Taiwan Today

Rice is often thought to be the basic staple in China, but this is true only south of the Yang-tze River. Wheat is the primary source of starch in the north because the soil and dry, cold climate are more suited to wheat cultivation. Some dry-field rice is planted north of the Yangtze, but production is limited. Even though simple economics long made it impractical to ship grains from one part of China to another, the distinction between rice and wheat diets has never been complete. Northern Chinese occasionally ate rice, and a number of wheaten foods were incorporated into southern cooking styles. But even with the improvement in transportation facilities, northerners have continued to prefer wheat over rice.

Hsia Yuan-yu, eighty-three, who came to Taiwan from his native Peking in 1947, says: "Even before we came here, we were used to eating one main meal a day of rice and one of noodles." But Hsia admits that he and his wife still feel a certain affection for wheaten foods. "While we're used to eating rice, we don't feel quite as satisfied after eating it as we do with noodles or steamed buns," he says. In fact, it is no less common for people with ancestral roots in southern China to say they feel hungry soon after eating noodles.

Archaeological evidence shows that by Neolithic times, four or five thousand years ago, wheat was already part of the diet in northern China. It was originally cooked into a gruel, and for many centuries thereafter was considered a coarse and common grain, inferior to the more popular millet. A change in taste came during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) when the Chinese learned to grind wheat into flour. The technique is believed to have been introduced from the West during China's expansion into Central Asia. Millstones have been found in Han dynasty tombs, as have decorative tiles with scenes of people kneading dough. With flour, cooks could be more creative. By the latter part of the Han dynasty, they were turning out a wide variety of wheaten foods, including noodles, steamed buns, and baked breads coated with sesame seeds.

Wheaten foods can be divided into three general categories, depending upon how the dough is made. Leavened dough is used for a variety of steamed and baked breads. Unleavened dough prepared with cold water gives a more chewy consistency to the final product, and is preferred for noodles and boiled dumplings. And dough made with hot water partially cooks the flour, making the final consistency softer; this prevents steamed dumplings and other wheaten foods fried in oil, such as pot stickers, from drying out and becoming hard or rubbery.

Wheat-based foods are deliciously varied in the way they are prepared, and they can be eaten as part of a sumptuous meal or just a satisfying snack. For centuries, diners have been delighting their palates with the following, which are but a sampling of the wheaten foods available in Chinese homes, restaurants, and food stands.

Noodles

Noodles, called mien (麵) or mien tiao (麵條) are the most basic food of northern China. In Taiwan, packages of dried, uncooked noodles can be purchased in most supermarkets, but if possible search out fresh noodles instead: they taste much better. Most traditional markets have at least one stall selling fresh noodles, which come in a variety of sizes. Some are handmade, others are rolled and cut by machines, but their freshness is unquestionable.

The ultimate noodle, at least as far as showmanship is concerned, is the hand-pulled noodle, popularly known as la mien (拉麵), "pulled noodle." A skilled cook makes it look easy as he pulls a long strip of dough across his chest, repeatedly doubling it over and pulling again. As the number of pulled strands increase, each strand becomes thinner. When the desired thickness is reached, the noodles can either be broken by hand or cut on a chopping block to the preferred length.

Making hand-pulled noodles may look effortless, but it takes months of training and practice. One secret is to use high gluten flour and prepare the dough by adding water a little at a time while kneading. This gives the dough more elasticity so it will not break during the repeated pulling. Because commercially prepared noodles are inexpensive and more convenient, it is rare to find shops in Taiwan still making hand-pulled noodles. The exception is found in a few hotel restaurants.

Fortunately, especially for noodle connoisseurs, many restaurants still sell a type of handmade noodles known as tao-hsiao mien (刀削麵), "knife-cut noodles." To prepare them, a cook holds a lump of kneaded dough in one hand and with a rectangular knife quickly slices off thin strips of dough into a pot of boiling water. Knife-cut noodles are especially tasty because seasonings and sauces can adhere more easily to their irregular surface, and because they are thicker. Nothing beats sinking the teeth into a substantial mouthful of noodles and savoring that succulent wheaten taste.

Noodles can be served either in soup or dry, but in both cases they are first boiled in lightly salted water, then drained. The most common dry noodle dish is fried noodles, commonly called chow mien in the West. Cooked with a variety of meats, vegetables, and seafood, fried noodles are served in most Chinese restaurants. If not too oily, they are a tasty, if undistinguished, meal–but then, some people like a little extra oil, especially on cold days.

