Taiwanese

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Pineapple Cake (Fenglisu)

Taiwan's signature gift confection — and the filling in a traditional one is mostly winter melon rather than pineapple. Cooked down on its own, pineapple stays fibrous and sharply sour and gives off juice in the oven that soaks the pastry under it; winter melon tastes of almost nothing but reduces to something soft and stiff enough to hold a cube. The pineapple goes in for aroma. All-pineapple filling is the more recent revival, and it has a name of its own.

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Oyster Omelette (Sweet Potato Starch Pancake)

Taiwan's signature night market dish: a sweet potato starch batter poured over small oysters so it sets translucent, finished with egg and greens and flooded with a sweet-sour red sauce. The trick is not to make it crisp. The edges go crisp and the middle has to stay soft and glassy, and that half-set state is the whole identity of the thing.

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Beef Noodle Soup (Red-Braised)

Taiwan's beef noodle soup: shin simmered over two hours with doubanjiang, whole spices and tomato, poured over thick wheat noodles. Parboiling the beef from cold water and skimming, then never letting the pot boil again, are what decide how clear the broth ends up.

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Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Rice)

Taiwan's beloved rice bowl: finely diced pork belly braised low and slow with soy, five-spice, and shallots until deeply savory-sweet, then spooned over rice. Serve with a braised egg and greens for the perfect bowl.