How "Chinese" is Taiwanese Food?

[@fatviscount6562]

Read about Fu Pei-Mei, a Manchurian-born housewife. As a new mother in Taiwan, with her family left behind in China, her only culinary resource was paying chefs in Taiwan who were also refugees from China. A year later, she started a cooking show on TV that lasted 40 years. I remember when beefi noodle soup first appeared in the early 1970s. Taiwan still had relatively low income, and most people couldn’t obtain passports. Food was the earliest affordable entertainment. I remember local newspapers ran essay contests about food, not recipes, but stories about food. I have an 80 year old aunt who proudly identifies herself by her turnovers. You video does an amazing job capturing the spirit infused in the food. Starting in Keelung is simply brilliant.

[@damianrhea8875]

So well said! Thank you. Fu Pei-Mei was extraordinary and brilliant! She must have been personally very smart to begin with, too. More than 50 years ago, I heard personally that she was very nice to people in person, too. Meanwhile, I think she was from the province of Shandong, not Manchuria - is that correct?

[@ThorNado24]

@@damianrhea8875 She was from Liandong peninsula.

[@C2C.]

Yes, and Netflix has a movie about Fu Pei-Mei's story for people who want to learn more.

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

@@C2C. There's a Netflix movie about her? What is the title?

[@C2C.]

@@Isaac-gh5ku Sorry for the misinfo...it's actually a series called. "What She Put On the Table." Great historical drama, too.

[@accountid9681]

Your videos are really good, it's only a matter of time until the algorithm picks up your channel

[@HFC786]

Please do a video on Lebanese food! Even though only 6 million population it’s food is popular globally via diaspora

[@mylesjude233]

Sounds like a great idea 💡

[@offthemenuyt]

Beirut's definitely somewhere I'd love to visit! I definitely want to learn a lot more about food from the Middle East

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

food like ouajian蚵仔煎/海蛎煎, 麵線, and a lot of locals food in Taiwan that are Fujianese origin food.

[@asifnihal]

Taiwan is more Chinese than China itself after it's great cultural genocide by Mao Zedong

[@danielles7766]

They're still Chinese nevertheless. It's stupid to deny your own roots just for the sake of practicality. You're allowed to have Chinese cultural roots while being exist as Taiwanese

[@gt6252pc]

@@danielles7766 We may be chinese by blood, but culture is changed and lost typically in 1 generation overseas. That is why we are called Overseas Chinese (a veiled insult from a monolithic culture/society/country). It wasn't until I was an adult interacting with chinese from the mainland that I realized that my mother's "chinese" was stuck in the 1949 because she grew up in Taiwan. My dad was even worse growing up in Korea. The mainlanders and even hong kong people kept asking why I said certain things certain ways in Mandarin, and telling me they no longer said it that way. Everything I was doing was wrong, including how to use chopsticks.

[@gt6252pc]

We can't deny the roots, but we can't deny that we are no longer the fruit from the same tree.

[@danielles7766]

@@gt6252pc Meaning it's still Chinese nevertheless. You could call it Taiwanese Chinese or whatever and tell people there are some differences, however the root is still the same. Stop telling people stupid things like this if you dont want to turn Taiwan into another nazi-like, one race society instead of a global multicultural nation

[@TimLimDimSims]

Just wanna say. Only seen your Portuguese food video and this one so far but I love how you look at cuisine from such a historical and geographical approach and have so much information on the background of dishes and the cultures that serve them. So much more engaging than a simple food review etc. I only just realised you are quite a small channel at the moment but I love this content. Jia yiu!

[@victrola2007]

One of best parts of having a local Taiwanese friend is getting his family's thoughtful food care packages from his parents. They make me, a long-term friend in her 50's , feel loved and like the food-giddy 30 year old who met them long ago.😢😂❤🎉🥘🥣🍜‼ They had me at slender noodles with oysters and those dumplings. 😻🌋

[@ljtong]

Thank you for covering this! Always a good day when you upload!

[@shakiMiki]

Bubble tea is part of Taiwan's international food diplomacy. It is subsidized & propted all over the world. Another side to food is the promotion of the indigenous population to distinguish from mainland china. Great video.

[@dirkgoldman1155]

I feel like this one here had the best music edits from all the videos I have watched so far from your channel. Keep it up!

[@HolDNutz]

Dude, this video is amazing! Great storytelling, history, narration, and food. Keep it up

[@annannz9047]

The video is really clean, leaving the right amount of details. It's just that KZbin is so saturated nowadays.

[@eddiestilll]

Best part of my Wednesdays is when Off The Menu drops a new video. :) I've always wanted to visit Taiwan. I love Taiwanese culture and cuisine and I feel like it's taking the world by storm, especially with Bubble Tea haha.

[@MrBrown089]

This is one of the best videos if seen so far about the cuisine of Taiwan and it's history. Thank you Matthew!

[@darrentlai6056]

How can a such great video only get 2xK views😢?Nice work, mate.

[@worawatli8952]

Great short documentary. I never think about how "Chinese" is Taiwanese food, as I had visited Taiwan multiple times. I have a feeling that so many things taste like food in my hometown in south of Thailand, I am Hakka descendant, so Taiwanese's Hakka food taste so close to what I am used to. I sometime forgot that it's thousands miles apart. lol I never been to China though, so I think my familiar version of "Chinese" food must be altered so much as well.

[@itsthequeenfatima]

I really love these video essays!!! I love learning about food and culture!

[@kapilseshasayee3901]

Most binge-able channel I've found in ages✌🏾 keep going

[@jckbquck]

Great video! You should include a link in this video to your other video explaining the huge variety of "Chinese food". Like you said in this video, when the National Party retreated from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949, they brought their local culture with them, including their cuisine. It would be like all of Western Europe, in order to escape the rule of a new political party, migrated to Sicily. They brought with them cuisine from their home. So from that point on, the cuisine of Sicily would have the influence of all of Western Europe, on top of their original southern Italian cuisine. Before the Nationalists got there, the cuisine of the local Han Chinese was mainly from the neighboring Fujian Province. (By the way, Han Chinese began migrating to Taiwan at the START of the Qing Dynasty. They were mostly ethnic Han people, remnants of the Ming Dynasty, trying to escape the impending rule of the Manchurians. So it's around the 1640's.) And of course, between 1640 and 1949, the cuisine of Taiwan was influenced by the Japanese. And prior to 1640, the Dutch, Spanards, and the Portuguese all had their influence to the culture of Taiwan.