Another dry noodle dish, fried bean paste noodles (cha-chiang mien 炸醬麵) has considerably more character. The basic ingredient is ground pork fried in a sauce of salty fermented soy bean paste, which resembles a thickened soy sauce. After cooking, the fried bean paste, which looks a bit like an Italian meat sauce except for its darker color and somewhat thicker consistency, is scooped on top of a bowl of freshly boiled noodles. It is then heavily garnished with slivers of cucumber, carrot, chives, and lightly blanched bean sprouts.

By far the most popular soup noodle dish in Taiwan is beef noodles (niu-jou mien 牛肉麵). There seems to be a beef noodle vendor on almost every Taipei street, not to mention the numerous corner markets and chain stores selling fast-food versions. Beef noodles come in two distinct varieties, referred to in Chinese as "red" and "white." The red style originated in southwestern province of Szechwan, and is easily distinguished by the Szechwan chili peppers permeating the soup and the layer of chili oil floating on its surface. In Szechwan, the fragrant dish is prepared with half a dozen chili oils and powders, and leaves the entire mouth and tongue numb. Taiwan cooks usually tone down the soup to satisfy southern palates unaccustomed to such hearty spicing, but diners can always add more hot pepper sauce at the table if they want a little more kick.

The white style is so called because it uses neither red pepper nor hot oil. It originates in northern China, traditionally the home of a large Moslem population that abstains from eating pork, the most common meat in the Chinese diet. Taipei restaurants which advertise "Moslem beef noodles" usually sell only the northern variety. Inch-and-a-half cubes of stewed beef rest on top of a healthy serving of noodles in a clear beef broth. Chopped scallions are sprinkled on top to complete the dish. This preparation can well be considered the acid test of a good bowl of beef noodles because there are no heavy spices or flavors to hide any flaws. The stewed beef has to be both tender and fragrant, the noodles cooked without being rubbery or soggy, and the soup flavorful without being too beefy. Beef noodles are usually served in a large bowl, and are a meal in themselves.

Noodle dishes are a popular snack, and are available all day and night. When the munchies hit, there is always a place nearby selling small bowls of meat sauce noodles, dry or in soup. Vendors have their own versions of sauces and toppings, which adds subtle variety to basically similar dishes. A typical bowl holds about six to ten mouthfuls, making it perfect for a between-meal or a late-evening snack.

During the heat of summer, noodles are often eaten cold. Plain, cooked noodles are taken from the pot, rinsed under cold water, drained, then served with a number of toppings. One of the most common dishes is sesame sauce noodles (ma-chiang mien 炸醬麵). The light sauce, made with sesame paste, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar, is poured over the noodles and mixed together with small slivers of raw or lightly blanched vegetables.

Traditionally, noodles are served as a Chinese birthday food, particularly for elderly people. Specially made noodles up to three feet long are served without cutting to symbolize long life.

Dumplings or chiao tzu

"Dumpling" is a common but inadequate translation for chiao-tzu (餃子). "Chinese ravioli" would be more accurate, as they are made from meat or vegetables stuffed inside of a flat, dough skin. But the similarity ends there. Unlike ravioli, cooked chiao-tzu are not mixed with a sauce. Moreover, they are not square, but shaped like a traditional Chinese gold ingot, one reason they are eaten at Chinese New Year for good luck― indicating that a financially prosperous year is ahead. There are two basic kinds of dumplings: boiled and steamed; a close relative, the pan-fried pot-sticker (kuo-tieh 鍋貼), has a similar dough skin and stuffing, but a different shape.

A good chiao-tzu needs a fresh dough skin, one that has a bit of resilience when bitten, yet not too thick. But the filling makes or breaks the final product. Most northern-style restaurants have two kinds of filling, beef and pork. The meat in a good filling is never ground, but is finely chopped with a cleaver, which tenderizes the meat at the same time. The meat hash is then mixed with a bit of minced scallion, minced ginger, soy sauce, and salt. Finely chopped chives, Chinese cabbage, or blanched chives can also be added to pork chiao-tzu.

There are also vegetarian versions, which contain small bits of vegetables, dried bean curd, dried mushrooms, and bean thread noodles. More unusual types are made with lamb, venison, or yellow croaker. Whatever the filling, it should be freshly prepared from scratch. A spoonful is then scooped into the center of each round chiao-tzu skin, which is then folded over into a half circle and pinched around the curved edge to seal in the filling. A deft hand can stuff about fifteen to twenty a minute.

Pot-stickers have essentially the same filling and type of skin as chiao-tzu, but they contain slightly more meat hash and are rolled into long and plump finger-like shapes. The dough is sealed along the length and pinched on the ends. Both chiao-tzu and pot-stickers should be cooked soon after being prepared.

