Growing up, my family would fly to Taiwan every summer to visit our extended family, explore the sights, and eat the local food, especially at night markets, which are a big part of Taiwanese culture. These are three of my favorite street foods, which you can enjoy without taking an international flight!
CHIVE POCKETS (JIU CAI HE ZI)
You can’t miss the fragrant smell of chives at the night market. They’re most popular as the filling in chive pockets, which also include vermicelli noodles and scrambled eggs. These half-moon pockets are crisp and full of flavor. If you can find garlic chives at a local Asian grocery store, we highly recommend using them over regular chives, though regular ones are fine to use.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1½ cup warm water
For the filling
- 3 bundles bean thread noodles
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. neutral cooking oil (we used avocado)
- 1½ lb. garlic chives, chopped
- 1½ Tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. five-spice powder
For frying
- 2 Tbsp. neutral cooking oil (we used avocado)
Instructions
To make the dough, add flour and 1 teaspoon salt into a medium bowl. Slowly pour in warm water. Mix with a chopstick. Once dough is flaky, use your hands to knead until it forms a smooth ball. Cover with a dry flour sack towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Soak bean thread noodles in hot water for 3 minutes until soft. Drain and use scissors to cut noodles into small pieces, about ½ inch.
In a small bowl, mix eggs and salt. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, pour in eggs and scramble into small pieces.
In a large bowl, add chives and sesame oil. Mix well. Add bean thread noodles, scrambled eggs, and five-spice powder. Mix well.
Dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour to prevent sticking. Roll out dough and cut into 16 even pieces. Flatten each piece of dough into a round wrapper, about 6 inches in diameter.
Add about 2 tablespoons of filling to the middle of each pocket. Fold pocket in half. Use your fingers to seal it closed.
In a large pan, add oil and turn the heat up to medium. Add chive pockets. Fry about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and fry the other side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Serve with your choice of dipping sauce (we recommend chili oil). Makes 16 pockets.
TAIWANESE GREEN ONION PANCAKE (CONG YOU BING)
Crispy and flaky on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside – green onion pancakes are incredibly versatile. The pancakes on their own are delicious but try them with a fried egg (my favorite), shoyu and sesame oil dipping sauce, or even as a wrap with fillings like stir-fried vegetables.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup boiling water
- ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. room temperature water
For the filling
- 5 stalks green onions, finely sliced
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
For the dipping sauce
- 2 Tbsp. shoyu
- 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
To make the dough, add flour to a large heatproof bowl. Make a hole in the middle and pour in boiling water. Leave it for 5 minutes, then pour in room temperature water. Use a pair of chopsticks to mix the dough. It’ll be clumpy and sticky.
Once dough is cool enough to handle, knead it by hand until it’s smooth and no longer sticks, about 5 minutes.
Roll dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl, covering it with a dry flour sack towel to prevent it from drying out. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
While dough is resting, put green onions in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, heat butter until it melts. Pour melted butter over green onions. Add flour and salt to the bowl and mix well.
Divide the rested dough into 6 equal pieces. Place 5 of them back into the bowl and cover with the dry flour sack towel.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll one dough piece into a thin rectangle on a floured surface. Add 2 tablespoons of filling, spreading over the rectangle, leaving about a centimeter between the filling and the edge, so that the filling doesn’t ooze out. Roll the filled dough to form a long log and then twist log into a pinwheel shape. Place back in bowl and cover with flour sack towel. Repeat with remaining balls of dough.
Use the rolling pin to gently press the rested pinwheels into a flat disc.
In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, gently place 1 pancake in the pan. Cover with a lid for about 1 minute. Uncover, flip the pancake, and cook covered for another minute. Continue cooking uncovered for another 3 to 4 minutes, flipping a few times to ensure both sides brown evenly.
Place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil, then slice into triangles. Repeat with the rest of the pancakes. Makes 4 servings.
TEA EGGS (CHA YE DAN)
Walk along any street market or into any convenience store in Taiwan, and you’ll smell the fragrant marinated eggs before you see the large pot brimming with them, each with a beautiful marble once they’re peeled. The aroma could tempt anyone, and my grandparents would always say yes when I asked if I could get one (or two) for a snack.
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- Water (enough to cover eggs)
- Ice cubes
For the marinade
- 4 Tbsp. dark shoyu
- 4 Tbsp. loose black tea leaves
- 10 pieces star anise
- 4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
Instructions
In a large pot, cover eggs with water. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat, and leave the eggs in the pot, covered, for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ice and cold water. Transfer hard-boiled eggs to the ice bath to cool for 3-4 minutes. One by one, pick up egg from ice bath and use the back of a spoon to gently tap shell until the entire surface is lightly cracked.
Return the eggs to the pot and refill with just enough water to barely cover the eggs. Add all the marinade ingredients and stir.
Bring the mixture back to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 2-3 hours. Check on it occasionally to add water as it evaporates. Makes 12 eggs.
World cuisine
Experiment in the kitchen with more cultural foods below:
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