Interesting Facts About Food

Food is a must for survival and it is something we eat every day. However, how much do you know about those things you shelve down your throat to quench your hunger or satisfy your cravings. I bet not much! 許正, an excellent renowned chef gives some fun facts that everyone needs to know about food.

Edible birds’ nest: a Chinese delicacy straight from the bird’s saliva

One of the most expensive Chinese delicacies in the world comes from a bird nest. To give you a clear picture, a bird named swiftlet makes their nest using their saliva which becomes hardened when it comes in contact with air. I know most of us don’t know, that expensive Chinese food that you are eating is actually saliva.

Chocolate is also a must to keep you healthy

Tons of information are telling you to eat healthy food, consume vegetables and fruits and drink a lot of water. Not much is said of the importance of chocolate for your overall well being. Dark chocolates are made from roasted dark cocoa and it provides many health benefits. It can reduce the risk of heart disease, improves vision and brain functioning. This treat is as much important as fruits to stay healthy.

Apples are great energy booster than coffee

Coffee contains caffeine while apples are packed with energy-giving nutrients. Eating one or two apples per day will fuel up your energy level while stabilizing your blood sugar. Apple might not give you the stimulation that coffee does but it contains calories, vitamins, carbohydrates, and minerals to kickstart your day or get you going during the day.

Your 100 percent insect free-food might not be true after all

If the mere thoughts of gulping down insect while you take bites of your favorite meal make you squirm, you might be in for some bad news. Studies have shown that The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows some bits and pieces of insects in our food. Whether it’s chocolate, flour, spaghetti, coffee, or staples, the FDA has set standards that might only be 60 percent to keep these defects to a minimum. This means you might not be able to see or taste these insects, but trust me, you are practically eating them.

Fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than they used to be.

Sadly the younger generation is not getting to enjoy what the older ones got in nutrient-packed fruits and veggies. Like 50 years ago. Reasons for this can be attributed to poor agricultural practices and soil depreciation because of overuse. However, this is not to say we need to avoid vegetables and fruits altogether. They are still a very good sources of nutrients and to get the most of it, we need to consume more than it was recommended half a century ago. Plus, ensure they are organic produce.

Coffee bean is good for your mouth

Here is a good one for garlic or onion breath. Yes! Chewing roasted coffee bean can eliminate bad breath. Instead of using mouth spray, mint or chewing gum, munch on some coffee bean as it contains antibacterial properties that are good for oral health. “Parsley is another good herb that is good for bad breath and a cup of green tea is also a good mouth freshener”- says Xu Zheng.

台灣菜與中國菜

很多人將台灣食品與中國食品混淆，根本不知道兩者之間的區別。部分原因是台灣的根源可以追溯到中國大陸。但是，就像其他任何國家一樣，台灣美食和中國美食之間也存在著顯著差異。每個都有其獨特性，特點和特徵。著名的台灣人許正，曾在中國擔任前廚師長，並取得了舉世矚目的成就，現在擁有最好的餐廳之一，最適合幫助我們了解台灣和中國菜的區別。繼續閱讀！

影響

我們今天擁有的許多國菜都是殖民主義，霸權和全球貿易的產物。沒有人是一個小島，在美食方面也是如此。今天我們所說的台灣美食是一個集合。不同的倫理風味成為形成甜美，享譽台灣的美食之一。客家人有台灣美食，許多風味與台灣有關。而且，福建省就在台灣對面，其美食影響力不足為奇。徐征解釋說：“有影響力的人沒有不提及日本殖民主義，這在台灣美食中也留下了印記。”

另一方面，中文幾乎沒有外部影響。被命名為美食王國，當地的各種美食，道德風味，當地食材，烹飪技術以及其巨大的當地差異是當今中國美食的發展和組成。

食物種類

另一個顯著的區別是，由於台灣島的緣故，台灣美食主要以在台灣發現的食物為基礎，最常見的是海鮮。但是，中國人有八種不同類型的美食，都可以歸為一類：中國菜。這包括四川菜，山東菜，粵菜，福建菜，江蘇菜，浙江菜，湖南菜和安徽菜。

