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- Exploring Taiwanese Identity Through its Cuisine | 台灣的味道 - BBC News 中文
Exploring Taiwanese Identity Through its Cuisine | 台灣的味道 - BBC News 中文
Discover the evolution of Taiwanese food and its deep ties to the island's identity. Learn about the blending of ethnic influences and cultural history that make Taiwanese cuisine unique and internationally renowned.
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Video Transcript
What is Taiwanese food?
This is a question of identity.
In the process of developing Taiwan,
the ethnic groups are integrated.
I can't say for sure
what is Taiwanese food
and what is foreign food.
Taiwanese food is basically a composite
of all of our ways of governance,
which includes the Japanese colonial era.
Taiwanese researchers
have been studying this area.
The 16 ethnic groups here
should be strong enough to represent Taiwan.
Taiwanese food has more international recognition
but what is Taiwanese food?
There is no clear outline
The process of Taiwanese food
also reflects the change in Taiwan's identity
Japan colonized Taiwan from 1895 to 1945
During this time, they built the railway
and modernized the railway system in Taiwan
The railway bento that Taiwanese are familiar with
appeared along the journey
and the food appeared in the train.
So we're at the train station right now.
Here they also sell the Taiwanese bento box,
which is a dish that was sort of invented
or came to be with the Taiwan train station.
So let's go in and grab something to eat.
Wei Beishan grew up in the U.S.
and currently lives in Taiwan.
In 2023, she published a recipe for a Taiwanese dish.
She said the appearance and cooking of Taiwanese bento boxes
were influenced by the Japanese colonization.
It's a loan word from Japan, bento,
and in Taiwanese it's bento.
Japan didn't create these bento boxes per se,
but what happened was when the railway system launched,
these entrepreneurs would be selling bento boxes
at every single stop.
The train station saw how these merchants
were making a bunch of money
and they took matters into their own hand
and then they launched the official
Taiwanese railway bento box.
It's still made in the train stations today.
I'm going to be ordering the classic, which is the pork chop bento.
It's a deep fried pork chop that's then braised in a soy sauce liquid, and that's the traditional
one.
