Taiwan Food Map

Local Delicacies in Taiwan 台灣地方美食

Tamsui Iron Eggs 淡水鐵蛋 Iron eggs accidentally came into being when the creator Yang A-po forgot to turn off the stove. The chicken eggs shrank to almost half the size and felt hard. However, it would be a waste of money to throw them away, so she still sold them to the customers. Surprisingly, many customers enjoyed the taste and asked for more. The iron eggs have thus become famous. BACK

Tamsui Iron Eggs 淡水鐵蛋 Iron eggs are not made of iron. The name of “iron egg” comes from its texture. Today, they are actually quail or chicken eggs that are braised with spices for a long time and then air dried. They look dark brown, but taste chewy and yummy. BACK

Hsinchu Rice Noodle 新竹米粉 Many Hakka immigrants from Fujian Province of China settled down in Hsinchu and brought along their methods of making rice noodles. Located next to a river and open to the northeast monsoon, Hsinchu is called “the Wind City.” It is, however, this windy weather that makes it the best environment for drying rice noodles. BACK During the autumn and winter, the best rice noodles are made because there is 30% sunshine and 70% dry wind.

Taichung Suncake 台中太陽餅 It is hard to trace the origin of this popular dessert now. There are three popular legends about it, though. One has it that suncakes were served as an offering for a monster dog （天狗）, which was believed to devour the sun, so that it would be too full to eat the sun. In another, an apprentice of a famous baker made a pastry, using malt sugar as the filling, to woo his master’s daughter and won her heart at the end. In the other legend, since a suncake was round in shape with a red store signet on it, it was thus named “suncake.” BACK

Taichung Suncake 台中太陽餅 The ingredients of a suncake, including flour, sugar, malt sugar, salt, and shortening, are easy to prepare. Yet what makes it delicious is in the way of how a skilled baker makes the multi-layer pastry, which could be of 100 layers! Suncakes can be eaten alone or enjoyed after being dipped in milk, soybean milk, or even coffee. There is no accounting for taste! BACK

Changhua Rou-yuan 彰化肉圓 Rou-yuan are round or triangular meatballs made by using pork, bamboo shoots, and Chinese mushrooms as stuffing inside a dough, which is generally made by sweet potato starch. They are served either fried or steamed. It is said that a scholar in Beitou Town, Changhua County, cooked the dried, ground sweet potatoes to feed the victims of a severe flood. Later, people filled chopped pork, bamboo shoots and other ingredients into the dough, making it the Rou-yuan we’re familiar with today. BACK

Chiayi Chicken Rice 嘉義雞肉飯 Although most people call it chicken rice, in fact, it is often made of turkey meat. 50 years ago, when most people were poor and chicken was considered a luxury, it suddenly occurred to the creator, who sold baised pork rice for a living, that it could be a hit if he replaced pork with turkey, which tasted like chicken but was a lot cheaper. Since then, the “chicken rice” has become a hit all over Taiwan. BACK

Tainan Coffin Bread 台南棺材板 Decades ago, Coffin Bread was created accidentally by Mr. Hsu Liu-i （許六一） when he stuffed chicken liver and other ingredients into a thick crunchy golden piece of fried toast. The hollowed toast looked just like a coffin, which was how Coffin Bread got its name. Nowadays, we can enjoy many kinds of stuffing, from sweet to spicy, in coffin bread. BACK

I-lan Ox Tongue-Shaped Cookie 宜蘭牛舌餅 In the old days, when a baby was four months old, the parents would follow ancient ritual, having cookies punched, and hanging them on his/her neck. The coming guests would be given those cookies to wish good health and wisdom for the baby. BACK

I-lan Ox Tongue-Shaped Cookie 宜蘭牛舌餅 The crispy cookie got its name because it resembles the shape of an ox’s tongue. Today, ox tongue-shaped cookies have become a local snack, especially in I-lan County. Thin, narrow, flat, almost see-through, they come in different flavors, including brown sugar, taro, yam, honey, peanut, and even black pepper. BACK

Hualian Sticky Rice Cakes/Mochi 花蓮麻糬 The chewy sticky rice cakes, or “Dulun”( 杜崙 ) in Amis, used to be a precious snack made by Amis wives, and only served to their hard-working husbands in celebrations of festivals. Now, they are enjoyed everywhere. The cakes are made of millets, which are best grown in Hualian County, where the soil is unpolluted, water clean, and rainfall rich. BACK

太美味了！ Yummy! Delicious! Tasty! Scrumptious ！ Savory! Palatable!

References gp/culture/food/