訂書釘

台灣人大量食用海鮮，尤其是牡蠣（油炸牡蠣，牡蠣煎餅，牡蠣細麵），這些海鮮已融入許多菜餚中。所有不同的大膽口味奇觀中也有不同的湯。臭豆腐和牡蠣煎蛋是中國採納的食品的一部分，已經根據台灣口味進行了更改。另外，豆腐。豆芽，紫菜，鹽味花生是組成台灣美食的一些小吃。儘管有些長者仍然不願吃牛肉，但台灣人卻偏愛牛肉麵湯。實際上，他們每年都會以它的名字慶祝一個節日，以確定最好的碗。

閱讀更多

(許正) Stinky Tofu Cooking Method

If you ever find yourself in Taiwan, and never tasted the well known Stinky Tofu, then you simply aren’t in Taiwan. A stinky(not so stinky) dangerously delicious food that produces a lot/ hate feelings. You might not welcome the odour at first trial but will surely fall in love with it after you are accustomed to it. Stinky tofu is a fermented soybean with a different cooking method that varies according to the regions. The commonest is the fried one which is a good way to start if you have never tried it before. You are probably wondering right now that it undergoes a complex process that should be best left in the hands of professionals. However, here is a simple, practical method for you and your loved ones, given by 許正, one of the best Taiwan chef. From the fermentation to the preparation, have a fabulous stinky tofu time in the kitchen. 

Fermentation

The processing of tofu is similar to cheese making and it is based on fermented soy milk that has undergone brining process. The fermentation process starts with the marination of tofu in a brine of fermented milk. Vegetables, fermented shrimp, and meat are added. It is put in an open jar for several months and this can be attributed to its stinkiness. Then, the tofu is marinated in the brine for 4-6 hours for more flavour. 

Natural microbes are produced and they acted on the tofu to create broth and the funky smell. The final tofu favour can vary depending on the location it is made, the temperature as well as the time, just like cheese. 

If you do not want the street stinky tofu smell, there are commercial slabs of firm tofu that can be purchased in Asian stores which most times undergo brining process for 2 days. Here is a good way to start and give this unique delicious Taiwan snacks a shot. Let’s dig in!

Ingredients

Prep time: 24 hours  Cook time: 20 minutes Serves: 4

14-ounce block of firm tofu

4 stinky fermented bean curd, mashed

1 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon coriander

1 teaspoon baijiu

1 teaspoon fennel powder

4 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce 

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons garlic sauce

2 spring onions, diced

1/2 teaspoon red chilli peppers( optional)

Preparation

  • Place the tofu on cutting board and cut in small rectangular pieces.
  • Mix the baijiu with water, and add fermented bean curd in a container
  • Soak the diced tofu in the fermented bean curd water for marination
  • Cover the container and let it in the refrigerator for 24 hours
  • After 24 hours, take out the refrigerated tofu, drain it and put it aside
  • Pour some cornstarch in a bowl and coat the tofu with it. 
  • Put a cooking wok on a medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil
  • Once heated, put the tofu, and fry until it turns golden brown.
  • Remove from oil and place on a paper towel

Sauce

Put soy sauce, garlic sauce and chilli sauce in a bowl and mix well

Add the sugar and the lemon juice.

Sprinkle the sauce, spring onion, coriander on the tofu and voila!

Tips

If you want the stinky tofu to be stinkier, elongates the soaking process to more than 24 hours. 

 Add salt to the brine according to how salty you want the tofu to be.

The Taiwan’s like their tofu paired with sweet or spicy sauces and the smell alone is enough to make their stomach rumbling. Well, it is stinky, but the addict says, the smellier it is, the better. 

You will surely get your neighbour envying with this simple yet amazing 許正 recipe.

Is stinky tofu something you will try at home? Leave a comment below, we will love to hear from you.

