Taiwan's Food for Thought

In Taiwan, they add a thickening sauce to the omelette so the texture is a bit different than a regular omelette. The corn on the cob was seasoned with sweet spices, so it was less savory than I thought but very fun to eat on a stick. Lastly, the sweet potato balls were my favorite; very gooey and slightly sweet. Many desserts in Taiwan are not as sweet as they might be in the United States. Are desserts very sweet in Colombia?

How is the food prepared?:

Most food in Taiwan, including the oyster omelette, is prepared using a wok, which is a bowl-shaped frying pan. The heat of the stove is very high and oil is added to the wok to fry whatever food is being made. It is a very fast cooking process, though I have not yet learned how to use it. Most food in Taiwan is also prepared using lard. Lard is oil from a pig. Many dishes include scallions or onions as well as peppers of all kinds. I don't like spicy food, so I often ask the restaurant or cook, "Please don't make it spicy!"

Is this food connected to the local environment? How?:

Because Taiwan is an island, seafood is fairly common here, which is why the omelettes include oysters, shrimp or squid. All vegetables are locally grown, as many of the cooks near my school are also farmers nearby. One of the most commonly grown items in Hualien, Taiwan, is sweet potatoes. The name for sweet potato in Chinese is 「地瓜」which can be read as "digua." This literally means earth melon. How interesting! When I ride my bike around my town, I can see bananas and papayas growing from the trees, as well as sweet potatoes sprouting from the ground.

Pages