Boiled dumplings, shui-chiao (餃子) or "water dumplings," are the most commonly eaten chiao-tzu. They are cooked by gently dropping them into lightly salted boiling water. When the water comes back to a boil, half a cup of cold water is added to reduce the temperature; the process is repeated twice. This cooking method allows the heat to penetrate to the center of the dumpling, thoroughly cooking the meat and vegetables without overcooking the skin. When the water comes to a boil for the third time, the shui chiao are carefully removed with a skimmer to avoid breaking the skin, then spread out on a flat serving plate.

The skin for steamed dumplings, cheng-chiao (蒸餃), and for pot-stickers, is made from dough made by mixing hot water and flour. This prevents the skin from drying out during the higher temperatures used during cooking. Steamed dumplings are placed in flat, circular bamboo steamers, which are then stacked several high over the source of steam.

Pot-stickers are pan fried on the bottom until golden brown, and then a small amount of water and vinegar is added; the pot-stickers continue cooking until the water evaporates. Because they often stick to the pan, the reason for their name in English is obvious. This tasty and filling food has a long history. Several years ago, archaeologists uncovered fossilized pot-stickers in a Tang tomb more than 1,200 years old.

Over a dozen brands of frozen chiao-tzu are available in Taipei supermarkets, but they are generally considered the Chinese equivalent of a TV dinner. It is better to buy the freshly rolled chiao-tzu skin sold at market noodle stands.

All chiao-tzu are eaten in the same way: using chopsticks, diners gently dip each dumpling into a shallow dish filled with soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, then pop into the mouth. Care must be taken not to break the skin or drop the slippery dumpling ―a problem common to even the most experienced eaters. If the skin was sealed and cooked properly, all of the fragrant juices will still be inside. A lunch of fifteen to thirty chiao-tzu per person is considered a normal serving.

Breads

"Breads" is the loose translation given to a wide variety of steamed, fried, and baked wheaten foods. Despite the growing popularity of Western fast-food breakfasts in Taiwan, it is still easy to find breakfast stands selling traditional baked or steamed breads. One of the most popular is shao-ping (燒餅). They are usually made with leavened dough, but with considerably more oil than Western bread. As a result, they do not rise, and are flaky like a croissant. Shao-ping were traditionally baked in a wood- or charcoal-fired oven, but many places now use gas ovens.

There are three basic varieties. One is a flat rectangular bread, which is slit lengthwise and wrapped around a yu-tiao (油條)or "oil stick." Accurately named, oil sticks are foot-long strips of salted dough that are deep fried; they can also be chopped up into smaller pieces and added to gruel.

The other two varieties of shao-ping are smaller, round, and are baked with a sweet or salty filling. The sweet one shave baked sugar fillings, and the salty ones have minced scallion and pork sandwiched between layers of dough. At breakfast, shao-ping are normally eaten along with a bowl of piping hot soybean milk.

The more bread-like of the traditional Chinese wheaten foods are actually steamed, not baked. These include man-tou (饅頭), a plain steamed bread, and pao-tzu (包子), a stuffed bread with a filling similar to that used in dumplings. In the past, man-tou were made from hand-kneaded dough, allowed to rise, and then shaped into a fist-sized lump and steamed. But today, most of them are machine-made with leavening agents added. At breakfast time, man-tou are eaten plain, with a bowl of gruel, or cut open and filled with a scrambled egg and some pickled cabbage. Pao-tzu can be filled with diced pork, vegetables, or mashed red beans. They are round and about the size of a small hamburger.

Scallion pancakes (tsung-yu-ping 蔥油餅) look a bit like browned pizza crusts. They are made from unleavened dough which is mixed with scallions, rolled out until about thirty-five centimeters across and half a centimeter thick, and then pan-fried. They originated in northern China, where they are dry-fried on a metal slab and then baked in a small oven. In Taiwan, they are usually fried in oil. When golden brown on both sides, the cake is slid onto a wooden chopping block and sliced into eighths. They are especially popular among students, and many vendors set up shop in the back of small pick-up trucks and park next to schools.

Some traditional ways of preparing wheaten foods are disappearing in Taiwan. "Many of the old chefs who came over from mainland China in the '40s and '50sare dying out," says Hsia Yuan-yu. "Their children are going to university and not carrying on the family business." A good example, Hsia adds, is hand-pulled noodles, because "the new people coming into the business don't have the technique of the old chefs."

But there is not much reason for worry. Even though Taiwan is geographically a southern province, there is little danger of wheaten foods dying out: they are too popular. Wheaten foods are served by most northern and southern style restaurants, and they have become standard fare at home as well. Why? For a very good reason indeed: they taste great! ―Jeffrey Mindich, a writer and radio journalist based in Taipei, writes frequently on Chinese food and culture.