[@akiraryuu2499]

Great video! Next time please consider come to Malaysia and make a video exploring Malaysian Chinese food. The history and story of Malaysian Chinese food are pretty much similar with Taiwan and Hong Kong food.

[@jindesu]

Your production is so good, and I appreciate the topics you cover!

[@theboredprogrammer1114]

I went to Taiwan 5 years ago for a week and I gained 2kg when I went back home because of their food. The only overseas trip where I gained weight. Underrated yet something one should experience.

[@dynasty0019]

Taiwan's most unique aspect about its food is the melting pot of cuisines from various Chinese provinces with a sprinkle of Japanese influence thrown in. The KMT's retreat brought millions of people from all corners of China into the densely populated island. Of course the majority of influence is still from Fujian, since the majority of Taiwanese are decedents of Fujianese migrants prior to KMT's arrival. I've always believed Lu Rou Fan should claim the title of National Dish over Beef Noodle Soup, since beef did not became widely accessible to most Taiwanese until cheaper imports from America and Australia became available in the 70's. My favorite Taiwanese food is still the Hot Iron Plate Steak in Black Pepper Sauce, which itself was a product of the cheaper American/Australian beef imports that made steak go from a premium dish reserved for the wealthy and foreigners, to a night market staple in the 70's.

[@kremigmitsahne7197]

So in other words, almost all their food comes from mainland China. Thanks for the good but unnecessarily long info.

[@VallenChaosValiant]

@@kremigmitsahne7197 Thanks to the Cultural Revolution, China lost most of what they had and Taiwan is the only place to find it now. China had only themselves to blame.

[@neverletmego6414]

@@VallenChaosValiant that is quite a dishonest statement from someone who's never been to China

[@dynasty0019]

@@neverletmego6414 The National Palace Museum in Taipei itself has more Chinese history and treasures than China.

[@Gepap3]

@@VallenChaosValiant This statement serves only to show your ignorance.

[@jijr0103]

thank you for creating such beautiful video of my country

[@BBarNavi]

覺得他解釋真的不夠好

[@jijr0103]

@@BBarNavi 至少有讓外國認識台灣就好了

[@quakeroatsisnothealthy]

Bro is johnny harris but for food

[@Sunnywow1]

Thank you for reminding why I found the music editing and narration style so familiar 😂

[@vsg24]

yes, lol, copycat

[@ABCantonese]

Bro is also kinda misinforming/misrepresenting like Johnny sometimes can... I just came over from the Hong Kong episode and the representation here is... It contradicts what he said there and it's just... Dude... 屌…

[@astupiddvdcase]

Johnny harris is a hack. Literally spouts shit with no sources like he is some authoritative figure. Does so much damage cause of his reach

[@treebush]

You should cover Cantonese cuisine too Hong Kong etc and you should check out Singaporeans cuisines since its has a huge chinese population but stand on its own

[@elizabethmcdougall]

Great job!

[@C2C.]

Good nuanced coverage of a complex topic in a short amount of time. Taiwanese food is influenced by many other cuisines, but unique and beyond delicious. I'll add that the Portuguese also left their culinary mark, particularly in fried foods and baked goods (e.g., egg custard and flan). Also, Taiwanese are among the kindest and friendliest...they will be happy to help with pronunciation. 😉

[@arfriedman4577]

I enjoy the videos ive seen so far

[@Gepap3]

This video hardly made a case for Taiwanese food actually differentiating itself from the larger category of "Chinese Food". which is a vast category covering immense regional variation - people in Guangdong don't eat all the same dishes as Fujian, to say nothing of the differences then with Sichuan or Beijing or Heilongjiang, as the video itself acknowledges. The basic tools and techniques of the food remain the same, even as ingredients change.

[@haruzanfuucha]

Exactly. Why is Taiwanese food considered separate from Chinese food but Chinese Malaysian food which is far more divergent from the cuisines of mainland China still considered "Chinese food"? It's not about the actual gastronomic differences, this shit is purely political.

[@BBarNavi]

Korea shares the same "ingredients and techniques" as "Chinese food". Why should it be any different? Same for Vietnamese. Just because the video did a crap job explaining doesn't make us not different.

[@Gepap3]

@@BBarNavi Vietnam and Korean food share some techniques and share ingredients, having been deeply directly influenced by Chinese methods, but they are not as similar to any of the regional Chinese cuisines as Taiwan's is. For example, Woks are not nearly as common for Korean cuisine. And Vietnamese cuisine has a far greater use of tropical ingredients than almost any regional Chinese cuisine simply due to location.

[@shanicestella2226]

Awwwwwww , This is very interesting analysis , by the way , Can’t Wait For you Making a Middle Eastern cuisine analysis someday

[@chinolatino5998]

There are other sources that say that braised pork rice a.k.a lu rou fan or Khong Bah Png, is actually linked to Fujian rather than Shandong. It was brought to Taiwan by Fujian immigrants during the Qing dynasty. Please check it out. And the reason for the confusion also came from the character Lu, which is the ancient name of Shandong province, hence the debate.

[@ThorNado24]

To erase confusion, just say Taiwan originated by a resident and being popularized in Taiwan among Taiwanese residents.

[@BBarNavi]

"Shandong" was a weird quirk of the character. But its origins are clearly Hokkien (Fujian).

[@TonyChuPT]

去大陸出過幾次差，吃過那裏的「滷肉飯」，坦白講，就是醬油煮熟的一塊「滷肉」放在「白飯」上而已，肉偏硬，帶著點肉騷味，米飯也算不上是Q彈，也根本沒淋上醬汁，倒是配菜（醬菜？）鹹到嚇死人。只能說，米其林認為「滷肉飯」或「魯肉飯」源自山東（古稱「魯」）容或有爭論餘地，但它在台灣才真正發展出特色（肥瘦摻半的剁碎豬後腿五花肉在鹹甜滷汁裡熬煮多時，澆淋在Q彈的蓬萊米飯上，再配上解膩的酸黃瓜或筍乾），這是肯定的。

[@siqizhang]

其实酱油烧肉已经成为汉族料理的基本操作，到处都差不多，没什么特别的。虽然有可能发祥在山东，但是山东人估计也不想扯上什么关系。“鲁肉饭”大概是眷村里老兵意淫出来的吧。

[@Andytizer]

It's like you are stalking me! I have been to Taipei, Osaka, Vienna in the last year (plus I live in London). Great video! I think the true 'origins' of the food matter less than where the food actually became famous.

