When foreign friends come to Taiwan, they often like to try some of the awesome local food. But how can we explain it?
When speaking English, we don’t have to translate the names of food from other languages. We can say it in the original language (like pizza or sushi) and add an explanation.
Here are some examples…don’t get too hungry!
滷味 Lu wei
This is called Lu Wei. The literal translation is ‘stewed flavour’. You can pick your ingredients (vegetables, intestines, tofu…) which the chefs will help braise in their house special soup.
大腸包小腸 Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang
This is called Da chang bao xiao chang. The literal translation is ‘Big sausage wrapped in a little sausage’. It’s a Taiwanese style pork sausage sandwiched in a sticky rice sausage, served with garlic and thick soya sauce.
豬血糕 Zhu xue gao
This is called Zhu xue gao. The literal translation is ‘pig blood cake’. It’s a solid patty of pig blood and rice, and is served with peanut powder and coriander. It’s a bit like ‘black pudding’.
車輪餅 Che Lun Bing
Che Lun Bing, literally wagon wheel cakes, are warm buns with red bean or butter fillings. You can sometimes also find chocolate or taro ones too.
滷肉飯 Lu rou fan
Lu rou fan literally means, stewed meat rice, and that’s what it is. Often served with a pickled radish, together with a plate of greens and a bowl of soup.
刈包 Gua bao
Gua bao is a class Taiwanese burger, with pork belly served in a steamed bun.
蚵仔煎 E zai jian
This is called E zai jian, which is a Oyster omelette, typically served with a classic pink / red sauce.
胡椒餅 Hu jiao bing
Hu Jiao Bing means pepper bun, and it’s a small savoury sesame bun, with a hot, peppery beef filling.
鹹酥雞 Yan su ji
Yan su ji literally means, salty fried chicken. It’s diced chicken, deep fried, and you can usually choose other ingredients to get deep fried, chopped up and mixed together, like garlic, basil, broccoli, green beans etc…
豆花 Dou hua
Dou Hua is a dessert, which is tofu (pronounced dofu in Chinese) served with sweet ingredients, like red bean, sugar syrup, jelly balls and other typical types of bean or nut. Great cold in the summer or hot in winter.