The Mochi Ratio

I’ve blogged previously about the Taiwanese obsession with chewy things, such as bubble tea. One of these chewy treats is mochi. Imported from Japan, mochi is glutinous rice flour that’s been pounded to a elastic doughy-ness and filled with something sweet, like peanut, black sesame, or mung bean. At our local market in Taipei, you can buy the glutinous rice dough separate from the filling, in order to make your mochi with the ratio to your liking. For instance, if you’re not a big fan of the chewy flour, then take a small amount of the glutinous dough and cover it with a lot of peanut and sugar powder. You can customize your mochi to your very own mochi ratio!

Hot Dumplings!

One of my major goals for this blog is to bring world-renowned cuisine to my readers whenever possible. One such restaurant is Din Tai Fung, which started out as a small, struggling oil shop in Taipei that sold steamed dumplings as a side business. Since then, it’s opened branches all over the world, expanding to Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Indonesia, Korea, and Los Angeles.

Steamed dumplings, or xiaolungbao, ready for eating!

What is a steamed dumpling, or xiaolungbao (literally “small steamed basket bun/dumpling”), you might ask? Typically, they are filled with pork, though you can also get them with crab or other meat fillings. The legit places will cook them to order. This means you usually have to wait at least 20 minutes, but boy is it worth it! A good xiaolungbao will have chewy al dente skin and be piping hot in the inside with flavorful pork and pork “soup.” This soup I’m referring to is savory pork stock that comes from the steaming process. Because of this, I prefer the name soup dumplings instead of steamed dumplings. Due to the high liquid content, it’s a good idea to eat xiaolungbao with a soup spoon. It’s tempting, but don’t dunk your steamed dumpling into soy sauce. No, the best way to eat xiaolungbao is with red vinegar and ginger, which brings out the flavor of the pork filling really nicely.

Careful, it's full of hot, delicious liquid!

So what sets Din Tai Fung apart from all of the other restaurants serving steamed dumplings? In all honesty, there are plenty of other restaurants in Taipei with comparably delicious xiaolungbao. However, Din Tai Fung is one of those restaurants that provides an “added-value” experience, from the open kitchen where customers can watch the intricate process of dumpling-making, to the friendly and professional service staff. This is why there’s a huge line out the door every weekend, and how they can charge US$1 per tiny dumpling.

A side dish of pickled cucumbers, my favorite!

Their noodles were also excellent. The broth was clear and light.

Mmmm good! (This photo was taken by my sister to make my brother-in-law, who stayed home in Maryland, very jealous that he wasn't at Din Tai Fung with us. Yes, we're evil!)

Fruits of Taiwan

Feelin' fruity (clockwise): grapes, dragon fruit, green apple guava, apple.

Mango! Lychee! Papaya! Guava! These are my favorite fruits from Taiwan. Not to mention pineapple (imported, I think), grapes, passion fruit, Asian pear… the list is pretty much endless. I have really strong positive associations with fruit because of my mom. She always has at least two containers of fruit in the fridge, cut-up and ready to eat. Because she almost choked on fruit skin when she was little, she’s always peeled everything, even grapes. As a result, it took me years to get used to eating apples with their skins. When I visit, my mom absolutely spoils me with fruit. Anytime I’m sitting still, out comes the fruit, all cut up, delicious, screaming, “Eat me!” No wonder I was never hungry in Taiwan! Well, at least fruit is healthy. In fact, it made me realize how lazy I usually am about eating fruit; therefore, I’ve resolved to eat more fruit everyday.

Strange fruit: the sugar apple.

One fruit I’ve never had before was the sugar apple, or custard apple as it is known in India, according to MK. On the outside, it looks like a giant, round, pale green pine cone. Inside, it looks very strange, reminiscent of crab lungs. My dad busted one open and offered me some. I stared at it, and immediately reverted to a petulant 6-year-old.

Me (frowning in disgust): What is that?!
Dad: A sugar apple. You’ve never had it before? Try some. It’s good!
Me (still frowning): But… it looks like rotting flesh! Or maybe not, but it does NOT look right.
Dad (laughing at me): Well, it’s up to you, but you should try some. (Puts spoon in front of me.)
Me: I have eat it with a spoon?! Why?! (said with a twinge of whine)
Dad: Cuz it’s easier to scoop it out with a spoon.
Me: That’s WEIRD.
(I pick it up, and smell it.)
Me: Well, it doesn’t smell like rotting flesh…
(I pick up the spoon and take the smallest piece possible, and with enormous trepidation, place it in my mouth.)
Me: Wow. That was good!
Dad: (Laughs. Nods knowingly.)
I proceed to eat about a third of it.

And that, my friends, is how I came to know and love the sugar apple. It’s extremely sweet and the texture is very strange — sort of like a flat lychee with giant seeds. I highly recommend it!