A Kind of Food with Strong Smell

         Have you had this kind of experience: When someone is eating his or her “delicacy” in a room, the other people in the same place start to complain about that because the smell of the food is too strong to bear? This week, my topic is one of this kind of embarrassing food. It is Durian(榴槤), one of my favorite fruit.

         If you are the person who do not like durians and even think that they are the worst fruit in the world because of their unique odor, you may wonder the reason why there are so many people like to eat durians. I think that many advocates of durians, including me, will tell you that “because they are so delectable” and then we are likely to say that “especially eating them after they ice in the refrigerator. The iced durians taste like ice cream so much.”

I have asked many of my friends whether they like to eat durians or not. Most of those who have negative answers even  have never eaten durians before, and the reasons they don’t like durians are mainly just because of their stinky odor. If you are the person as my friends who have a poor first impression on durians’ unpleasant smell, I must tell you that “Don’t judge the “fruit” by its “odor”, or you will miss one of the fine food in the world!

          Moreover, durians are rich in nutrients. Therefore, some countries in Southeast Asia call them “the king of fruit”. Durians abound in protein, vitamins, dietary minerals and so on. If you have not eaten durians before, give them a chance. It is worth trying it!

video: 

10 Amazing Benefits of Durian Fruit

Red Bean Cake in Wantan

         This week’s topic is Red Bean Cake(紅豆餅). When it comes to red bean cakes, as a student of National Taiwan University, you may have heard of or even eaten red bean cakes of 晴光, which is located on Tingzhou Rd.(汀州路). However, I am not going to talk about晴光. I want to recommend another store which sells red bean cakes as well. Actually, I think that the red bean cakes there are better than晴光.

          Speaking of red beans, where in Taiwan will come across your mind? It’s Wantan(萬丹), a township in Pingtung county. Although my hometown, Dong Gang is not far from Wantan, it was not until two years ago that I ate them at my first time. Since the first time I ate them, I have fallen in love with them. From then on, each time when I go to Wantan, without exception, I will buy a few red bean cakes at the store.

          The cake skins of the red bean cakes are soft. However, you can also say that they are crispy when red bean cakes are freshly baked. Besides, the filling plays an important role of a satisfying red bean cake. The filling of the red bean cake of the store is made from local ingredients- red beans of Wantan. At your first bite of it, you can see the red bean paste spurting from the cakes skin and you will be surprised at that the flavor of it is different from every bite of red bean cakes you have eaten before. It is sweet but not greasy. If you want to enjoy the best red bean cakes of mine, come and visit the store!

Address: 913屏東縣萬丹鄉中興路二段631號

The Food in My Hometown(5)-tortoise jelly of 東隆堂

This week, I would like to recommend a store in Dong Gang to you. Its name is 東隆堂. 東隆堂 is a store which is famous for its various kinds of Chinese medicinal cuisines. Among them, the most well-known product is tortoise jelly (龜苓膏). And it is my today’s main character.

Tortoise jelly is made from tortoise plastron(龜板膠) and dozens of precious Chinese herbal medicines(中藥材). The appearance of Tortoise jelly, based on its English name, is similar to jelly, but its color is quite different from the jellies that you usually can see in the convenient stores-it’s black. Seeing its strange color, you may have a question in mind: Is it really delicious? In my opinion, undoubtedly, it is delicious, especially with some honey which can mix the bitterness of tortoise jelly. Besides, it is beneficial to our health-it can activate the blood circulation of our body.

Next time, when you visit Dong Gong, in addition to eating Bluefin tuna, you can have a new choice-going to東隆堂, which is nearby the most renowned temple-東隆宮, to enjoy a bowl of tortoise jelly and other worthy eating Chinese medicinal cuisines .

Something unrelated to the topic:

You might have noticed that it is my first time to talk about the name of store on my blog. The reason why I mention its name is because the store has something to do with me-the owner’s daughter is one of my best friend, as well as my kindergarten classmate and junior high school classmate.

The Food in My Hometown(4)-a kind of fish with a weird nickname

         This week, l will introduce a kind of fish that you must eat when visiting Dong Gang to you. Before writing something about it, l would like to tell you a joke about the fish.

One day, A and B go to Dong Gang.

A:”I have heard of a kind of fish that is famous in Dong Gang”

B:”Really?”

A:”Yeah, it’s 那個魚.”

B:”哪個魚.”

A:”那個魚.”

B:”...”

         Now, do you know which kinds of fish that I would like to make an introduction? Right, it is那個魚. The real name of 那個魚 is Harpadon microchir (小鰭鐮齒魚).

The origin of its nickname is because its real name is too long for consumers and fishmongers to remember and call, thus they point the fish and say 那個 ,instead of its real name, to let each other what they want to buy or sell in the process of making a deal.

(Hmm......I think that the uncooked 那個魚 is not as appetizing as the cooked one.)  

          In Dong Gang, you can find various kinds of那個魚dishes, like fried那個魚, 那個魚soup, and vermicelli with那個魚. Any of the dishes has its fans. Among all the dishes, l like fried那個魚 the most. Although 那個魚 has many small fish bones, you can eat it with those bones as long as it is fried. The taste of fried那個魚 is like codfish(鱈魚). Sprinkling the pepper as what you do before eating Taiwanese popcorn chicken(鹽酥雞), I think that if you are a popcorn chicken lover, you will love the good flavor of Dong Gang as well.