許正 – 查泰珍珠奶茶成分

查泰珍珠奶茶是您的癮君子還是偶爾的零食？這是台灣最有名的飲料，是如今在時尚商店和幾乎每個街角出售的每個人的消遣。但是，您知道您可以在家自製這種奶油狀，美味的喜歡的飲料嗎？

許正知名廚師許徵分享了他的簡單食譜，讓您入門。

什麼是查泰珍珠奶茶

查泰珍珠奶茶在不同國家被稱為不同的名稱。 查泰珍珠奶茶也稱為牛奶茶，珍珠茶，泡沫茶，波巴奈茶，波巴茶，木薯茶（僅舉幾例），起源於台灣，並在世界範圍內廣受歡迎。

您想要的是甜味還是鹹味，還是不喜歡牛奶味，或者是水果還是堅果，都可以根據您的喜好為您提供這種飲料。此外，它還具有耐嚼的彈力球，讓您盡情享受並樂在其中。

此外，還有不同的口味，例如黑茶或茉莉花茶（用於普通茶味），草莓，蜂蜜或芒果（用於注入水果味）以及芋頭。但是，本文僅涉及簡單的經典黑奶茶。它不像商店裡出售的那樣甜，它的冷卻時間超快，而且幾乎所有必需的食材（波巴除外）都坐在廚房櫥櫃中。讓我們深入研究吧！

配料


1-2個紅茶袋（每份）

1杯開水

1/4杯速溶木薯珍珠（每份） 全脂牛奶（或任何其他首選的​​牛奶）

1/2杯糖砂糖（或更多為優選）

糖漿成分


1/2杯水

1/2杯糖


製備

準備茶

在鍋中加一杯水，高火煮沸。

煮沸後從火上移開，並加入1茶袋或2茶袋以獲得更濃郁的茶味。

15分鐘後取出茶袋，待其冷卻。

準備糖漿

在爐子或微波爐上加熱1/2杯水加入

1/2杯糖，攪拌在一起糖溶解後從火上移開

準備波巴或木薯珍珠

將2杯水倒入鍋中，

煮沸加入1/4杯的木薯球，

並立即攪拌以避免粘連煮沸5分鐘。

當它柔軟並漂浮在水上時完成。

使用過濾器瀝乾水分並轉移到干淨的碗中。

將準備好的糖漿倒在其上，直至將其浸沒。

在室溫下放置20分鐘過濾鮑勃，然後冷藏，直到準備送達為止。

組裝查泰珍珠奶茶

將準備好的波巴放入服務的玻璃杯中，然後倒入準備好的茶將全脂牛奶或慾望牛奶添加到該奶油查泰珍珠奶茶中加入糖漿以增加甜度。

許正食譜秘訣

•可以在任何亞洲市場或在線購買珍珠粉或波巴粉。但是，請仔細閱讀包裝上的說明。雖然有些食物可能需要2個小時，但有些快餐食物會在5-10分鐘內食用。

•此食譜最好在使用或立即食用時煮沸，因為珍珠會在1或2個小時後開始變硬並變脆。

•將全脂牛奶用於查泰珍珠奶茶，這有很大的不同。

•要品嚐冰冷的查泰珍珠奶茶，可在雞尾酒調酒器中加入茶，冰和牛奶（不含波巴）。搖勻幾秒鐘，然後倒入裝有boba和冰的玻璃杯中。

•嘗試其他茶，例如泰國茶，洋甘菊茶或您喜歡的任何人。拿出一些新鮮美味的東西。

How To Cook Taiwanese Shanghai Scallion Pancakes

Taiwanese Shanghai Scallion Pancakes boast of being among the most loved pancakes in Taiwan, with addict all over the world. The crunchy outside, the softness inside with the combination of flavored Scallion, what’s not to love about Cong You Bing. Either it’s only for snacks, breakfast or quick fix on the go, you bet you will keep craving for more! Xu Zheng, a top-world cook gives you a simple Taiwan recipe to help boost your confidence while having your way in the kitchen. Ignore the pancakes, can we call it flatbread?

