Walking through the night markets of Taipei, we craving something cool and sweet. We were not in the mood for a meal, but rather dessert. I was not in the mood for any dairy so ice cream and boba tea were out of the question. We knew what we had to get: Shaved Ice.
We happened upon a local shop selling the confection we desired. The shaved ice itself contained brown sugar and the toppings we chose were taro, sweet potato, red bean, and jellies. The perfect cool treat for a hot night.
On January 8th, we had the opportunity to take a cooking class with Ivy Chen. She has been teaching cooking classes in Taipei for over 15 years. We met up with Ivy at Shidong market, where she gave us a fun and informative tour of what the local vendors had to offer. After the market tour, we walked to her home. We chose 3 dishes to cook ahead of time: steamed buns with red bean paste, eggplant with spicy sesame dressing, and vegetarian wontons in red oil sauce. We cooked, chatted, and ate well into the afternoon. The dishes were delicious and not too difficult to make. If you visit Taipei and have a day to spend, please contact Ivy.
http://kitchenivy.com
Yesterday, while at the Ningxia night market, I worked up the courage to try stinky tofu. I found a vendor who was working on a big grill surface and brushing sauce onto skewered fried stinky tofu. The smell was much more mild than many of the other stalls I’d walked past, and she’d serve it up to me with Taiwanese kimchee. I figured it was my best shot at liking this classic dish.
The good news is that the tofu was hot, with a nice sauce and the outside was nicely fried. The kimchi was mild. Overall, it was a much more pleasant experience than I feared. But I confess that I didn’t actually like it. The tofu didn’t smell all that stinky, but it tasted stinky.
This may be an experience you want to have to say you’ve tried it, but I think it is challenging for a western palate.
the mint tea drinkers society 