Cuisine of Taiwan

Taiwanese cuisine (Chinese: 臺灣菜; pinyin: Táiwāncài; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân-chhài, or ; Táiwān liàolǐ; Tâi-oân liāu-lí) has several variations. In addition to the following representative dishes from the people of Hoklo ethnicity (see Taiwanese people), there are also Aboriginal, Hakka, and local derivatives of Chinese cuisines such as beef noodle soup.

Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of China, most notably from the province of Fujian (Hokkien), but influences from all of mainland China can easily be found. A notable Japanese influence also exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Traditional Chinese food can be found in Taiwan, alongside Fujian and Hakka-style as well as native Taiwanese dishes, including dishes from Guangdong, Jiangxi, Chaoshan, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Beijing.

Pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. This is in part due to the considerations of some Taiwanese Buddhists, a traditional reluctance towards slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment and feeling of gratitude and thanks to the animals traditionally used for very hard labour. However, due to influences from the influx of out of province Chinese in the early 1900s, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup is now one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan.

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