service is usually less formal. Taipei's fine dining scene has more international influence, while Taichung keeps a strong connection to traditional dishes.

International Foods in Taiwan

Fusion Cuisine

Fusion cuisine is very popular in Taiwan. Many Taiwanese dishes are a mix of different cultures. For example, the Taiwanese version of pastel de nata (a Portuguese egg tart) is a result of Portuguese influence from nearby Macao.

Italian Food

Italian cuisine has been popular in Taiwan for a long time. However, until the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were few authentic Italian restaurants or Italian chefs. After the financial crisis of 2007–08, many Italians moved from Italy to countries with stronger economies. This led to a quick increase in Italian restaurants and Italian people living in Taiwan. While most restaurants follow traditional Italian meal styles, the portion sizes are influenced by Italian-American cuisine. Taiwanese diners have become very interested in and knowledgeable about Italian food.

Pizza

Pizza is one of the most popular foods in Taiwan. The first pizza restaurant opened in the 1970s. The industry grew quickly in the 2000s because younger, wealthier people who had traveled abroad wanted good Italian and American style pizza.

Chain pizza restaurants like Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza are known for making unusual pizzas with toppings like spicy hotpot, cilantro and century egg with pig’s blood, beef and kiwi, glutinous rice, ramen, and stinky tofu. They do this to get attention both in Taiwan and around the world. Pizza Hut came to Taiwan in 1986, and Domino's followed in the late 1980s. In 2022, each company had over 150 stores in Taiwan.

Indian Food

Indian food became popular in Taiwan in the 2000s. The number of Indian restaurants has grown as more Indian and South Asian people have moved to Taiwan. However, most customers in Indian restaurants are local Taiwanese. Indian food can also be found in university cafeterias and other places.

Japanese Food

Taipei, in particular, is known for having some of the best Japanese food outside of Japan. This is because of the history of Japanese rule and the ongoing cultural and business connections between the two places.

Taiwanese Food Around the World

A pork keⁿ, a thick soup with tofu and surimi-coated pork.

Taiwanese food is found all over the world. Taiwanese chefs have been very successful abroad, cooking both Taiwanese and international dishes. A well-known chef is André Chiang.

In the United States

Taiwanese immigrant restaurant owners played a big part in changing American Chinese food. It went from being mostly Cantonese-focused to including dishes from many regions in China. Taiwanese chefs started moving to the United States in the 1950s. At that time, cooks in Taiwan were trained in traditional Chinese regional cooking. Taiwanese restaurant owners changed the food scene in many American cities, including New York City. They were pioneers in things like picture menus and food delivery.

Traditionally, Taiwanese food abroad was hard to tell apart from Chinese and Japanese food. This was because many Taiwanese chefs cooked simpler or Western versions of traditional Taiwanese, Japanese, or Chinese dishes. In 2018, there was a fast growth in the number of real Taiwanese restaurants in New York City and across the US. This happened as more people became interested in regional Chinese food and in Taiwan itself. Some people don't like it when Taiwanese food is grouped under regional Chinese food, saying it's not accurate.

Taiwanese American cuisine is now becoming its own unique food style. Myers + Chang in Boston was one of the first restaurants to clearly describe their food this way. In 2018, award-winning chef Stephanie Izard opened a Taiwanese snack/dessert shop in Chicago. Taiwanese food has a strong presence in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Learning to Cook

In the past, cooking education was informal. Apprentices learned from a master chef for many years before cooking on their own. The first college-level cooking course started in 1986 at Danshui Technical College.

Cooking Schools

Danshui Technical College
National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism