Introduction

Welcome to My Taiwanese Kitchen! In this first post, I'd like to explain why I had decided to start this blog.

First of all, I want to share with the world the food that I grew up eating and to increase people's exposure (particularly Americans) to Taiwanese food. Plain and simple. This is my culture -- my food. And if I don't try to share it, then who will?

Another purpose for this blog is to distinguish Taiwanese cuisine from Chinese cuisine. The differences between Chinese food and Taiwanese food are often blurry. While there are certainly similarities between the two, Taiwanese cuisine is uniquely its own. Taiwan's food culture includes influences from southern China, Japan, and the west. At the same time, Taiwan's abundance in food sources, such as seafood, vegetables, and fruits, also informs its food culture uniquely. It is also notable that different regions of Taiwan had developed their own specialties and flavors. Taiwan may be a small island (about the size of Maine), but the foods in different regions are quite varied. This uniqueness and variety are often not appreciated, and I'd like to shine a light on them.

Third, I want to provide other Taiwanese Americans with ideas for cooking Taiwanese food using western ingredients. I live about an hour's drive away from a reliable Chinese grocery store that carries Taiwanese stuff. While that is not extremely far away, it is not as convenient as my local Kroger or Walmart. So I have found suitable substitutions for certain ingredients over the years, and I've also made note of the ingredients that really cannot be substituted with western ingredients. I hope that my discoveries will benefit some people who, like me, may not live at a convenient distance from their Chinese grocery store.

And the fourth and my personal reason for starting this blog is to compel myself to cook more often and order less take-outs. I love to cook, but I often allow myself to get so busy to the point where I have to eat out for dinner. So I hope this blog will serve as a reminder to take a break from the chaos of modern life and enjoy a home-cooked meal every once in a while.

So welcome to My Taiwanese Kitchen! I hope you enjoy your stay.

P.S. Whenever possible, I will provide both the Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien pronunciations of the food and ingredients in this blog. The Hanyu Pinyin phonetic system will be used for Mandarin pronunciations, and Taiwanese pronunciations will be provided in the Taiwanese Romanization System.