Basil Is An Essential Ingredient With Fried Food

Popcorn chicken, fried calamari, fried tempura and more, fried food ingredient, these fried food are so common in Taiwan traditional food as hamburger in western countries. No particular name, known as Taiwanese style fried food, but all of the fried foods has a common thing, it’s not super spicy or super sweet, that is the fried foods always have Basil as accompany.

  Why would have Basil in fried food? It’s not because the Basil is health, but the smell of Basil will give friend food a great combination. Maybe it is traditional to eat fried food with Basil, but indeed, there is no other ingredient can have good taste when put together with fried food. There is another important ingredient need to add with fried food, this “ingredient” is sort of like a brother of Basil, this mysterious ingredient is garlic.

  Although, garlic breath smells a little bit nasty after eat quite of fried foods, but Basil simply wave away that smelly breath. Not like chewing gum, Basil taste like mint without sugar, and it can be eaten, clean smelly breath, and clean stomach.

  However, there is a catch in Basil, some people like to eat fresh, and others like fried. Eat fried Basil might cause cancer if absorb too much of it. There is no directly prove or medical history says that fried Basil will cause cancer. But some of chemical reaction will emerge when fried the Basil, that chemical reaction have potential harm, it could have no good but bad to some people who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. 

  Taiwanese style fried food is greasy snack; and add Basil, it just lead to another high level. As usually, I have an special way to drive off the bugs, visit my podcast, and you will get to know how to make it work. 

Perfect Combination For Summer, Lemon Ice Jelly

Lemon is a common ingredient use in many ways around the world; western countries like to use lime in spaghetti, soup, salad or lime water, and Asia countries like to use it in many foods, such as sauce, noodle recipe, rice recipe, and beverage. Lemon Ice Jelly, also known as Aiyu Jelly, is a sour and sweet beverage, and it’s pretty common in most beverage store, I mean, it’s more like a tea house, only order for to go. There are hundreds of beverage stores brand in Taiwan, drinking tea flavor beverage is as common as eating salad in western countries.

This is not introducing particularly tea house brand, but recently become popular because of its Lemon Ice Jelly in Taiwan. The ice jelly in this particular beverage is called Jelly Fig, made of its seed, soak with in sugar water, usually put in the refrigerator for over night and it will frozen in jelly shape.  Jelly Fig doesn’t taste sweet, usually will add more sugar when making Lemon Ice Jelly. If you like taste sour, half sugar will be good enough, because it will taste totally sour without any sugar, most people won’t do that.

Lemon Ice Jelly is a lot more popular than before, the reason might be the hot weather and some people who are on diet, Lemon Ice Jelly is a good choice. 
I have more interesting use of Lemon on my podcast, if you want to know, don't miss my voice.

Taste Fruit With Beer!

Tasting a mug of cold beer with delicious meal is the greatest thing during the summer; perhaps, with some special flavor in beer is the latest tendency. If you are interesting in drinks with fruit flavor in it, you must try this one, the Fruit Flavor Beer. This special beer is making a great sensation in Taiwan since launched last year, which is adding one particular fruit flavor in beer. There are couple different popular fruit flavor beer in Taiwan, I certainly bring up the most popular one and make introduction. This kind of beer is produce by Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation. There are four famous flavor types of beer, which are Granny Smith Apple flavor, Pineapple flavor, Mango flavor and Litchi fruit flavor. 

Most beer in Taiwan taste sweeter and less bitter, of course, and less alcohol, so these types of drinks are popular in men but also women, also fancy to people who doesn’t drink often. Four flavors emerge about the same color in the bowl, and the beer just looks pretty much the same as regular beer but more froths.Take a big pull of this delightful beer, the first taste is fruit flavor, smooth and cool beer is the second taste. Fruit and beer are tasted separate in the mouth You won’t feel strange taste but having two sparkles mix together at the same time when swallow it.

All four of beers taste just fine and different; each fruit flavors come up with its characters, because each fruit flavor have different sweet taste. To many people, fruit beer make a lot of different on the market, more they accept it and because of less alcohol, it tastes more like a soda than a alcohol drink. But still, it’s better let children drink it when they reach to appropriate drinking age, the beer contain with alcohol after all.
If you would like to know some other use of beer, listen to Life, Wise, Food Ingredient podcast with me on the air, every morning, every day!
Life, Wise, Food Ingredient: http://soundcloud.com/kenny-lin

Big Challenge, Pig Blood Cake!

As matter of fact, hearing pig blood is uncomfortable and quite wired, and wondering glutinous rice can mix with it then become a famous snack in Taiwan, moreover, it’s one the top 10 most wired food in the world. Pig Blood Cake is famous with its name, but popular with taste, instead, it wouldn’t feel wired after taste it, and it might mark on your taste bud.

Pig Blood Cake is one of traditional snacks in Taiwan. Track back to thirty to forty years ago, it was an agriculture society, people raise pig, chicken and other domestic animals in their own houses. Most records said pig was available to eat for whole body include blood, so people considered not to waste it, they came up the idea of use pig blood combine with rice, moisten with thick soy souse, then spill peanut powder and coriander leaves. This particular taste circulates for generation to generation.

In United State, it’s illegal to import pig blood, only make in the state, but not many people actually eat pig blood and they don’t know how to eat it with. Drink pig blood sounds weird; make it in the soup is even weird; or make it like the sauce might not appropriate. Whichever ways, pig blood is not an appropriate ingredient in most people’s mind.

