Hsinchu International Church (Taiwan) - Taiwan Expatriate Food Blog

Tuesday

30Dec2008

Atemoyas & Cherimoyas

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 11:59PM

Atemoya vs CherimoyaAtemoya season is here again. Don't forget to share with a friend.

If you don't remember the difference between slightly sour atemoyas (fenqli shyhjia) and their cloyingly sweet relative, cherimoyas (shyhjia), here is a mnemonic:

Atemoyas are slightly pointy on top, like a capital letter "A"

Cherimoyas are more rounded, like a capital letter "C"

Update on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 07:57PM by

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Atemoyas were also mentioned on this blog in January (www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/1/14/atemoya-season.html)

Update on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 08:14PM by

Webmaster

Hong Kong people often use less than complimentary language to refer to foreigners: 老番loufan ("barbarians") is a very common expression. Latent racism is probably also responsible for at least one imported fruit name. In Cantonese, cherimoyas are called fan laiji 番荔枝 (literally "Barbarian" lychee). This is presumably a reference to their ugly green appearance, in contrast to "proper" lychees, dainty fruit whose delicate red exterior is much more attractive.

Update on Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 11:26AM by

Webmaster

Notes:

1] I have only studied a little Cantonese, so I am using what I remember of Barnett-Chao romanization (tonal spelling for Cantonese, based on Gwoyeu Romatzyh/National Romanization). Before a vowel, r = low pitch and h = high pitch; After a vowel, r = rising and h = falling.

Fan laiji is probably (my Cantonese reference books are not available) spelled fann lrai-ji: The tones are [HIGH] [LOW]-[HIGH]

Loufan is probably spelled lourfann

2] Fan used in older Mandarin words such as fanchye (tomato) and fanshyrliou (guava) has no derogatory meaning

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Urgent! Affordable Italian Cheese. Spread the Word!

Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 11:15PM

Formaggio Parmigiano (Italian) = Parmesan Cheese (English)The cheese situation in Taiwan has been getting better, but decent cheese at non-CEO prices is hard to find, especially outside of Taipei. That's why I am so happy to share this wonderful news with my readers: freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano are now available at RT Mart (大潤發). The cheese, manufactured in Italy for RT Mart's owner (a French company called Auchan), comes in 100g resealable packets which cost only NT$49 each. The only catch is

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Tasty Taiwanese Lettuce

Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 02:26PM

Some foreign friends of mine prefer to buy imported vegetables and fruit. This is really not necessary. A case in point is lettuce. Organic romaine lettuce is available right here in Taiwan, you just need to know where to look.

You also need to be able to read a few Chinese characters, which is not a given for most foreigners. The key words are:
Yeouji Shutsay (in Gwoyeu Luomaatzyh [National Romanization, Mandarin tonal spelling -- LOW-HIGH HIGH-FALL): Organic Vegetables.

Organic produce in Taiwan is independently inspected and verified (the subject of a future TEFB posting?), so it is probably better than ordinary vegetables and fruit.

However, it doesn't hurt to be suspicious. Here's an easy way to see if your lettuce really is organic: look at your veggies and check for bugs (or bug holes). Guaranteed Organic Taiwanese Lettuce: Free Bugs!Rinse all leaves thoroughly before eating or leave some bugs on if you want extra protein! If your lettuce is grown hydroponically, you don't need to worry about parasites -- enjoy a healthy salad made with Taiwan lettuce.

How can you tell if your Taiwanese lettuce is grown hydroponically? Again, very easy: the root ball will have some sort of sponge attached to it. If you don't see a bit of sponge, you might be better off briefly (~20 sec.) immersing your lettuce in boiling water -- if you . It spoils the texture, but it saves you from worrying about parasites (I've had the runs more than once after eating non-organic watercress salad I made myself).

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A review of Taiwanese Sesame Paste

Saturday, December 27, 2008 at 08:53PM

Updated on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 07:45PM by Webmaster

Healthy eating in Taiwan can be a problem. While looking for an alternative to imported peanut butter made in China, I considered a Taiwanese brand of sesame butter. Sesame butter is manufactured from sesame seeds, and has the advantage of being sugar free and high in calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus. Fufann Sesame Paste is hygienically produced (HACCP), has won awards for food quality, and is attractively packaged. It seems like a good product.

PROS
1] Geek appeal. The first thing I noticed about Fufann Sesame Paste was the use of Gwoyeu Romatzyh (tonal spelling of Mandarin) in the brand name: "fann" is 4th tone fan (four tones: fan, farn, faan, fann). I granted them five points for being wise enough to use the best romanization ever devised.

2] Hygiene. The second thing that caught my eye was the ISO-2200 HACCP certificate for food hygiene. That was enough for twenty more points.

3] The taste test will have to wait until I open the can

CONS
Brimming with virtue, I came home with my can of health-promoting sesame paste, but my joy soon turned to suspicion. Looking more closely at the label, I started to notice discrepancies.

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Thursday

25Dec2008

Wannabe Nutella recipe

Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 08:38AM

This morning's breakfast: two slightly underripe bananas (straight from the fridge) sliced up and nuked in the microwave for 30 seconds. I smeared two teaspoons of wannabe Nutella (AKA Carrefour's Pâte à tartiner aux noisettes) on the bananas and enjoyed a sweet breakfast with a cup of goat's milk.

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