[@offthemenuyt]

How do I know you're not stalking me???

[@henrywagnerstudio]

great video!

[@bobjones4901]

Excellent video! Subscribed!

[@windseekervideo]

13:01 Chinese people would be probably very dissapointed after they tried Chinese restaurants in Taiwan.

[@brgkotme]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@windseekervideo]

11:30 I guess they were not soldiers but students attending national day event.

[@freelander5370]

I don't think your last point made too much sense, most of the indigeneous population of Taiwan were killed either by the Japanese or KMT. I don't think the Taiwanese Han people has the right of ownership to Taiwan at all in that sense, it is simply an isolated state made by political tension similar to North Korea. Regarding the soveriegnity of Taiwan, unfortunately that is not something Taiwan itself can decide but it's compeltely up to the current world powers. In other words, just because all the peasants of the world recognize it as a country don't really mean shit...

[@BBarNavi]

Dude, shut the phuc up. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. -an indigenous Taiwanese

[@QuangNguyen-nf6ue]

What camera do you use?

[@holeeshi9959]

despite how much animosity is between China and Taiwan, they are also each other's biggest trade partners and influences each other's culture on a ground level(despite how much CCP don't like it), meaning any food that became popular in Taiwan will also gain quite a bit of traction in the mainland, which makes it even harder to distinguish the two.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Also this video should be called How "Fujianese" is Taiwanese Food? Like stop trying to compare Taiwan with the whole China okay. Like Taiwan is only similar to Fujian province. Like rest of China's provinces' foods are all unique and different and distinct, like Taiwan food has nothing on Yunnan food, nothing on Guangxi food, and nothing on Xi'an food and etc, because it is not comparable since Taiwan don't have those other Chinese provinces food. Like would you try to compare Puerto Rico food to like Rest of America? No you will not, even through this is not a great example.

[@BBarNavi]

Taiwan has a sizeable Yunnanese presence and they have restaurants all over the North.

[@robmello3245]

This video just proved how chinese is Taiwan culture. Language, people, food. Chinese cuisine was a inspiration for many other east asian cuisines, like japanese, even the hashi/kuaizi is originally from China. I dont understand why trying to erase the chinese obvious and enormous influence in Taiwan's culture.

[@seventh-hydra]

I find it kind of funny because Taiwan is more "truly Chinese" than the PRC is. It's not even really a debate of right or wrong Mainland China sought to destroy traditions, culture, and history because they wanted to "free the people from the shackles of the past" and build a different future. While the ROC exiles took extreme pride in their heritage, history, culture and traditions and sought to preserve it as a central part of their identity.

[@mylesjude233]

Also, I know you did a video already on Israel and Gaza, but what about another discussing Israel culturally appropiating Palestinian cuisine

[@dameneko]

Good video overall, but bruh. No mention of Hokkien and the associated influence of Fujian cuisine? No note about Taiwanese distinctively accented Mandarin? No mention of the fact that they and HK are keeping traditional Chinese characters alive and in use? It was mentioned multiple times that Taiwan "also speaks Mandarin" so was just surprised that there was no nuance added there. My mom partially grew up in Taiwan and she makes a big thing about not ever using simplified characters or speaking with a "disgusting" (her words) Beijing accent. She used to take me to our neighborhood Taiwanese restaurant at least a couple times a month for breakfast. Also, again, no mention of Taiwanese Hokkien, which most people just refer to as "Taiwanese"? Bruh! All that aside, I appreciate you making this video fr. Formosa brand pork floss forever! Wei Lih Jah Jan Mien 4 life!

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Like this video did not mention anything on Hokkien and the big associated influence of Fujian cuisine on Taiwanese cuisine...Like Hokkien Fujian culture and food is all like in Taiwan too. Also not all Chinese from the Mainland have Beijing or Dongbei Accent. People from Fujian when they talk in Mandarin sound exactly/very similar to how Taiwanese would sound when speaking Mandarin. People from other parts of China like western China, southern China do not sound like Beijinger or Dongbei folks either. Like also just because China use Simplified Characters does not mean most people do not like Traditional Characters, most people in Mainland China like Tranditional Characters too, and most and all people can read Traditional just fine, maybe writing Traditional will take some time, but reading is perfectly fine. China is really big and each provinces culture and food are vastly different. I also like Fujian Port floss 猪肉松 /古早味肉干肉丝 Formosa pork floss are tasty and also big in Fujian and originated in Fujian too. zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E7%8C%AA%E8%82%89%E6%9D%BE

[@BBarNavi]

​@@UniverseTruth-e4mMy experience is that Hokkien speakers in Fujian have different accents that are closer to PRC Mandarin. They're the ones that consume PRC media with its Putonghua accent, while we in Taiwan just listen to our own accents in our media.

[@RollerBladingSuxs]

What part of the Mainland are you originally from @MatthewLi?

[@eritain]

Note that in the Qing era, Han Chinese didn't only displace Taiwan Aboriginal people, they also absorbed them. The Han settlers were predominantly men, who took Aboriginal wives, and there are also known cases where Plains Aboriginal people adopted Han surnames and identity.

[@mr.e212]

Dope video, i hope to travel more so i can do similar thngs.

[@MrBrendin0702]

Awesome video bro keep it up!

[@madhukarg8052]

I want to see Taiwan now, because of this video

[@lingostarr6635]

bangs on about how there is dutch influence but not one dutch dish

[@9grand]

How you being to the mainland to make such comparaison ?

[@TimLimDimSims]

10:48 noticed the Arabic writing on the restaurant. I can read that inside it says halal but does anyone know what else it says at the front?

[@aminboumerdassi2334]

The writing on top says "Islamic restaurant" which is an unusual way to say that the restaurant is a halal restaurant. I guess they tried to do their own translations

[@treebush]

Ooh taiwan food video i plan on going to taiwan next year its my top 5 countries i want to visit

[@sherwinclarencego1933]

Well cause technically they are just the same people anyway. They speak the same language and generally have the smell culture. Its like Singaporeans and Malaysians claiming laksa.

