Tainan - Snack heaven

Danzai Noodles (Guaranteed Noodles)

Danzai noodles are a special noodle dish that can only be found (and best known) in Tainan. The broth is cooked from shrimp, so it is clear and sweet, the noodles are big, tougher than beef noodles, called oil noodles. In addition to boiled shrimp, the noodles also have fried onions (to make the aroma more intense), minced pork (each shop will have its own recipe for stir-frying pork), and cilantro, if you like it, you can add black vinegar. and minced garlic.

Guancai bread (coffin bread)

The name may sound a bit scary at first, but this is a snack that is loved by young Tainan people. The cake is named coffin because it looks like a coffin with a lid. In fact, it's a kind of fried thick sandwich, with a hole in the middle and filled with a rich and delicious filling made of seafood, celery, and cream. The cut out part of the cake will be thinly sliced to make a lid on the top.

Luce

Milkfish is a specialty of Tainan waters. Milkfish has been caught in this sea for more than 4 centuries, and is processed into many delicious dishes. In Anping Old Quarter, there is also a milkfish museum, recording the history of fishing, the value and role of milkfish in the Tainan fishery. The most common way of cooking is stewing soup with miso and garlic, grilling everything (according to the Japanese way of eating because Taiwan was once colonized by Japan), pan-frying with soy sauce, especially porridge.

Wagui

It is a type of cake similar to Cantonese radish cake. Wagui is made with rice flour and steamed on a small cup, at first glance like a steamed egg. Inside ingredients include stir-fried minced pork, egg yolk, shiitake or cat mushrooms, some shops will add shrimp and squid to diversify the taste. Depending on the amount of flour and water, the cake will be soft or sweet when steamed. When eating, locals often add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce mixed with red vinegar (tee vinegar), sesame oil to increase the flavor. If anyone likes spicy food, they can add sate.

Eel porridge

As an area rich in seafood production, it is not surprising that eel is also one of the popular ingredients in Tainan. Eel is prepared and creative in many different dishes, from eel porridge (mainly for making late-night dishes), to stir-fried with ginger soy sauce, stir-fried e-fu noodles (a typical Cantonese noodle dish, noodles) the noodles are chewy and spongy because there is little soda in the flour mixture).

Meatballs (Bawan)

Meatballs at first glance look like a type of dumpling, but the processing and usage are slightly different. The crust is made from three types of flour, cornstarch, potato flour and rice flour, so it is very flexible and looks a bit cloudy. Inside the filling includes meat, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. The cake is usually steamed, or can also be fried, and is eaten with a sweet soy sauce sauce. The cake is believed to have originated from Chuong Hoa, during a flood year, a local resident named Pham Van Cu devised a way to make this cake to cope with the shortage of rice. Since then, Bawan cake has become one of the symbols of Taiwanese cuisine, expressing the creative spirit of the Taiwanese people.