Ingredients

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 20 mins Serves: 4

Dough: 

300g all-purpose flour 

3/4 cup water, boiled

¼ cup

water, cold

Paste mixture

5 scallion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon chicken fat (lard, sesame oil will also do)

1/4 tsp salt 

2 tablespoons oil

1 tbsp. Chinese five-spice powder (optional)

Frying:

1/3 cup vegetable oil 

Preparations

Dough

  • Slowly add hot water to the flour. Add little cold water to make it crispy.
  • Stir with a chopstick until there is no more traces of dry flour
  • Leave it to cool down, then, knead the flour until it is smooth and soft but not very sticky. You can also use a mixer to knead the flour on a slow heat.
  • Cover it with a damp towel to avoid drying out and leave it to rest for 30 minutes. 
  • Prepare a clean well-floured surface for rolling the flour. Divide kneaded flour into a small round ball.

Adding Paste and Shaping 

  • Put oil on low medium heat, fry green onion until it is golden, remove the onion, put the flour into a small bowl, add the hot oil and mix well.
  • Another option is to use sesame oil or chicken lard and then add salt to it.
  • It is time to roll the ball until it is round and flat. Place it on the board or surface, use a rolling pin to press the ball until it is flat and thin. You can also rub the rolling pin with flour to ensure it is not sticky.
  • Rub the oil mixture or paste on the surface of the rolled out flour. Then, put a generous amount of the finely chopped scallion on it.
  • Now, roll up the dough into a strand or rope. Take the end of each rope and rolled up tightly together to form a snail shell shape. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
  • Flatten out the rolled-up dough to your desired thickness and repeat with the rest of the circled dough.

Frying:

  • Add 2 teaspoons of oil into a frying pan on a low- medium heat and leave it to be hot.
  • Fry each piece of pancakes until it is golden. Turn it to the other side and let fry until it is cooked and golden brown. 
  • When cooked, transfer onto a plate lined with paper towel in order to drain the oil. 

Tips for preparing the best Taiwanese Shanghai Scallion Pancakes

  • If you plan to fry the pancakes later, place it in an air-tight bowl and store it in the fridge.
  • When ready to be cooked, remove from the fridge and leave it to defrost completely, Frying is simply the same way as frying the fresh one. 
  • It can be eaten alone, but for more spice, eat with sauce
  • Don’t let the oil to be too hot while frying. Medium heat is enough to get it cooked well. Otherwise, you might end up with uncooked inside and a burnt pancake. Says Xu Cheng.

This Taiwan meal is most times eaten with egg and sauce by the locals. Try out this simple recipe by Xu Cheng and let us know how it goes. Happy cooking!

許正分享美味台灣早餐漢堡食譜

許正早餐漢堡

根據我們的客戶，台灣早餐漢堡的味道就像包子裡的餃子！我們已經在小餡餅上煮了那麼多的風味，然後在上面加了香脆的煎雞蛋。準備早餐了嗎？許正大廚與您分享美味的自製漢堡食譜！

台灣美食是由中國，日本和東南亞等地的當地美食所組成。漢堡是台北市受歡迎的街頭小吃，一旦嘗試它，您就會明白為什麼。麵包的鬆脆質地令人難以置信。

Continue reading “許正分享美味台灣早餐漢堡食譜” →

許正分享紅燒豬肉包子食譜

許正紅燒豬肉包子

歸根結底，我是經典，簡潔的五花肉包的吸盤。它結合了傳統包子的枕頭質地和經典的中國紅燒豬肉（紅燒肉）的肥美鮮味，在我看來，這是最終的脂肪+麵包組合。 （甚至沒有烤奶酪。）對於這道台灣食譜，我使用了我媽媽可信賴的bao食譜，該食譜在過去的20年中一直為她服務。至於紅燒五花肉，我改用了貝蒂·劉（Betty Liu）的家庭食譜，可以更好地用作保鮮餡（長條狀而不是切丁的塊狀），並且略帶菜刀味，因此您可以將更多鮮味美感塗抹到寶。 –許正