[@akiraryuu2499]

Also Bak Kut Teh

[@EpicvidsKetti08]

I would like to see how much impact Hong Kong immigrants is having on Taiwanese food with them being both trading hubs and Like Minded people seeing it as a option to continue their way of life

[@Steam286]

Hydroponics and urban farming isn't a very good option for self sufficiency. It is very expensive per calorie and Taiwan is largely dependent on foreign fossil fuels for its power anyways. Converting farms away from expensive and inefficient foods such as leafy vegetables and pork/beef and into crops such as potatoes and chicken is a more realistic solution. It can better afford to shift away from cash crops and luxury foods import them instead of the bare necessities. It would probably have a bad economic impact but if a blockade comes it is one of the only things that can keep the island fed bar outside sources of food.

[@bernardlokman5442]

I think this video serves very little justice to the ethnic history of Taiwan. When the pioneering Chinese farmers travelled to Taiwan, they were mostly Minnan people, followed by Hakkas. To bunch these ethnic groups in Taiwan's history as 'Han' is oversimplifying. If you have read enough of history of Taiwan, Guangdong and Fujian, you will realise that there has always been a long ethnic divide. Even between Minnan people, there were ethnic wars between the ethnic Zhangzhou and the Quanzhou, let alone Hakka-s. The food in the south in particular is thick with Minnan identity, whereas the north is more mixed with Shanghainese and the Waishengren cuisines. Lu Rou fan, in particular soy braised pork, speaks home food to ethnic Hokkiens. It is there almost every meal. I observe that many of the western born Chinese tends to have a more generic monolith idea of Han Chinese of North and South. Whereas in history, you will see how the Southern Coasts are completely different paradigm altogether in comparison to the North-South Paradigms. Many of ethnic Han of Southern Coasts were sinicised much later in history. Some even as late as 7th to 10th century CE. In the early 1900s there were effort to unify Chinese identity through a more homogenous identity through Confucian reforms and Zhonghua nationalism. Prior to that, the people of the Southern Coasts do not see other people from mainland as their 'kins'. Hence Clan wars were very common. Heck, the Taishanese immigrated to US because of Punti-Hakka ethnic war. There were Hokkien-Cantonese clan wars in Malaya and Hokkien-Teochew clan war in Singapore. That is why, to many of those who came from very old ancestries in Taiwan and Malaya, they insisted that they are different from the latter migrants. Minnan identity is often appropriated as the generic Chinese culture 'prior to cultural revolution', but in reality, it is uniquely Minnan/Hokkien. Even when a Northerner vlogger 'Little Chinese Everywhere' visited Fujian, she was shocked to discover how different the culture it is from other parts of China.

[@SeilingMart]

There's more variation in the same food between different states than all the food I've seen you show on camera, after some research, my conclusion is still Taiwan is a state that is part of China trying to rebrand itself. If anyone responds to this, remember that is is a civilized debate.

[@SeilingMart]

You're not exactly posting this to convince people or start a discussion about it, it seems that you've only like positive comments on your video and ignored everything that's about the topic.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Taiwan only comparable to Fujian, and stop trying to compare Taiwanese food to Chinese food, compare local Taiwanese food (not fusion food) to local Fujianese food. Taiwan food is not comparable to rest of China like food from Yunnan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Xi'an, Xinjiang. Is video is so biased and limited. Also saying that food that KMT bought over like Xiaolongbao, Hotpot, are now local Taiwanese food is like so laughable. Yes those are Taiwanese food but those are also Chinese food. Xiaolongbao are orginally Shanghainese local food, Hotpot (there are different kinds depending on which part of china the Hotpot is vastly different) are orginially from Sichuan and/or northern China. So stop saying that Taiwan food is not Chinese food, yeah some Fujianese style Taiwan food Fusion Japanese style food, but those are Fusion food. Like There are Fusion Chinese Korean food, there are Fusion Thai Chinese food, there are Fusion Chinese/Asian food and french food in Toronto and NYC and LA. Like are those Fusion food not part of just one culture just because it is Fusion, heck no, it will be consider part of both or multiple culture.

[@teasea546]

Not only is the guy ignorant, the effort that went into the research for this video is comparable to the amount of that’s required to let out a fart.

[@penguinpingu3807]

The Republic of Formosa was created to avoid getting annexed by Japan. Not the first time in history where a country is proclaimed in a territory is about to be ceded to another country. This happen due to China (Qing Dynasty) was to cede Taiwan to Japan (Imperial) after China (Qing Dynasty) lost the first Sino-Japanese war. Taiwan was returned to China (ROC) after the Japanese capitulated and not taken as a" hostage." Chiang Kai Shek just retreated to a territory where the ROC still controls and to ensure no communist cells he did lots of bad things. And it's much more harder for communists to take Taiwan because they were mostly gruella fighters thus more suited to fight on land. Taiwan would probably fall into a similar fate as Hainan eventually if the US didn't intervene. Hainan wasn't under communist control after the PRC was proclaimed and only under PRC control after they capture the last few cities in 1950.

[@penguinpingu3807]

Though, Taiwan is harder to invade. Afterall, KMT forces are concentrated there. And the PLA doesn't have any decent naval capabilities. That's why Kinmen an island near Fujian is still under Taiwan.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Some Taiwan food is created by Taiwan like Bubble Tea for example. However almost 80% to 90% of so called Taiwanese Food, originated in Fujian China. For example the Fujianese/Hokkein food Ou-a-jian (Minnan dialect) or called Haili Jianbing (Mandarin Chinese) 蛤仔煎/蚵仔煎/海蛎煎 (clam oyster pancake) that Taiwan made famous internationally actually originated in Fujian China, and Fujianese locals still consume this till today and still a popular Fujianese food. Lots of food that Taiwanese consume and think is Taiwan food originated from Fujian. If people online need to do their research and actually go visit Fujian Province in China. Fujian branch of food is unique to Fujian Province and those Fujianese/Hokkien food are call Min Food if you want to be even more specific. It is really disappointing that oversea Chinese or Taiwanese or even some people in Taiwan think and take majority of Hokkien/Fujian food to be originated in Taiwan. Please give credit when credit is due, Fujianese/Hokkien food makes up a majority of what Taiwan food, not all but like 80%-90% food of what you see in Taiwan. Also those food that KMT, national party bought over from China to Taiwan those food are mostly food from other provinces in China like Zhejiang, Sichuan, Suzhou, Guangdong and Dongbei and stuff. Taiwan also do not have many Chinese food that are from Provinces like Yunnan, Guangxi, or Xinjiang and others, since they do not have many immigrants from those provinces from the ancient time. Taiwanese and people internationally need to do their research and give credit when credit is due, especially when claiming Fujianese style Taiwan food to be only Taiwanese food and not Chinese food which is wrong. Also the Shacha sauce 沙茶酱/沙爹酱 are from Fujian and similar to Laksa in South East Asia like Singapore and Malaysia too. People need to do their research before claiming any food and distinct origin, since food will cross boundary and landmass and give credit to the origin of those food and not just claim it as your own only. Thanks

