Iris Chang

One of the most striking things about any discussion of Taiwan and the U.S. is in comparing the food of these countries. It is obvious that Taiwanese food and American food are totally different. The only similarity between these food cultures is that both of them have three meals each day.

     It is undoubted that Taiwanese cooking style is what makes Taiwanese food taste unique. First of all, in Taiwan, gas stoves and microwaves are the source of energy. They usually stir-fry, deep-fry, or braise meat and poultry, or they sometimes stew ingredients with soy sauce. Second, they prepare vegetables by stir-frying or heating them in hot water. Next, Taiwanese often boil soups with bones for many hours.

     Spices play an important role in Taiwanese cooking. There are several kinds of ingredients used to season food. The basics are salt, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, MSG, and rice wine. The seasoning spices are garlic, ginger, aniseed, pepper, and Chinese herbs. All of them bring fascinating flavors to the food.

Another important role of Taiwanese foods is sauces, which are used to make food rich in flavor. Taiwanese like enhancing food with soy sauce, vinegar, sesame seed oil, oyster sauce, bean paste, or gravy.

     There are three meals a day in Taiwan. Most Taiwanese eat rice porridge, steamed buns, meat buns, egg rolls, soy milk, fluffy dough sticks, or sesame seed cakes for breakfast. Then, for lunch and dinner, the main dishes in Taiwan are rice, noodles, dumplings, and soup. In addition, Taiwanese choose vegetables and meat to be side dishes. Next, they have some sweet foods like sweet bean soup, cookies, and pastries, but they don’t usually eat sweet food after meals. Generally, Taiwanese eat main dishes first, then soup and fruit.

     In America, the foods which they eat in these meals and the eating order are different from Taiwan. For example, most Americans eat cereals, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, omelets, sausages, toast, waffles, muffins, pancakes, donuts, bagels, milk, or coffee every morning. Then, for lunch and dinner, Americans eat pasta, hamburgers, sandwiches, Mexican food (burritos, tacos), steak, pizza, or hot dogs. In addition, Americans have mashed potatoes, baked bean, or French-fries to choose from. Next, American desserts are ice cream, cheese cake, pies, brownies, puddings. Lastly, Americans eat appetizers (like soup, salads, and fruit), main dishes, side dishes, and desserts at last.

     Americans use electric stoves, ovens, and microwaves as the source of energy. Their cooking methods include steaming, boiling, roasting, grilling, and frying. Second, they usually eat salads (uncooked vegetables) in place of cooked vegetables. Next, they often cook chowder instead of light soups.

     Americans like using spices to go with staple foods also. The basic spices are salt and sugar. The seasoning spices are pepper, basil, and chili. They have different sauces to complement salads or enhance foods, such as Thousand Island dressing, Caesar dressing, ketchup, honey mustard, Tabasco, spicy sauces, blue cheese, olive oil& Vinegar, and gravy. Although most of the spices and sauces are different from Taiwanese’, both Americans and Taiwanese love eating foods with condiments.

     In addition to the comparisons above, there are some different customs of eating food. For instance, Taiwanese almost always use chopsticks and spoons as dining utensils, yet Americans use forks, knifes, and spoons all the time. Even though both of the two countries eat using plates and bowls, Taiwanese keep bowls in their hands, but most Americans don’t. Furthermore, Taiwanese love eating organs (guts, livers, and hearts) or paws but Americans don’t. Besides, most Taiwanese eat home-made food, but Americans usually eat frozen food or fast food, so Americans spend less time preparing food than Taiwanese. Moreover, Taiwanese cook at home more often than Americans do. When eating at restaurants, Taiwanese don’t leave tips after dinner because the tip has been included in the bill; however, Americans always do.

     Foods which relate to lifestyles are aspects that we are more and more aware of today because food habits are closely linked to our environment and health. The food in Taiwan has been influenced by the United States. All in all, most American food eating cultures are different from Taiwanese food cultures. The only similarity is that they have three meals each day.