Preparing the Kitchen and Prepping Dishes Ahead
Today, I finished shopping for my fresh ingredients. Napa doesn't have an Asian market, but I got incredibly lucky with the meats and seafood at a little Mexican market not far from my house. They have an old-fashioned butcher shop, and for the unbelievably low price of $15.80, I bought two pounds of shrimp, a whole tilapia fish, a pound of nicely trimmed pork loin and two whole chicken leg quarters. I definitely know where I'm buying all my meats and seafood from now on.

As predicted, there was no Taiwan Beer to be had anywhere in town, but I did find Tsing Tao at Cost Plus, along with a bag of dried mushrooms for the hot and sour soup. So...it looks like I'm good to go with all my ingredients for my Eat Drink Man Woman Taiwanese dinner.

When I got home, I set about the task of cleaning the fridge, doing the dishes and clearing the countertops for tomorrow's cooking extravaganza. Last week, I gave the kitchen a thorough cleaning, which included two hours just scrubbing the stove. So it's clean and organized in there for this month's dinner.

I also washed and prepped all my vegetables, cleaned and de-veined the shrimp, made soup stock, and cooked the San Pei Chicken in the crock pot. That's about all I can prepare ahead this time, since most of the dishes are stir-fried, and I want all the vegetables to be cooked to perfection.

As always, I'm excited at the prospect of trying my hand at another Asian cuisine, and I'm already getting an appetite for all that delicious food.
12:28 AM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for Fresh Ingredients
Today I shopped for all my fresh produce, and since none of the recipes call for anything exotic, I was able to buy it at my neighborhood Safeway. However, I'm still missing a few things, namely the chicken and fresh seafood. It's still two days til my Dinner & a Movie, so I wanted to wait until tomorrow or even the day of the dinner to buy the shrimp and fish, but it may be somewhat of a challenge to find a whole fish that's small enough to suit my purposes.

We have a nice little Mexican market in town with an old-fashioned butcher shop, where the meats, poultry and seafood are considerably cheaper than at our gourmet grocery stores, so I'm hoping to find my fish, shrimp, pork and chicken there. A little fish market a few blocks from my house is another possibility for the seafood items. Otherwise, I will have to make do with some fresh fish filets. Either way, I'm sure it will all be delicious.
01:26 AM PDT Permalink |

Beverages To Go With My Taiwanese Dinner
When I eat Asian food of any kind, I always crave a nice cold beer to go with it. Afterwards, I like to enjoy a sip of rice wine or sweet plum wine with dessert. Taiwan produces a local brew called (what else?) Taiwan Beer. There's also another local beverage called Shaohsing wine, served warm. First produced in southern China during the Ming dynasty (1386-1644), Shaohsing wine is made with glutinous rice, fermented in earthen jars before bottling.

In Taiwan, all alcoholic beverages are produced by the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau (TTWMB), which was created when Taiwan was returned to China at the end of World War II, after 50 years of occupation by the Japanese. The TTWMB also produces whiskey and brandy, including Tea Brandy, flavored with Oolong tea, as well as a blend of brandy and grape juice called Pineau. Other wines include lychee wine, plum wine, white wine, red wine, rose wine, sparkling wine, and honey wine.

Alas, I hold little hope of finding beverages produced in Taiwan at any of our local retailers. So unless I can squeeze in a trip to San Francisco in the next few days, I will have to settle for the next best thing: a six-pack of China's Tsing Tao beer, and a bottle of Sho Chiku Bai plum wine. And of course, no Chinese dinner would be complete without a steaming pot of Oolong tea.
01:14 AM PDT Permalink |

About the Fresh Ingredients
The fresh ingredients for my 'Eat Drink Man Woman' dinner are quite common, so there's no need to go traipsing all over town in search of some esoteric item that we country mice have never seen or heard of. They include Ginger Root, Onion, Scalliions, Tofu, Whole White Fish, Shrimp, Garlic, Ham, Bok Choy, Celery, Basil, Parsley or Cilantro, Pineapple, Green Peas, Mushrooms, and Carrots. All inexpensive and readily available at my local market.

Of course, I like to shop as close to the day of the dinner as possible to ensure that they will be poppin' fresh when I use them to cook all those tasty Taiwan recipes. I usually try to do it the day before the dinner so I can prepare some elements of the dinner the night before. I find that if I get a head start on the eve of the dinner, the following day, I'm much more relaxed and organized, and a lot less overwhelmed by the thousand tasks it takes to produce an elaborate Asian meal.
12:08 AM PDT Permalink |

Taking Pictures of My 'Eat Drink Man Woman' Dinner
My 'Eat Drink Man Woman' Dinner & a Movie is going to take place on a week night this month. Recently I've been scheduling it on the last Saturday of the month. But since it's the Halloween season, Rene has to work on weekends through the end of October. So, we've decided to have it on a Wednesday instead, which means that, since it's a school night, my son Will won't be able to attend and serve as my photographer. Rene has generously volunteered for the job, which is great, because he's gotten really good at digital photography. No doubt, he will make me look like a pro!
12:04 AM PDT Permalink |

Special Cookware
For my 'Eat Drink Man Woman' Taiwanese Dinner I'm going to serve it buffet style. The Hot and Sour Soup will be prepared and served in a crock pot. I will steam the rice in an electric rice cooker, use it to make Taiwan Fried Rice, and then return it to the rice cooker to keep it warm on the buffet. The main dishes will be cooked in a large wok, and as the stir-fry dishes come off the stove, I wiil transfer them to serving dishes and keep them warm on an electric hot tray. Of course, none of these special cookware items is absolutely necessary, however they will enable me to sit down to dinner with my guests, instead of spending the entire time going back and forth to the kitchen to prepare each course. But with adequate preparation and a good sense of timing, this meal could easily be prepared using only a wok, a saucepan and a soup kettle.
12:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Designing a Table Setting
Last month, I was so pleased with my relaxed buffet presentation that I'm going to do something similar for my Eat Drink Man Woman Taiwanese dinner. The dishes I've chosen all lend themselves quite nicely to family-style service, and last week, I was lucky enough to find a really nice electric warming tray in perfect condition at my local thrift shop for the modest price of two dollars. I already have lots of beautiful Chinese-style serving dishes, and a decorative Chinese scroll to use as a table runner, so putting together an attractive buffet should be a breeze.
12:09 AM PDT Permalink |

Deciding What to Wear
The only Chinese garment I have is a red brocade Mandarin jacket...much too fancy for a casual dinner at home. So, if I can find them, I may treat myself to a pair of silk pajamas for the sake of comfort and practicality. It's always hot in the kitchen when I'm cooking and the weather has been quite warm and dry these past few days, with a balmy zephyr blowing through the Napa Valley. But by the time the day of my Dinner & a Movie rolls around, I expect it to be somewhat cooler. The weather forecasters have been promising rain and lower temperatures, but we've yet to see either. Today, there is a wildfire burning out of contol in the northeastern corner of the county, covering the whole Bay Area with a blanket of smoke and ashes.
12:00 AM PDT Permalink |

A Newfound Cookbook
In one last attempt to find a cookbook with recipes unique to Taiwan, I turned to my local library, which, by the way, I can see from my front door. There I found a copy of Martin Yan's Asian Favorites, with recipes from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand. I had high hopes for finding some extra recipes from Taiwan, but alas, none of them appealed to me. Perhaps because there were so many soups among them, and the main dishes called for things like quail, pig's feet, and squid, all of which I've eaten and enjoyed, but for my 'Eat Drink Man Woman' Taiwan dinner, I would prefer lots of seafood for the menu. So I'm going to stick with the six recipes I found on the Internet.

The good news is that Martin Yan's Asian Favorites containes a tempting array of recipes from Hong Kong. So many that I'm going to find it hard to choose when the time comes for my Hong Kong Dinner & a Movie. His cookbook also contains 77 Thai recipes. Wish I'd known about this cookbook last month. I've already ordered a copy for my collection and can't wait to try out some new recipes.
12:14 AM PDT Permalink |

A Little Background on the Film
Known in Taiwan as Yin Shi Nan Nu, the 1994 film Eat Drink Man Woman, directed by Ang Lee is a family tale, centered around a retired Taipei chef and his three unmarried daughters. Jia-Jen, the eldest is a chemistry teacher, newly indoctrinated into the Christian faith. Daughter number two, Jia-Chien, is a high-ranking executive in the airline industry, and the youngest, Jia-Ning, is a university student who moonlights at a fast food restaurant. Every Sunday, they gather around the family dinner table to share the latest developments in the romance department.

I've often seen this film on the shelves of my local video store and have been keen to see it. It's a little idiosyncracy of mine never to read movie reviews or the description of a film on the back of the box before I watch it. I like to form my own opinions as the movie unfolds, rather than being influenced by critics or having certain surprises spoiled by knowing too much about the film beforehand. But in this case, for the sake of the weblog, I had to do a little advance research to make sure it was appropriate fare for my Dinner & a Movie project, and to be able to synopsize it for my readers. My impression of Eat Drink Man Woman is reminding me of two other films: 'Tortilla Soup', Maria Ripoll's adaptation of Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman screenplay, and George Tillman's 'Soul Food', both of which seem to have similar themes and use the dinner table as a venue for family drama.

Other films by Ang Lee include Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and The Hulk.
01:43 PM PDT Permalink |

Articles About Taiwan
I'm taking a day off to work around the house today. General cleaning, reorganizing and a little redecorating. So, I'm going to point you to an article by an artist named Ian Douglas who lives in Bangkok. I interviewed him for ThingsAsian a couple of years ago. Nice fellow and very talented. After visiting Taiwan, he wrote an article for ThingsAsian about his experiences. It's called Once 'Round the Little Dragon.

Dawn Stanton wrote another good article about Taiwan for ThingsAsian titled Your First Trip to Taiwan: A Suggested Itinerary.

A keyword search for "Taiwan" on ThingsAsian will yield a total of 96 articles about or mentioning Taiwan. So why not go exploring!

The History and Culture of Taiwan

The island of Taiwan is located about 120 miles off the southeastern coast of Mainland China. Formerly known by its Portuguese name, Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island," Taiwan is surrounded by the Taiwan Strait to the west, the East China Sea to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Luzon Strait to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest.

Most of Taiwan's population lives on low-lying plains toward the west side of the island, while more than half of the landscape is mountainous, with five distinct ranges extending from its northern to the southern tip. Taiwan's tallest peak is Yu Shan at 12,966 feet (3952 meters). Taiwan has a tropical marine climate, with a monsoon season from June to August. The weather is cloudy throughout much of the year, with frequent typhoons and earthquakes.

The island of Taiwan is divided into 15 counties, with five provincial cities and two municipalities, Taipei and Kaohsiung. The Pescadore Islands are also included in the territory of Taiwan. The Province of Taiwan is administered by the government of the Republic of China (ROC). The name "Taiwan" is usually refers to the Republic of China, while the word "China" is used to refer to the People's Republic of ChinaTaipei, Taiwan's largest city is the provisional capital of the Republic of China, however, the central village of Zhongxing is the official capital of Taiwan province.The Republic of China also claims control of the Kinmen, Matsu, Green and Orchid islands, as well as many smaller islands in the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by several other countries. .

Language

The culture of Taiwan is a combination Chinese, Western and indigenous influences. Although the majority of the population speaks Mandarin, 70 percent also speak Taiwanese. A group of about 10 percent, known as the Hakka, have their own language, along with several smaller aboriginal groups who also have their own language as well. Additionally, due to the Japanese occupation of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, many people, especially the elderly, are fluent in Japanese. Nevertheless, Mandarin is the language taught in schools.

Religion

The majority of the Taiwainese people practice Buddhism and Taoism, with strong influences by Confucianism as well. However, Taiwan also has its own indigenous religion steeped in ancient folklore. Christianity is present on the island, with the largest influence being Presbyterian.

Art

The arts of Taiwan feature both ancient folk traditions, as well as fine arts which have been influenced by modern Asian and western styles. The the National Palace Museum is Taiwan's most notable collection, which was brought to Taiwan by the Nationalist Party under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949. The collection features more than a half-million treasures, only onepercent of which is on display at any given time, including Chinese jade, porcelain, bronze, painting and calligraphy.

Traditional Garments

There are three main traditional Chinese garments: the pien-fu, the ch'ang-p'ao, and the shen-i. The pien-fu is a two-piece ceremonial garment, consisting of a knee-length tunic, and an ankle-length skirt. The floor-length robe called ch'ang-p'ao, is worn by both men and women. The shen-i, also worn by both men and women, is a two-part garment, consisting of a roomy, deeply folded tunic and skirt, similar in style to the pien-fu; but joined together to form a single robe. The shen-i is the most commonly worn garment, especially by government officials, scholars, the military, and by commoners on special occasions. Becuase of their simple design and tendency toward darker colors, these garments are often embellished with embroidered borders, sashes and epaulettes.

Today in Taiwan, men may be seen wearing modernized versions of the traditional Chinese long gown on formal occasions, while women often wear the ch'i-p'ao. Taiwan's silk making, spinning, and weaving industries flourish, and many of Taiwan's modern fashions incorporate the elements and motifs of traditional Chinese garments, including dragons, trigrams, lions, guardian deities.