[@indianatarzan7555]

Just because a food dish originated from a place doesn't mean it stays the same. Japanese ramen also originated in China, but do you consider it the same as Chinese ramen? Once a food evolved differently enough it becomes different food. Nobody's denying a lot of Taiwanese food originated from China, but some of it has evolved and became their own.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Well, most Taiwanese local Fujianese food do taste and look exactly like the Fujianese food you can find it Fujian Province still today… that is the issue most Taiwanese people has not been back to Fujian and some will claim that the Fujianese origin local Taiwanese food that those mom and pop shops make are some newly created and originated in Taiwan. I am saying that when it looks and taste like 80-90% the same or exactly the same it should give credit to the origin of where the food comes from… not denying some newly created bubble tea or fusion food with Japanese are specialized in Taiwan… but does that make the 80% of the local Fujianese Taiwanese food that originated from Fujian different from food Fujianese food in Fujian… of course not… for example, like just because the clam/osyter is like different size or that there is more flour or not from the Ouajian pancake in Taiwan compare to less flour in some Fujian restaurants does not mean that dish is like vastly different or like changed to brand new Taiwanese origin food… Bunch/big portion of food in Fujian is like exactly like the locals food in Taiwan and not that different so that is why it is still Fujianese style Taiwanese food… so majority of Fujianese style Taiwanese food are not vastly different from the ones in Fujian… go to Fujian and you will find lots of similarities and food that you think are only in Taiwan when those exist in Fujian as well… sad that Fujian don’t promote their culture and cuisine and international people don’t know about it much

[@BBarNavi]

There's Hakka cuisine here too.

[@dorianabela2293]

I literally JUST sent the mcdonalds video to a friend

[@sushisushi_915]

i like your videos, but you are looking from a western lense and from a very weird perspective as weird as the title How Chinese is Taiwan food and it doesnt even make sense. Its like school project of a genZ whos just started learning history.... first of all Taiwan food isnt independent its not invented by people living in TW, you cannot pick up Taiwan cuisine and go around comparing it to mainland and japanese, Taiwanese food and Japanese food is largely influenced by mainland china food from CENTURIES ago, 80% of japanese cuisine is their take of chinese food like (Yakisoba, ramen, gyoza, mapo tofu and many more, the modern sushi is very different from sushi 100years ago, modern japanese food isnt not what it looks like hundreds of years ago) Japanese food in the last 100 yrs have upgraded their food and most are also infused from other culture an influence, Taiwan cuisine is not independent its a result of influence from mainland China Fujian Province and Japan, Taiwan isnt like Hawaii to USA, Taiwan isnt like Hawaii who used to have their own monarchy, food and culture and people , Haiwaiians and White american are completely different people and they have blurred it over the years, however Taiwanese people are ethnically Chinese so are the Okinawans are still Japanese no matter how they call themselves Okinawas and try to separate themselves to mainland Japan, stop making Taiwan and Taiwan food controversial, isnt not like that, Mainland chinese food (which is wide) is independent on its own , its very centuries old cuisine and its influence spread over asia, in mainland china youd see people arguing whos provincial food is best, the point of this video which is how chinese taiwan food itself is also absurd to begin with its like how Italian is New York pizza and arguing if american pizza is american and not italian, every year there are videos like this trying to confuse people, trying to flip narrative, Here in asia FACTS are solid and every year some curious american kid learning always try to change narrative, your voice is problematic itself, because you call yourself east asian but im from asia and im east asian and i can tell you are strongly american and only ethically chinese., its a pity because you claimed yourself east asian (lol instead of chinese) but hasnt been to mainland china, your views will change it you could go there, so much of china culture is inside a bubble , if you are chinese and cant go inside and see then this video cannot speak for the truth and is trash and problematic, the opinions of Chinese westerners outside china is very different to actual chinese here in asia. As Chinese asian living in Asia myself whos travel inside China Taiwan Singapore Malaysia, and have actual Chinese friends living in these country, most of the views of my chinese friends are neutral, even Singporeans (who are ethnically chinese) are neutral, even the governments are neutral, why? if you have chinese heritage you dont go discrediting your history and to try to separate from them, u are part of them and part of the chinese influence, and this video didnt make sense and only meant to confuse, and i dont like how you mix food with politiks like this is so messed up, i can say alot of us chinese will have different politkal views dependeong on which country you choose to live but will share the same CHINESE food and history, you shouldnt go around blending food histoty and politiks

[@stevenr5534]

Who claims General Tso's Chicken?

[@GIN.356.A]

Wait the logic doesn't check out here. If Taiwanese food is a mic of different Chinese regional foods, wouldnt it still be Chinese food? Like sushi is still considered hapanese food, even if it has California rolls. Kinda a double standard here.

[@koenigamd]

After the food, the language too needs to be called "Taiwanese".😅

[@sportsonwheelss]

People in Xiamen also speaks Taiwanese. LOL

[@Ilikeitlikethis]

The origins of Taiwanese food may be murky, but it’s clear that they have evolved their own regional versions of Chinese food. This country must be allowed to thrive independently, not be bullied with threats of invasion by the murderous CCP regime next door.

[@haruzanfuucha]

Whatever dude. Taiwanese people will smugly claim Chinese dishes like gua bao, fantuan, stinky tofu, and three cup chicken as "Taiwanese" all day but throw a shit fit if someone says bubble tea is Chinese despite the fact that China has far more varieties of bubble tea than Taiwan does now.

