Bazang — Dumplings that Will Save You from the Fishies

Okay, maybe the headline is a bit misleading. You see, you can’t actually EAT the bazang if you want protection from the fishies.

It all started out with a guy called “Qu Yuan” (屈原) who lived during the Warring States period in China (aka: a long time ago). He loved his country, but those in power deemed him a traitor so he jumped in a lake. But the people loved him, so they made glutinous rice dumplings (called bazang “肉粽” in Taiwanese, or zongzi “粽子” in Mandarin) and tossed them in the water. That was so the fish would eat the dumplings instead of Mr. Qu. (Inidentally, they also rowed dragon boats out into the waters to search for his body, hence the name “Dragon Boat Festival.”)

These days, people still toss the dumplings in water, but only to cook them. Continue reading to see a photo essay of my virgin bazang-wrapping experience with the Wang family in Taipei County. Or watch a video here (courtesy of Maggie & Tom… thanks!)

Ten Steps to Picking a Good Dumpling Shop in Taiwan

Uh-huh, that's what I'm talking about. This one's got the GOODS.

I’ve found the best dumpling place in Taiwan. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a top-ten list for at least the last decade, but I’m finally ready to commit. If you want to know which shop it is, you’ll need to read til the end.

First, how does one identify a good dumpling shop? There are ten sure-fire steps. The first five require surveying the shop itself. Then, if the shop passes muster on the visual front, move on to steps 6-10. After all, if you really want to know how they taste, you’re going to need to put some of them in your mouth. Duh.

Get Yer “Q” On!

This woman clearly wants to get her “Q” on! “Q” is the Taiwanese way of referring to the chewy texture that’s often found in local foods. It’s a mouth feel that’s more resistant than a marshmallow, but more pliable than licorice. All-in-all, it’s a texture your teeth will dig.

I can tell this woman wants to get her “Q” on (I’m hereby coining that phrase) because she’s buying “moichi” (麻糬) — a naughty little treat that’s made of glutinous rice and coated in peanut powder, sesame powder and sugar. No, it’s not good for you, but your tastebuds will thank you. And oh what fun it is to let your teeth ply through the resistant gooey “QQ-ness” (yes, the Taiwanese double up the “Q” if necessary).

After the jump, you’ll find pictures of the final product plus a cool shot of the mechanism on the cart that makes the ubiquitous clicking sound that is the moichi man’s version of ice-cream truck music.

How About Some Tofu in Your Cookie?

Who the poo thinks of things like this? Apparently the folks at Philippe Cafe in Taichung, Taiwan do. And they’ve found a way to do it. I’ve yet to ask them for their secret recipe, but I imagine it would be kind of like trying to pry the list of secret spices from the steel claws of KFC.

So how do they taste? Well I thought they had a kind of earthy, beany, nutty flavor. And Ellen? She thought they had they distinct flavor of… cookie.

If you really want to experience these cookies for yourself, you can pick up a box next time you are in Taichung:

斐麗巴黎廳 Philippe Cafe
台中市北區館前路9號
9 Guanchien Rd. N. Taichung, Taiwan
TEL: 04-2323-6625

Slow Food Doesn’t Mean Waiting Forever

Slow food? You mean like food you have to wait forever for? Or food that you have to chew 50 times before you can swallow?

Apparently I’ve been wrong about slow food for a long time. Slow food doesn’t mean waiting forever to eat, which is good because when I get the hunger cranks, I end up fishing around for something half-eaten in my backpack. Not okay.

I heard that South Village was holding a book launch for the Chinese version of Carlo Petrini’s latest book — Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair, and I decided to check it out. You see, Petrini is the founder of the “slow food movement.” Apparently it was a response to plans to build a McDonald’s near the Spanish Steps in Rome back in 1986.

But the real reason I wanted to visit South Village, was that proprietor Lulu Han was cooking up a slow food feast.

What a Gift for Mother’s Day!

Ask any woman who has given birth before, and she’ll be able to give you at least one food-related story from her pregnancy. For my friend Motomi, it was an unusual craving that actually hinted at the fact that she might be pregnant. You see, Motomi has been largely vegetarian since before I met her several years ago. Yes, she would have seafood occasionally, but certainly no red meat!

On the day before her pregnancy test, she suddenly had an unusual craving for beef (of all things!), and went out and had teppanyaki. She’s been eating meat since then, and thinks that it was her body’s way of telling her what she needed.

In the May 9th edition of Feast Meets West, we talked with Motomi for our Mother’s Day special. What listeners don’t know is that she gave  birth in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, May 10th. Not a bad mother’s day gift! You can see a picture of the baby after the jump.

Our Very First “Feast”

To kick off our brand new radio program, also called Feast Meets West, we thought it would be appropriate to actually create a feast of our own. So we went to Ellen’s house and cooked dinner ourselves. And in the spirit of “passing it on”, I showed Ellen and Frances how to make pecan pie (as taught to me by former RTI program host and amazing baker Amanda Beamish).

In the photo you can see (left to right) Frances, me, Ellen, and Ah Di. Oh yeah, and that’s our good friend the pie (who we later ate). Sorry, pie.

View the entire photo essay on the Chat Room Blog.

Listen by visiting the Radio Taiwan International web page. Click on one of the links next to “Saturday” (in the upper left-hand corner). You can listen to the wonderful Occidental Tourist with Charlie Storrar, and then the Feast begins at about nine minutes into the program.