History

The history of Taiwan dates back approximately 50,000 years, and the migration to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland by Han Chinese may have begun as early as 500 A.D. Little is known of Taiwan's original inhabitants, however, archaeologial evidence of jadeware, and corded pottery shows evidence of several distinct cultures. The indigenous people still in existence in modern Taiwan are classified among the Austronesian ethno-linguistic group, which also includes those of Madagascar, the Easter Islands and New Zealand.

The first record of European settlement in Taiwan is that of Dutch traders, who established a post on the island in 1624 to facilitate trade with Japan and China. In 1626, the Spanish established another settlement at Santissima Trinidad on the northwest coast of Taiwan near Keelung, until they were driven out by the Dutch in 1642. Thereafter, Taiwan was controlled by the Dutch East India Company, which set up schools, missionaries and a system of taxation. The Dutch also exploited the huge herds of deer that roamed the island, the hides of which they sold to the Japanese for making samurai armor. When the deer population began to dwindle, rice and sugar cane were also farmed for export to Asia.

A second stronghold built on the island of Taiwan helped strengthen the colonial power of the Dutch. Many towns and villages were destroyed, and aboriginal rebels were severely punished. In 1661, the armada of Zheng Chenggong, a Ming Dynasty loyalist and former pirate, launched a siege on Taiwan to drive the Dutch from their colony at Zeelandia, in hopes of establishing a military base. Zheng, a now a powerful trader in his own right, had been driven from his Chinese stronghold in Amoy when the Manchu advanced on Fujian, and hoped to regain it. And although he succeeded in seizing control of Zeelandia, he was never able to overcome Manchurian General Wu San Gui to re-establish the Ming Dynasty.

Upon the death of Zheng, his grandson surrendered to the Manchu and all his followers were banished from Taiwan to the remotest regions of the Qing empire. By 1682, only 7000 Chinese remained on the island of Taiwan, most of whom had assimilated themselves into the aboriginal population. For more than 200 years thereafter, the Qing Dynasty ruled Taiwan, limiting immigration from Mainland China and overseeing the government of the aboriginal population. Their migration into the moutainous wilderness regions was restricted by a barrier of pits and earthen mounds.

In 1874, an Japanese ship from Okinawa landed at the southern tip of Taiwan, where all the crew members were beheaded by an aboriginal tribe. When no restitution was offered by the Manchu government, Japan launched an assault on Taiwan. Qing Dynasty control of the island was further weakened by the blockade of Keeling harbor by the French over a territorial dispute. Despite attempts to create a greater infrastructure with wilderness outposts and a railroad network, the Sino-Japanese War for control of Taiwan ended in the surrender of the island to the Japanese in 1895.

The years immediately following Japanese occupation of Taiwan were marked by chaos and rebellion of both Taiwanese nationals and aboriginals. Yet, despite attempts to declare itself an independent republic, Taiwan's aristocracy was eventually forced to seek the aid of Japanese forces to restore order. Nonetheless, the aboriginal population continued to rebel until the 1930's. During their rule, the Japanese modernized the island with electricity, and an all-Japanese educational system. And although Taiwan functioned as a Japanese colony, the Taiwanese people were eventually granted increasingly elevated social and political status, until the end of World War II, when Japan was ordered by the Allies to surrender Taiwan to the Republic of China.

Nationalist rule by the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) administration began in October 1945. The postwar period saw a period of political repression, corruption and civil dissent. To quell the rebellion, in a military attack now known as the "2-28 Incident," the Nationalists massacred 30,000 Taiwanese citizens, and imprisoned thousands of others. Aristocrats and scholars were especially targeted.

Meanwhile, in Mainland China, a civil war had been brewing since the 1930's, with the Communist Party of China led by Mao Zedong rebelling against the ROC government of Chiang Kai-shek. When the Communist Party prevailed in 1949, the war ended, and two million refugees fled to Taiwan. The People's Republic of China was established, and soon thereafter, Chiang Kai-shek had established a provisional ROC capital in Taipei.

However, when Japan surrendered Taiwan after World War II, the wording of the treaty never specified whether Taiwan would be ceded to the Republic of China, or to the People's Republic of China, raising the question as to whether the Republic of China is a legitimate government. The Republic of China maintains that, based on the UN Charter, when Japan surrendered Taiwan in the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, the sovereignty of Taiwan returned to the people of Taiwan, and it is therefore a legitimate government, while the People's Republic of China argues that the ROC ended in 1949.

