Local Dishes

1. 蚵仔煎

   Ô-á-tsian

   Oyster omelette

   Usage

   One of Taiwan's signature night-market snacks: fresh oysters cooked on a griddle with a sweet-potato-starch batter, greens and egg. A variant spelling is 蠔仔煎

   Grammar Note

   煎 here takes its literary reading tsian; the colloquial reading tsuann is not used in this dish name

2. 肉圓

   Bah-uân

   Ba-wan (translucent meat dumpling)

   Usage

   A local Taiwanese snack: sweet-potato-starch skin wrapped around pork, shrimp or bamboo shoot. Shops serve it either steamed or deep-fried

   Grammar Note

   Do not confuse it with 肉丸仔 bah-uân-á, a separate word for a ball made of minced-meat paste. The 仔 (-á) suffix changes what is meant

3. 擔仔麵

   Tànn-á-mī

   Danzai noodles

   Usage

   A Tainan speciality: oil noodles topped with a little braised minced pork. Portions are small because it was originally hawked from a shoulder pole. 摵仔麵 tshi̍k-á-mī is a synonym.

   Grammar Note

   擔 as a noun (a shoulder-pole load) is tànn; the verb "to carry on a pole" is tann, differing in tone

4. 碗粿

   Uánn-kué

   Savoury steamed rice pudding in a bowl

   Usage

   Non-glutinous rice flour mixed with water, then steamed in the bowl with lard, shiitake, minced pork, shallot and dried shrimp. Also read uánn-ké. 碗糕 uánn-ko is a synonym.

   Grammar Note

   粿 kué / ké is a general term for Taiwanese steamed rice cakes and recurs across menus (菜頭粿, 紅龜粿 and so on)

5. 筒仔米糕

   Tâng-á-bí-ko

   Steamed glutinous rice in a tube

   Usage

   Seasoned glutinous rice steamed in a cup-shaped length of bamboo, which lends it its aroma; most shops now use a metal cup instead

   Grammar Note

   The suffix 仔 -á is highly productive in Taiwanese, marking small objects, tools and familiarity

6. 滷肉飯

   Lóo-bah-pn̄g

   Braised minced pork over rice

   Usage

   Fried shallots and minced pork simmered in soy sauce, five-spice, rock sugar, pepper and rice wine, ladled over rice. Note: this name is used in central and northern Taiwan; in the south the same dish is called 肉燥飯 bah-sò-pn̄g

   Grammar Note

   Careful: in southern Taiwan a sign reading 滷肉飯 can mean rice topped with a braised slab of pork belly, which the north calls 炕肉飯. Check the photo on the menu

7. 肉燥飯

   Bah-sò-pn̄g

   Minced pork over rice (southern name)

   Usage

   Pork belly, chopped or minced, fried with spring onion and shiitake and simmered in rice wine, rock sugar and soy sauce, then poured over rice. This is the southern Taiwanese name; the centre and north call it 滷肉飯. One serving example pairs it with a bowl of pork-ball soup

   Grammar Note

   燥 sò names the finely chopped, reduced meat topping; it is not the 燥 meaning "dry"

8. 蚵仔麵線

   Ô-á-mī-suànn

   Oyster vermicelli

   Usage

   Steamed, brown-tinted vermicelli simmered until thick, with lightly floured oysters stirred in; some shops add pork intestine. 麵線糊 mī-suànn-kôo is a synonym.

   Grammar Note

   Although it is a soup it is eaten with a spoon, not chopsticks; at stalls you order by bowl size

9. 肉羹

   Bah-kenn

   Thickened pork soup

   Usage

   Pork pounded into a paste and shaped into strips, or sliced pork coated in that paste or starch and boiled; the seasoned thickened soup made from it takes the same name. Also read bah-kinn

   Grammar Note

   羹 has two regionally distributed readings, kenn and kinn; both are correct

10. 割包

    Kuah-pau

    Gua bao (steamed bun with braised pork)

    Usage

    A flat steamed bun slit open and filled with braised pork, pickled mustard greens and ground peanut. Its purse-like shape makes it auspicious, so it is eaten at the year-end 尾牙 banquet

    Grammar Note

    An alternative name is 虎咬豬 hóo-kā-ti, "tiger bites pig", which some shops print on the menu

11. 臭豆腐

    Tshàu-tāu-hū

    Stinky tofu

    Usage

    Tofu cured and stored in a jar with lime; the fermentation smell gives it its name. Served deep-fried or braised, and at night markets usually with Taiwanese pickled cabbage

    Grammar Note

    臭 tshàu is the basic Taiwanese word for a bad smell; its opposite is 芳 phang, "fragrant"

12. 米血

    Bí-hueh

    Pig's blood rice cake

    Usage

    Glutinous rice steamed with chicken, duck, goose or pig blood. 米血 is the southern term; 豬血粿 ti-hueh-kué is a synonym. Also read bí-huih

    Grammar Note

    血 has two regional readings, hueh and huih. Street stalls usually serve it on a skewer dusted with ground peanut