[@Meiruki]

THIS. I can't stand the hypocrisy. I see nothing wrong with Chinese people claiming bubble tea or minced pork rice as theirs if Taiwanese people have been doing the same with three cup chicken and even xiao long bao or mapo tofu for decades.

[@mangonut]

boba was invented in Taiwan. lol

[@haruzanfuucha]

@@mangonut And? Three cup chicken was invented in China but that doesn't stop Taiwanese from constantly claiming it as "Taiwanese food". :)

[@windseekervideo]

Try claim Japanese Chinese dishes are not Japanese. Just try it. Try accuse Dragon Ball series are racist because Akira Toriyama named characters with Chinese food like 餃子 or 天津飯.

[@BBarNavi]

玻璃心 TAIWAN NUMBA ONE

[@supervince110]

Your history is off

[@BBarNavi]

He got the general idea. The only major mistake was thinking Taiwan was functionally independent when Japan took over.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Like Some Taiwanese and some Foreigner who live in Taiwan please stop claiming Fujianese Style food in Taiwan as only from and originated Taiwan... stop lying and make food political... jeeze like stealing and rebranding Fujianese style food as only Taiwanese is like disgusting and embarrassing... Like you can label as Taiwanese but give credit to the history and origin of those food from your Fujianese Ancestor who brought it over to Taiwan Island... Also some Foreigners in Taiwan who hates China, please stop lying to yourself and pretend to know all the history of Taiwan/China food okay...like Y'all never even ate other local Chinese foods from other provinces in China. China has like so many provinces, each provinces with distinct culture and distinct food style. Like Majority of Taiwan food is most similar to Fujian and maybe Guangdong. Like Taiwan food can only be mostly compared to Fujian food (Fujian relates to Taiwan the most okay). Taiwan rarely will have food from Yunnan (lots special southern Chinese and ethnic minorities food similar to south east asia), Taiwan also do not have food from Guangxi (food in Guangxi is like rarely seen in other part of China and lots of Rice noodles and special food that some folks eat it might think is similar to Viet food due to history and proximity to Vietnam), Jiangxi food, Xinjiang food (more ethnic minorities food and Muslim style), Gansu food, Inner Mongolian food, Xi'an food and more those other Chinese food are not available in Taiwan OKAY. So those who say Taiwan food is better than China food is like lying and hating on China and lying and kinda stealing Fujianese food and say those food originated in Taiwan when those food are bought over by y'all grandparents from Fujian province. STOP hating okay and like food is support to be about sharing and not hating okay.

[@BBarNavi]

Most people in Taiwan admit the Hokkien origin of Taiwanese food. It's only lazy foreigners like the guy in the video who brush over it as "Chinese". I think we as Taiwanese reserve the right to hate a hostile power. But being indigenous (Taiwanese-speaking, okay) who constantly battles with Hokkien-Taiwanese over language and culture, I find that the latter go overboard and act as if their settler cuisine is entirely local, all because they feel "Fujian is China". They don't have to be Chinese (who wants to be, anyway), but they can't pretend like their culture is entirely local when the original natives are STILL AROUND!!

[@JoaoGabriel-pn5rn]

your videos remind of Anthony Bourdain's

[@calex9398]

Lets gooooooo

[@InfernoXV]

spelling! you misspelled shandong!

[@MaximSupernov]

A lot of people in the comment section say there is no such thing as Taiwanese cuisine. In a way, they might be correct. Let's put this into perspective: the current Taiwan is the Republic of China (ROC), which has existed longer than the People's Republic of China (PRC). So, in essence, Taiwanese cuisine is the original Chinese cuisine, while the current cuisine in mainland China is influenced by communist backward peasant cutting corners cuisine style. Therefore, the difference is between 'Real Chinese Cuisine' and 'Commie Cuisine.' End of story.

[@planesrift]

With the number of Vietnamese immigrants/descent, I'd say Pho will be part of Taiwanese food before 2050. (which is all over the place already)

[@imsoKamaji]

In these comments: Chinese bots.

[@skyton658]

TW#1

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

If TW is #1 than original Fujian is more #1 than Taiwan because that is where 80%-90% Taiwan food if from. Taiwanese food is similar or almost identical to Fujianese food okay. Learn the god damn history MF. Like Y'all great grandparents bought Fujian food to Taiwan... Stop stealing Fujianese food and saying those food are only Taiwanese food and give credit when credit it due... Bunch of Fujianese people eating the same food in Fujian and Bunch of Taiwanese people are saying why the food so similar... it is similar because the food was originally from Fujian and bought over to Taiwan Island by y'all great grandparents okay.

[@BBarNavi]

​@@UniverseTruth-e4mTAIWAN NUMBA ONE PHUCBOI, CHINA NUMBA 19

[@toutlesag]

The intent to claim “beef noodle soup” a “Taiwanese national dish” is embarrassingly and utterly self-insulting of the Taiwanese to begin with - as of ~50 years ago, the very majority of, if not all, so-called “native Taiwanese people” (less the indigenous minority residents of Taiwan, analogously similar to American Indians in the U.S.) DID NOT EAT beef AT ALL - habitually for inherently cultural reasons, of which the primary was respect to cows, which were the major and only source of meaningful power for agricultural works, as Taiwan was primarily an agrarian society then, as most of the rest of the world, and also because beef was extremely expensive and scarce at the time. The consumption of beef was introduced to Taiwan gradually with the ethic-mainland Chinese who fled to Taiwan with Chiang Kaishek in 1949. Again, Taiwan needs to stop insulting itself any further with this “beef noodle soup” as its “national dish” lowly banter.

[@ThorNado24]

Still, the dish is popularized in Taiwan among Taiwanese people. So it becomes a national dish.

[@windseekervideo]

@@ThorNado24 There are two very different views of "national" identity in Taiwan.

[@ThorNado24]

@@windseekervideo MIT (Made in Taiwan) is also national pride of Taiwanese people.

[@willng247]

This young dude just making click bate clips. He's just profiting from anti China sentiments...

[@BBarNavi]

Our TRUE national dish is Lóo-bah-pn̄g!