After World War II, under the administration of the Kuomintang (KMT) government, all of Taiwan's major corporations and government property was nationalized. The economy that had been created and generated by Japanese rule was awarded to the KMT. In the decade that followed, the KMT implemented an industrial and agricultural reform program that resulted in a huge economic boom, and by the 1970's Taiwan had achieved status among the powerful trade nations known as the East Asian Tigers, and was recognized as the legitimate government of China by the United Nations.

Dispute over Taiwan's sovereignty continued, however, and in 1971, the Beijing government was recognized as China's seat in the United Nations. Although, the ROC had been offered dual reopresentation, Chiang Kai-shek stormed out, demanding his own seat on the UN Security Council. The People's Republic of China refused, and by 1979, the United States had shifted its recognition of China's official government from Taipei to Beijing.

Upon his death in 1975, Chiang Kai-shek was succeeded by his son Chiang Ching-kuo, who instituted a program of change in the Taiwanese goverment. Marital law was lifted, and the DPP opposition party was allowed to compete with the KMT. The Taiwanese people were gradually given more political freedom, and when Chiang Ching-Kuo died in 1988, his successor Lee Teng-hui made inroads toward a democratic government. A central bank was established, media censorship was lifted, the Taiwan Provincial Government was dissolved, and mainland representatives were forced to resign.

Corruption continued under Lee's administration, and in open elections held in 2000, opposition DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian became the President of Taiwan. The political status of Taiwan remains a controversial issue. The People's Republic of China still lays claim to Taiwan as a sovereign territory, and Chen Shui-bian still maintains that the Republic of China is the official government. The people of Taiwan are divided, with many supporting Chinese reunification, while many others still favor independence.

10:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Tracking Down Exotic Ingredients
This month, for my Taiwanese dinner I will need to find a source for Chinese mushrooms, as well as a couple of other condiments such as Fermented Black Beans and Chinese Pickled Cabbage. One of our local grocery stores carries a modest assortment of Chinese ingredients and I may be able to find those few items there. I already have the Five-Spice Powder left over from my Korean dinner, and the rest of the ingredients, such as bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, are easy to come by in our local grocery stores.
12:03 AM PDT Permalink |

A List of Ingredients for a Taiwanese Dinner

Specialty Ingredients: Chinese 5-Spice Powder, Chinese Pickled Cabbage, Cayenne Pepper, Sesame Oil, Chinese Black Mushrooms, Cloud Ear Mushrooms, Bamboo Shoots, Water Chestnuts, Rice Wine, Rice Wine Vinegar, Chili Paste, Black Bean Sauce or Paste, Panko Bread Crumbs, Pickled Radish

Fresh Ingredients: Ginger Root, Onion, Scalliions, Tofu, Whole White Fish, Shrimp (2 lbs), Garlic, Ham, Bok Choy, Celery, Basil, Parsley or Cilantro, Pineapple , Green Peas, Carrots

Basics: White Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Chicken Broth, Cooking Oil, Corn Starch, Eggs, Sugar, Rice

12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Deciding on the Dishes for MyTaiwanese Dinner

Appetizer: Deep Fried Shrimp Balls
Soup: Hot & Sour Soup
Main Course: Whole Fish with Spicy Sauce, Spicy Stir-Fried Shrimp, Shreded Pork with Vegetables, Chicken San Pei, and Taiwan Fried Rice
Dessert: Lychees and Fresh Fruits in Season

12:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Designing the Menu for a Taiwanese Dinner
Last month's buffet style dinner was such a pleasure to prepare and enjoy that I've decided to do something similar this month. I'm thinking of serving everything 'Chinese restaurant style' in covered serving dishes. Which means that I will be deviating from my standard 'appetizer, soup, salad, main course and dessert' format. All the dishes include fresh vegetables among the ingredients, so there's no need to prepare a separate vegetable side dish. I think I still want to include a soup, and I've found a recipe that I think might be categorized as an appetizer. Nevertheless, I'm going to serve everything family-style in communal dishes, rather than on individiual plates. For dessert, I have some lychee fruits in the freezer that came from a grove in Florida sent to me by the orchard owner when I interviewed him a few months back. Last time I checked, they were still in perfect shape. I also saw lychees on display at Safeway last week, although this seems awfully late in the year for them to still be on sale.
01:41 PM PDT Permalink |