Not in Taiwan, the other way around, Pig Blood Cake is a popular snack. What’s specialty is eat with peanut powder and coriander leaves, both condiments are giving Pig Blood Cake more flavor and get rid off the pig blood smelly.

Even though, the pig blood smell is already vanish during the process, but peanut powder and coriander leaves are indispensably, without these two condiments, it is not call Pig Blood Cake.

More Than An Egg

It is simply an egg, nothing more, but take a close smell to this egg, you may know, it’s not only an egg but with tea flavor in it. Many people take this tea flavor egg as breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack or dinner, or place it next to the rice in lunch box. The egg might looks pretty simple, but people like it as appetizer; we call it “Tea Flavor Egg” in Traditional Chinese.

What make the egg turn into brown color is a tea bag and a bag with Chinese medicine, or some recipes make with only one Chinese medicine bag. Other materials are slat, soy souse, water and eggs. After all materials are prepared, put all together and boil about one hour, the egg’s appearance will gradually turn into brown color.

Look at this beautiful egg, it looks like painting on it; the egg appearance is actually imprint the egg shell when boil with all materials.

It doesn’t change much inside of egg, but it taste and smell differently. The egg accompany with strong Chinese medicine and tea flavor, it doesn’t taste salty even add soy souse and salt together.

Tea Flavor Egg is easy to see everywhere in Taiwan, such as convenient store, vendor and night market or in lunch box. However, what you can expect is when finish the whole egg, your teeth certainly will remain with tea flavor in your mouth.

Here is a simply way to teach you how to make Tea Flavor Egg:

 

That Famous Drink: Bubble Tea

     Drink tea probably is a trendy in Taiwan, and tea is made in variety beverages. A well-known and famous tea beverage is called Bubble Tea or Tapioca Tea in America. If you never try Bubble Tea, you must hear about it, it’s pretty easily can get order in Thai restaurant, Chinese restaurant, Hong Kong restaurant, and of course Taiwanese restaurant.

     What you might don’t know is Bubble Tea is actually come from Taichung in Taiwan. The originally inventor is from a teahouse called “Chun Shui Tang,” and also other teahouse “Hanlin” claim they invent Bubble Tea first. But most people considerate Bubble Tea is come from “Chun Shui Tang,” the main reason is a Japanese television report this special drink in Taiwan in early 1980s, before the report, Bubble Tea is not famous at all. Since then, Bubble Tea is famous not only in Asia, but also across oversea to America, Britain, like in London and other countries. At first, Bubble Tea is a simple drink offer in teahouse for young people, now, Bubble tea become the basic tea choice on the list in every teahouse all over the country in Taiwan. It’s not surprise Bubble Tea is available at every teahouse, because it’s so popular that every teahouse will provide for their customers. You may see Bubble Tea provided at everywhere in Taiwan, and on social media page.

     So since there are varieties Bubble Tea, which one is the best? The original inventor, “Chun Shui Tang,” or “Hanlin,” or other teahouse, after tapioca become famous, it also use on many other teas and fruit drinks. For example, some beverage dealers invent Bubble Smoothie or Fruit Smoothie with Bubble in America, and fast food dealer start provides Bubble Tea in German. Most customers take this beverage as normal as soda in daily life.

     In Taiwan, Bubble Tea is pretty common and it’s easy to make. The Bubble Tea recipe could be different depends on what teahouse dealer would add in the drinks. Usually, Bubble Milk Tea, Bubble Black Tea and Bubble Green Tea are the common choices, but you can do more than that. You can decide whatever tea flavor with tapioca, any types of tea is available with tapioca, as long as you like it. Many teahouses could make your type of tea at most place in Taiwan. Unlike some Bubble Tea in America, most of teahouse or restaurant’s Bubble Tea taste different if compare with Bubble Tea in Taiwan.

     From my personal observation, Bubble Tea seems not quite as good quality as Bubble Tea in Taiwan. Many of tea taste astringent, it is because many teahouse use overnight tea to make Bubble Tea, and tapioca needs precise time to manage the taste; elastic and chewy is the best taste of tapioca. On the other side of world, many cities like London have different style Bubble Tea; it already reaches out the world and it has its style. With best tapioca and fresh tea could make good quality Bubble Tea, most importantly, circumspect handle every steps and ingredients will provide the best tea. This is part of tea culture in Taiwan, you may don’t understand, but when you taste a good tea through complicate steps, it just taste different, drink it and feel the spirit of tea. 
     It just look different if compare to other countries' Bubble Tea, right? Make comments and what you think below the article.

A Special Afternoon Cool Snack: Potato Powder

As many people know, potato can make in different forms, such as fries, bake potato and mash potato, etc. Potato Powder, It’s not a direct name but the main ingredients are potato powder and corn starch. You may wonder, how could eat this yellow and sticky food, actually it is not a food but more like material, mostly use within traditional Shaved Ice.

 

Previously, I already introduce “Shaved Ice,” you may also add Potato Powder in it and mix together. So let us start this special snack.

What you see in the plastic bag is Potato Powder and sugar water.

Surprisingly, this traditional snack is used to eat with sugar water only; now, people like to eat with other materials together. The Potato Powder itself is tasteless because the purpose is to eat with sugar water. 

Potato Powder taste elasticity and chewy in mouth, it’s not bad to taste, especially with sugar water, in fact, the flavor is getting better if taste more. Moreover, Potato Powder itself is carrying low calories if eat without sugar water. 

 

It’s very popular before and now, the way people eat Potato Powder is different, but it doesn’t influence its popularity.