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Taiwanese food is Taiwanese food if it has has modifications to it which they often do. NY style pizza is NOT Italian but American. Taco Bell is NOT Mexican but American I bring this up because some comments are saying it’s Chinese food when the food has some modifications

[@ailrky4765]

No such a thing as Taiwanese food. Rebranding cultural items for political purposes is probably the most shameless thing you can imagine.

[@tiro_taiwan]

0:52 Well, it used to be, since 1911 most of the countries around the world had considered so until 1979, the US established diplomatic relations with the PRC and breaks ties with the ROC. In 1991, the ROC abolished its own "One China Policy", recognizing the PRC as China. After that, international has used Taiwan and China to distinguish two Chinas while not trigger the PRC.

[@Gepap3]

The 1992 Consensus would seem to challenge your timeline.

[@tiro_taiwan]

@@Gepap3 The 1992 Consensus be like: The PRC: One China? The ROC: One China. Both: Yeah we have consensus. Others: What is One China?

[@sixtogonzaga655]

All taiwanese food are chinese food. Literally its just the same food

[@ThorNado24]

so basically saying that American foods are European foods. Literally its just the kind of food.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

​@@ThorNado24 Taiwanese food is similar or almost identical to Fujianese food okay. Learn the god damn history MF. Like Y'all great grandparents bought Fujian food to Taiwan... Stop stealing Fujianese food and saying those food are only Taiwanese food and give credit when credit it due... Bunch of Fujianese people eating the same food in Fujian and Bunch of Taiwanese people are saying why the food so similar... it is similar because the food was originally from Fujian and bought over to Taiwan Island by y'all great grandparents okay.

[@BBarNavi]

TAIWAN NUMBA ONE PHUCBOI

[@BBarNavi]

​@@UniverseTruth-e4mYou'll be upset at Taiwanese people for "denying Hokkien roots", but not at Zhinese for appropriating Hokkien culture and language 🤔

[@taka1416]

5:25 Taiwan was not independent before Japanese. Japan take Taiwan from China after won the sino-japanese war! And was not a colony but was considered part of Japan.

[@BBarNavi]

It was a colony. Just because you annexed us into your borders doesn't mean you didn't colonize us.

[@taka1416]

@@BBarNavi It was not a colony because all people of Taiwan were considered Japanese!

[@hc434]

It's surprising how many iconic Taiwanese dishes are actually invented in Taiwan. Pineapple Cake, Dan bing (egg pancake/crepe), Taiwanese aboriginal sausages, Aiyu jelly is native to Taiwan and put in a lot of drinks. Lu rou fan originated in Taiwan according to wikipedia last time I checked - looks like they recently changed it to Fujian, China. Taiwanese fried chicken/popcorn chicken with basil Many Taiwanese people chew betel nuts which is a Southeast Asian or Indian subcontinent habit. Definitely not East Asian This one is weird but Mongolian BBQ was actually invented in Taiwan

[@Gepap3]

Actually, Wiki does not say it originates on the island of Taiwan: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khong_bah_png

[@TCWG87]

What do you mean another country ''claims'' it?? LOL hand-pulled beef noodle soup IS from Lanzhou, a city in Gansu province, in western China. Traditionally, Taiwan didn't even cultivate wheat (to make the noodles), nor does it raise cattle on the island (another key ingredient in the dish). The dish was brought to Taiwan by mainland people from the Gansu region who escaped to the island with the KMT following the communist takeover of the mainland lol. In fact, apart from Taiwanese Aboriginal dishes, ALL dishes made through Chinese culinary methods in Taiwan were brought by Han settlers/immigrants from the mainland to Taiwan, over the past 3 centuries. I know that there is a separate Taiwanese Han identity and I respect your desire to be an independent country....but there is no need to deny the origins of things that come from the mainland, including the Chinese-speaking Han people of Taiwan. Unless you're a Taiwanese aboriginal, your ancestors were Chinese.

[@hc434]

Nearly 80% of Taiwanese families today have lived in Taiwan for about 400 years and most have some aboriginal Taiwanese blood. For example, president Tsai Ing Wen is 1/4 Taiwanese Austronesian because one of her grandparents is Taiwanese Austronesian. But you would categorize her as simply "Taiwanese Han" though at most 75% of her genetic makeup is Han? Chiang Kai Shek only fled China with about 1.5 million refugees around 1949 - there were already 6 million Taiwanese in Taiwan at the time who had lived under Japanese rule, and most of them have some Taiwanese Austronesian/indigenous blood. Does chanting "One Of Us! One Of Us!" Actually make people want to join you?

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Duh Some Taiwanese have austronesian blood but majority of the food culture from Taiwan actually is originated from Fujian province due to most y'all grandparents (Most Taiwanese are Fujianese Migrants Descendants) migrated from Qing Dynasty from Fujian to Taiwan. Like go visit Fujian you will find so many so-called Taiwanese food that Taiwanese think is only in Taiwan to be also the same in Fujian... Also like the Taiwanese languages are similar to Fujianese (not exact due to Japanese loan words in Taiwanese languages, but the main speech is exactly mutually understandable okay)...Like Taiwan can and should only be compared to Fujian Province, since the food and culture is way more similar okay. Go to Fujian and find out yourself okay. Y'all need to stop claiming Fujianese culture and Fujianese food as only Taiwanese food.

[@BBarNavi]

"Han" is a fake identity that insults both Hokkien culture and its presence in Taiwan.

[@juamu1132]

@@hc434 tsai in wen ancestors are japanese collaborators.

[@danielles7766]

​@@hc434Problem is Taiwan isn't Korea, which had independent, separate culture since Ming dynasty. We also know for a fact that Taiwanese culture wont be and isn't going to be able to be separated from Chinese culture so just suck it up. Denying your own roots and history is the most stupid move anyone could do.

[@UniverseTruth-e4m]

Like most Taiwan food is like Fujianese food, like ouajian蚵仔煎/海蛎煎, 麵線, and almost all locals food in Taiwan that are Fujianese origin food. Fujianese locals basically eat exactly the same type of food that Taiwan locals eat (not talking about Fujianese style Taiwanese food that got fusion with Japan food). Go to Fujian and people actually will find those locals food to be almost the same as mom and pop run shops in Taiwan. Please give credit to Fujianese style food. Since Fujian are not well known by other countries that is why now people think food in Taiwan food is like comparable to food in China. China is so big like each provinces has its own distinct style and favour. Like Yunnan food (will have lots of wild herbs that are only available from Yunnan and some ethnic monorities who have similarity with some SE asian so the food might have some sour and fish sauce and spices that they use unique to that region), Guangxi food (not a lot of people know about the special rice noodles variety from that region in China and its close proximity to Vietnam), Jiangxi food (nobody other than Jiangxinese know about it), Xi'an Shaanxi food (lots of lamb, beef, meat dishes that are mixed of Han and Hui Muslism style food), and other provinces.

