Taiwan (Asia) 29 December 2023

Taiwan is located in the continent of Asia. It has South Korea and Japan to the far north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Philippines to the south, Macau to the     southwest, China and Hong Kong to the west and northwest.

The capital is Taipei.

The official language Mandarin Chinese.

The climate is subtropic, except in the southern part where it is tropical. Summers are hot and is from April or May to September or October. The winters are short and mild with very little snow falling in the mountains.

The staple foods are chicken, beef, noodles, thin soups, cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, eggplant, carrots, lobster, mackerel, tilapia, mushrooms, and so much more (https://lifeoftaiwan.com/about-taiwan/food-drink/#:~:text=Staple%20foods&text=Chicken%20is%20common%3B%20beef%20is,food%20is%20seldom%20very%20spicy).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Taiwan

TAIWANESE-STYLE THREE CUP CHICKEN (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149229/taiwanese-style-three-cup-chicken/):  

• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1-1/2lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
• ½ C sesame oil
• 10 slices fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• ½ C Chinese rice wine
• 1/3 C soy sauce
• ¼ C water
• 3 TBSP white sugar
• ½ C Thai basil leaves
• 3 dried whole red chilies

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
4. Heat sesame oil in the same skillet.
5. Add ginger and garlic; cook and stir until ginger begins to brown, about 30 seconds.
6. Stir in reserved chicken, rice wine, soy sauce, water, and sugar; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until there is only ¼ cup of liquid left in the skillet, about 20 minutes.
7. Stir in basil and chilies; increase heat to medium and continue cooking until liquid is almost gone.

The flavor on this was amazing!!!

STIR-FRIED TAIWANESE CABBAGE (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/278811/stir-fried-taiwanese-cabbage/):  

• 1 TBSP avocado oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• One 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 5 C Taiwanese cabbage, leaves separated and cut into 1-1/2-inch squares
• 1 small red chili pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp kosher salt, or to taste

1. Heat oil in a wok or a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add garlic and ginger; cook and stir for about 30 seconds.
3. Add cabbage and chili pepper; stir quickly, mixing in garlic and ginger.
4. Stir-fry until cabbage becomes translucent and volume is reduced by half, but without losing texture, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Stir in rice vinegar and season with salt.

This was a good side dish to have with the chicken!!

BÀO BĪNG (Taiwanese Shaved Ice Treat) (https://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/taiwanese-shaved-ice-treat-bao-bing/):  

• 1 mango, cut into chunks
• Sweetened condensed milk, to taste
• Ice, blended into snow
• 3 scoops ice cream

1. If you can buy crushed ice, great. Otherwise, just pop a couple of handfuls in the blender and let it crush up on low speed until it forms a fine snow (or close as you can get).
2. Add the mango and ice cream (I used vanilla, which gave the treat a lovely creaminess, but pineapple or mango sherbet would be grand as well).
3. Pour on the sweetened condensed milk …. Which gives the treat a cooked, faintly caramel profile. Plus, it’s fun to drizzle.
4. The ice cream and sweetened milk melts into the ice and makes for a soft yet crunchy combination.

What is there NOT to love about this!!!!

Yum!!!!