One of the mantras for Taiwanese is that Taiwanese food is so good, and that it's without question the best food in the world. Of course it's not, but it's almost admirable how stubborn people can be about this, and always lovely when I take them to some French or Spanish restaurant and their eyes tear up as they try as hard as possible to still say Taiwanese food is the best.
This might seem like I'm hating on Taiwanese, food, but I'm actually not. I truly believe that i like Taiwanese food much more than even most Taiwanese. This is because when Taiwanese say they love Taiwanese food, they aren't actually referring to Taiwanese food. Instead they are referring to the various snacks and treats available in markets and eaten on holidays, which most of are foreign foods that were introduced to Taiwan many many years ago.
Real Taiwanese food is what mothers cook for dinner everyday. These are the dishes that nobody screams about how much they love, but for me the ones I like the most. There is a simplicity to them which really appeals to my palate. Most foreigners find these dishes to be very bland, as Taiwanese food doesn't use any spices or seasoning. Mostly it's just soy sauce, or in the case of vegetables, unfortunately it's the taste of the oil that they are cooked in.
When you talk about spice in Taiwan, what it normally refers to is making something spicy, not the art of mixing spices to find the perfect compliment to the dish. Which is actually perfectly ok with me. I love just tasting the true flavor of things, without anything added to it. I can taste my food perfectly well and that's what i come for, everything else just distracts from the taste. But seeing how spicy a lot of people like to make their dishes here, I have to believe that they don't like the true taste of the food, so they drown it out by making is spicy. It's ok, I'm hear to appreciate the natural taste. The true Taiwanese cuisine gourmand.
Please keep a look out for my future book, "No Spice? That's All right!: Guide to the best Traditional Taiwanese Dishes."
Oh and pictured above is the spice aisle at Costco. It's actually quite difficult to get spices in taiwan. You usually have to go to an import supermarket.