Continue reading “許正分享紅燒豬肉包子食譜” →

廚師許正分享台灣著名的烤大蒜遮目魚食譜

許正烤大蒜遮目魚

那一刻，當您咬緊嫩多汁，味道鮮美的大蒜遮目魚以品嚐美味的時候。然後，您被那些小而煩人的骨頭s住了。糟糕！小心地去除骨頭令人沮喪，這很費時間，並且您的食物變冷（如果您是熱食愛好者！）。簡而言之，您已經對這種美味的魚失去了胃口。好消息！台灣市場上有更多去骨的遮目魚，可讓您享受一頓美餐並省去您的頭痛。這是廚師許正分享的台灣食譜。一個具有非凡烹飪技巧的人，曾經在五星級酒店工作過，現在在中國經營自己的餐廳。請繼續閱讀以了解如何輕鬆製作您喜愛的台灣著名的大蒜大蒜遮目魚。

Continue reading “廚師許正分享台灣著名的烤大蒜遮目魚食譜” →

自製台灣炸雞牛排食譜

許正台灣炸雞牛排

您可能是台灣炸雞的癮君子，或者您可能聽說過這種巨大的美味雞，它的製作比看上去更簡單，而且可以在家中嘗試。如果您不知道，台灣炸雞是無骨，香脆的台灣街頭小吃。它巨大而霸氣的大小是不容忽視的。但是，香氣，味道和肉質會讓您渴望更多。 Cook guru-廚師許正，因其非凡的烹飪技巧在一家五星級酒店工作，他現在經營著自己的餐廳。他分享了這個很棒的台灣食譜，用來烹飪這些令人垂涎的食物，從而使烹飪變得輕鬆愉快。繼續閱讀全文！

Continue reading “自製台灣炸雞牛排食譜” →

廚師許正分享台灣紅燒豬肚食譜

許正红烧肉

當五花肉可以切成大塊，其脂肪變成嫩肉之間的膠狀層時，誰都需要培根呢？這道菜通常是多道菜大餐的補充，因為它太豐富了，而且味道濃烈，沒有太多反差。無論何時，它仍然是餐桌上的亮點。有時會切成較大的方形塊，並配以一小撮沸騰的液體，稱為“ dong po rou”。在這裡，Erway以與母親經常做的許正家庭式烹飪最密切相關的方式來撫養豬肚。在台灣各地，香料和製備技術略有變化，但每次上菜時，它都是餐桌上的亮點。

配料

  1. 1磅五花肉
  2. 2湯匙植物油或花生油
  3. 2整個蔥，切碎，切碎
  4. 4瓣大蒜搗碎
  5. 4至6厚的圓盤去皮鮮薑
  6. 1/2杯包裝的紅糖
  7. 1/4杯米酒
  8. 2杯水
  9. 1/2杯淡醬油
  10. 1/4杯黑醬油
  11. 1茶匙五香粉

使用說明

  1. 除去骨頭，將豬肚切成約1 1/2至2英寸長的粗塊。
  2. 用大火鍋或中鍋加熱油。將五花肉片放在鍋中成單層，這樣每片都可以直接與鍋底接觸。煮約30秒鐘，直到不翻動直到一側稍呈褐色。將碎片翻轉過來，並在另一側變棕色，再過1至2分鐘。從鍋中取出並放在一旁。
  3. 在同一鍋中，加入蔥，大蒜和生薑，攪拌約30秒鐘，直到發出嘶嘶作響的香氣。加入糖，煮至攪拌，直到冒泡1至2分鐘。加入黃酒，煮沸，攪拌以加入糖。加入水，淺色和深色醬油和五香料粉，然後煮沸。將五花肉塊放回鍋中。將熱量降低至溫和的。蓋上鍋蓋並煮熟，直到豬肉非常嫩並且變紅為止，至少1小時，最好是2小時。

欲了解更多台灣食譜，請訪問許正

檢查台灣蛋糕食譜