"The Taste of Taiwan in the Alleys" - Books You Shouldn't Read Before Bed

This is a book that you will want to stay and continue to read after flipping through it, because I was the one who put it down and opened it again after flipping through it in a hurry.

The author, A Zuo, uses his own experience and observation to introduce 22 kinds of Taiwanese delicacies in articles, and each article has an interesting title with his own punchline. From three different angles, I found something that made my eyes and mind bright, and I also tried to write a title and comment on it myself.

Industrial perspective

Brine Chicken - From Table to Stall

The author did a little research on the evolution of the cooking industry in the brine chicken , bringing out some interesting knowledge points. The book mentioned that since the 1960s, because the government planned to cultivate professional chicken farmers, the output of chicken and eggs was often oversupplied, resulting in a long-term low market price. In order to solve this market imbalance, the "old hen elimination mechanism" was later implemented. In order to make the best use of everything, the supply of these old hen chicken products laid the foundation for the emerging snack of salted chicken. As for the cooking method, there is a saying that salt-water chicken comes from salt-baked chicken in Cantonese cuisine. The cooking technique "water-baked method" is exactly the same as that of the current brine chicken. Production. I think it 's no wonder that salted chicken is always served cold, and it should be served as a cold dish. It's no wonder that apart from the excellent proportion of brine, what kind of food is there that people are willing to bite into? What about cold meat?

historical perspective

Thai Shrimp - Not an Exotic Now

The Thai shrimp , whose real name is the freshwater long-armed prawn, originated from Dr. Lin Shaowen, a Chinese aquaculture expert in the 1970s. He successfully cultivated shrimp fry from Thailand. Since then, Thai shrimp has been stationed in Taiwan's farms, and then promoted to shrimp fishing farms. As for why it is becoming more and more popular in Taiwan's food industry, it is mainly caused by the death of grass shrimp due to virus infection in the 1980s, and the sharp drop in production. Taiwan has gradually turned its attention from the kingdom of grass shrimp to Thai shrimp, which has led to the birth of Classic live shrimp dishes such as pepper shrimp, shochu shrimp and sesame oil shrimp. Why can shrimp with such a hard shell have the opportunity to become a popular dish? Why is there only a Thai shrimp specialty store in Taiwan and no grass shrimp specialty store? Naturally, it is also because it is not easy to cook and requires some skills, so it is difficult to get in. Home kitchen. The author's narration in this paragraph is also sonorous and powerful because of his historical research and logical derivation .

cultural perspective

Hand shake cup - drink is fashion and nostalgia

In this section of the hand-shaking cup , the author not only introduces the history of the beverage shop and the invention of the sealing cup, but also mentions the concept of "little luck" to describe the popular culture vividly. "I don't feel alone in any city that has a hand-cranked cup." This sentence accurately describes the unique culture of Taiwan's hand-cranked beverages. People who work in foreign countries or students should feel it very well. From my personal experience, foreign countries really There are very few beverage shops that are full of tricks and can customize the taste. Even if more and more brands have expanded overseas in recent years, I don’t know whether it is the relationship between the raw materials or the workmanship, and the drinks are not very authentic. Maybe it is less A little bit, the Taiwanese flavor deeply rooted in you and me. What's more, it's not cheap. I remember that in New Zealand and Australia, a cup of rare milk-grade drink costs more than NT$150! In this paragraph, once again the historical research reflects the author's statement of fact, and the expression of the feeling of writing food is not biased

Three Highlights

This book is a good read, and there are three interesting things in it that attract me:

1. Soft knowledge : There are many knowledge points that you don't know, but you will be pleasantly surprised when you know it. In the section of Kumquat Lemon , it is written that "tangerine" reads "tangerine" instead of "ji". Like the author, I only learned at such an old age. I know, I always thought it was because the elders' pronunciation was not standard.
2. Sense of interest : In the Mitaimu chapter, the author cleverly opened the PK battlefield between Mitaimu and vermicelli. From the Internet villagers, "the two obviously look the same, but one is sweet and the other is salty". From the perspective of raw materials , the two are completely different, the aroma and taste they bring out are also different, and the brushstrokes are vivid, just like reading an online novel.
3. Insider's jargon : For example, in the description of "wok qi" in the Hundred-Yuan Hot Frying Store , first describe the appearance of "the aroma produced by high temperature and hot oil, and the arc-shaped design of the pot body, so that the aroma can be smoothly guided. Returning to the pot, constantly circulating between the food.” From a chemical point of view, “heating food at high temperature causes carbohydrates and proteins to be stimulated by heat to produce the Mena reaction of caramel and sweetness.” The final conclusion is “still not complete. Explain that it should contain the master's own skills." I think some of the descriptions in the book are due to the blessing of the author's undergraduate culinary background, so the descriptions are natural and accurate . The same thing, it is more emboldened by her to explain it like this.

Reading this book, looking at it is like eating a full-fledged meal, looking forward to the next dish that will be served on the paper. The writing is smooth and meaningful, and small knowledge points are brought into the ribbon-shaped narrative. It is not oppressive to read, and it can grow knowledge. Moreover, the author Azuo wrote witty, full of Internet native generation language between the lines, such as the movie "Here's a batch of cheap beef" and the advertisement "Sour V ah Sour V", as if chatting with readers. It's a pity that there are no characters that I like oyster noodles and grilled sausages. They are indispensable in my snack list. Maybe I look forward to seeing you in the new chapter!

• Author: Fan Qiaoxin (with text)
• Publisher: Times Publishing
• Publication date: 2021/01/26