13. 薑母鴨

    Kiunn-bó-ah

    Ginger duck hotpot

    Usage

    A warming tonic dish of young male Muscovy duck stewed with aged ginger rhizome; dedicated hotpot shops appear on street corners in winter

    Grammar Note

    母 bó here is the affix-like sense "parent / large / original"; it does not mean "female" in this word

14. 麻油雞

    Muâ-iû-ke

    Sesame oil chicken

    Usage

    Chicken fried in black sesame oil with ginger and simmered in rice wine; a warming winter street-stall dish also eaten during postpartum recovery. Also read muâ-iû-kue

    Grammar Note

    雞 has two accepted readings, ke and kue, reflecting the Zhangzhou and Quanzhou strands of Taiwanese

15. 四神湯

    Sù-sîn-thng

    Four-herb pork tripe soup

    Usage

    A mild restorative soup of four herbs (Chinese yam, lotus seed, poria and euryale) with Job's tears and pork small intestine

    Grammar Note

    湯 thng means soup, not hot water; hot water is 燒水 sio-tsuí

16. 菜頭粿

    Tshài-thâu-kué

    Turnip cake

    Usage

    Non-glutinous rice batter steamed with fried shredded daikon and dried shrimp; usually sliced and pan-fried before serving

    Grammar Note

    Note the Taiwanese spelling 菜頭粿, which differs from Mandarin 蘿蔔糕. Look for these characters on a Taiwanese-language menu

17. 潤餅𩛩

    Jūn-piánn-kauh

    Taiwanese fresh spring roll

    Usage

    A thin griddled wheat wrapper rolled around shredded pork belly, bean sprouts, coriander, carrot and bamboo shoot; the Mandarin equivalent is 春捲. Also read lūn-piánn-kauh

    Grammar Note

    𩛩 (U+296E9) is a character used in this word. Shops whose signage cannot render it write just the synonym 潤餅 jūn-piánn.

18. 鼎邊趖

    Tiánn-pinn-sô

    Ding bian cuo rice-sheet soup

    Usage

    Rice batter poured down the inside of a hot wok, peeled off once set, cut into strips and simmered with spring onion, ginger, dried squid, shiitake, daylily and pork. Common at temple-front night markets

    Grammar Note

    The name describes the method itself: batter sliding down the edge of the wok. Taiwanese calls a wok 鼎 tiánn, not 鍋

19. 貢丸

    Kòng-uân

    Springy pork ball

    Usage

    Pork pounded to a paste, seasoned and rolled into balls; normally served in soup, listed on menus as 貢丸湯 kòng-uân-thng

    Grammar Note

    肉丸仔 bah-uân-á is a synonym. It shares the character 丸 uân with 肉圓 bah-uân but is a different food

20. 蚵炱

    Ô-te

    Deep-fried oyster fritter

    Usage

    Fresh oysters with bean sprouts and garlic chives in a wheat batter, deep-fried into a flat disc and dipped in sauce; a coastal-town speciality. 觳仔炱 khok-á-te is a synonym.

    Grammar Note

    Taiwanese uses either 蚵 ô or the suffixed 蚵仔 ô-á for oyster; some shops write the dish as 蚵嗲

21. 意麵

    Ì-mī

    Yi noodles (egg noodles)

    Usage

    Noodles made with egg worked into the dough, giving a smooth texture; one of Taiwan's signature noodles, served in soup or dry

    Grammar Note

    Not related to Italian pasta; do not confuse it with Mandarin 意大利麵 (spaghetti)

22. 肉粽

    Bah-tsàng

    Savoury rice dumpling

    Usage

    Glutinous rice, pork and shiitake wrapped in bamboo or shell-ginger leaves and steamed; the festival food of Duanwu, which Taiwanese call 五日節 Gōo-ji̍t-tseh

    Grammar Note

    肉 takes its colloquial reading bah here; the literary readings jio̍k / lio̍k appear only in learned compounds

23. 米篩目

    Bí-thai-ba̍k

    Thick rice noodles (mi tai mu)

    Usage

    A traditional Taiwanese rice food: equal parts non-glutinous rice and potato starch pressed into thick strands. Common at noodle stalls, served either in savoury broth or cold with syrup and ice

    Grammar Note

    Mandarin 米苔目 is only a transliteration of Taiwanese bí-thai-ba̍k; the Taiwanese spelling names the method, pressing dough through a sieve

24. 芋圓

    Ōo-înn

    Taro balls

    Usage

    Steamed taro mashed with sweet-potato starch and shaped into balls, boiled and served in sweet syrup

    Grammar Note

    圓 has two readings: înn for a dumpling and uân for a round object in general. Sweet dumplings take înn

25. 豆花

    Tāu-hue

    Douhua (soft tofu pudding)

    Usage

    Soy milk set with a little brine or gypsum, softer than tofu; usually served sweet with sugar syrup and peanuts

    Grammar Note

    At stalls you choose the toppings. It comes hot or cold, which you can specify with 燒 sio (hot) or 冰 ping (iced)

Browse all TravelPhrases languages