A Culinary History of Taipei by Steven Crook & Katy Hui-wen Hung

Author:Steven Crook & Katy Hui-wen Hung
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781538101384
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2018-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

AN EGG A DAY

The availability of cheap, soy-based poultry feed led to a massive expansion of egg production and consumption. The number of eggs eaten per capita is eight times what it was in 1961;85 yet the COA’s website says Taiwan is self-sufficient. For many schoolchildren, breakfast is an egg over hard with a little ketchup and some julienned cucumber, served between two slices of white toast—or a dànbǐng, an egg spread over a crepe, sometimes with bacon or canned sweet corn. Scrambled eggs do not appear until lunchtime, when they come with stewed tomatoes and a sprinkling of scallions.

Commuters dashing for a train might grab a “tea egg” or two from a convenience store. These are hard-boiled in water to which soy sauce, salt, star anise, and black tea have been added. The flavor enhancers may include sugar and/or MSG. Some of those who make batches at home use supermarket premixes; others do everything from scratch and claim that a generous splash of Coca-Cola makes all the difference. Visually, the result is much the same, whatever the ingredients: peeling away the cracked shell reveals stains and marbling that some find off-putting but many find appetizing. Far less common are “coffee eggs” (goose eggs steeped in a blend that includes granulated coffee).

Another type of braised egg is the “iron egg,” a specialty of Tamsui. These desiccated chicken eggs are usually vacuum-packed and eaten cold several days after preparation. Foodies looking for hot quail eggs should head for a night market and seek out a vendor spooning dollops of quail-egg/batter mix onto a takoyaki grill.

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