[@BBarNavi]

Stop spamming, cibai

[@heimuk]

@@BBarNavi 👈🏿👈🏿👈🏿 suaku tambay emcaibay...ccb...

[@yohannessulistyo4025]

You can't expect to understand what is Taiwanese and what is "Chinese" (mainland) by that overlysimplified comparison alone, as the mainland China is very huge. Diaspora "Chinese" for their entire life are labelled as such, and consider their either Cantonese or Fukkienese cuisine as over-arching "Chinese cuisine". Yet, your "OG Chinese" ye ye or nai nai would find Beijing or authentic Chongqing or Hunanese cuisine to be very strange and off-putting. My elders never really tasted actual authentic Chinese food until they visited Australia and eat at Wenzhounese immigrant restaurant. There is how their idea of "Chinese" are finally challenged. The way you put "dim sum" is Chinese doesn't really help to understand why Taiwan has it. Dim sum is pretty much Cantonese, the city of Yokohama also has some stake to claims it. Also Takoyaki and Burrito of local influence are also sold in typical night markets of Singapore or even Indonesia, and what's the point? Taiwan in general are mostly influenced by cultures of people that inhabits Fujian provinces and its surroundings. The idea seems strange to Americans and disapora Chinese, but it easily explains why a lot of us loved Taiwanese cuisine and easily find their food and taste comforting, familiar, and delicious to no mistake, even the disgusting stinky tofu is still pretty much delicious for most of us. When you meet actual mainlanders, they see Fukkienese as backwater fishermen and mountain tribes with their own super deeply entrenched traditions, while our Southern neighbour of Cantonese is that China that "eat cats and monkeys" - as the Late Prince Phillip said: "Anything that has 4 foot except chair and table, anything that swims but submarine, the Cantonese will eat it" - showing his nuanced understanding of China than even most Chinese diaspora outside China. The history of Taiwan is also way off... When the Han Chinese first colonise Taiwan, it is not by Qing Dynasty, but Ming Loyalist, led by the famed Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) - who is half Chinese (of Hokkien descent) and rumoured Japanese (a samurai daughter named Tagawa Matsu according to people of Nagasaki, afterall Koxinga was born in the town of Hirado, Nagasaki). Koxinga is now revered as demigod by Chinese ancestor-worshipping traditions. When Ming Loyalists in Manchu-ruled Mainland are being cornered, Zheng Zhilong, father of Koxinga defected to Qing. Koxinga refused to follow his father, even after being promised with wealth and positions by Qing court. He led the Ming Loyalist to escape the inevitable encirclement, prepared an invasion, long siege, and embarked on desperate measure to engage the Dutch ruled Formosa (Taiwan) in 1661. There were some Han Chinese fishing villages across the western coast of Taiwan, which aided the Ming Loyalists - since they were enslaved by the Dutch or forced to be sent to other Dutch colonies across the world to work as forced labour in the plantations. After defeating the Dutch Formosan, Koxinga established the Kingdom of Tungning, centered around the modern day city of Tainan, Taiwan. He ruled for only 1 year, and died in 1662. The Kingdom controls swathes of area across the coastal Fujian and surrounding and its recently acquired base in Formosa. They were eventually defeated by Qing Dynasty in 1683 after 3 successive kings.

[@DK-le3to]

Bro deleted my previous comment about the poor research in this video, very thin-skinned

[@alexd5128]

Yes, the Taiwanese speak Mandarin nowadays, but this is the result of 4 decades of martial law. Mandarin is NOT native to the Taiwanese! If we go back to the end of WWII, they were speaking Japanese to each other. Many elder Taiwanese who grew up during the Japanese era speak BROKEN Mandarin till this day and continue to hold a nostalgic sentiment toward Japan!

[@alexd5128]

Taiwan "USED TO" claim itself as the "real" China when the old dictator, Chiang, Kai-shek, was in power. He died in 1975!!! The government today certainly doesn't claim to be the "real" China. Case in point, statistic shows that 60+% of the people consider themselves Taiwanese ONLY. How can Taiwan be the "real" China if most people in Taiwan do NOT consider themselves Chinese? If Taiwan's official title is still the Republic of China, and its constitution continues to claim territorial rights over the mainland, it is doing so to PLAY ALONG and REWARD China for not invading the island! Yes, you read it right. Communist China actually prefers Taiwan claiming China so that the Communists can handwave to their people that the Taiwanese are longing to be part of the motherland again. If Taiwan ever drops the ROC title and/or removes the sovereign claim over the mainland from its constitution, it will push the tension with China to the brink of war!

[@blackbelt2000]

chyna claims english is a chynese dialect.

[@ilai7893]

You should really learn the names of the dishes you'll be talking about, kinda lose some credibility when you talk about food and just say "I don't know what it is" 😂 cuz you keep repeating how Taiwanese dishes are so unique but barely touch on the actual history etc. behind them

[@willng247]

Another young dude, sensationalizing geopolitics with a clickbait title. While every region in China boasts its own unique food styles, this diversity does not signify a separation from the culinary traditions of the motherland. God help us. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@harrytran1859]

Are you of Filipino ethnic? You dont looked east asian 😅

[@jkid4855]

you really don't have enough knowledge of Chinese and Taiwanese history, or various Taiwanese versions of food from all 13 main Chinese food traditions. You don't even know about the salty/oily taste shift after 1949 in China which made current Chinese food taste different from the current dishes in China, and that Taiwan and some older Chinese restaurant in the US carried on with the older, original tastes. This video is probably good enough for some non-Chinese who knows nothing about Taiwan or China, but as a Taiwanese I feel it's incredulous you feel qualified to make such video.

[@eyeswideopen7777]

Taiwan is like Palestinia

[@jerrycarrion5358]

Angry Chinese incoming

[@dawana203]

The amount of misinformation in this video is staggering.

[@marioarteaga3488]

Really?