COPPERWhat is the national dish of Taiwan?
Taiwan has no official national dish, but beef noodle soup (niu rou mian) is the one most often called its national dish. The classic version is red-braised: beef shank simmered for hours with spicy broad bean paste, soy sauce and rice wine, served over wheat noodles with pickled mustard greens. Minced pork rice (lu rou fan) is the other dish frequently named.
What is Taiwanese beef noodle soup?
It is a bowl of wheat noodles in a dark, spicy beef broth, topped with large chunks of braised beef shank, scallions and sour pickled mustard greens. Taiwan has two main styles: red-braised (hong shao), coloured by chilli bean paste and soy sauce, and clear-stewed (qing dun), with a clear broth.
No government body has named it the national dish. It earns the title through popularity: Taipei holds an annual Beef Noodle Festival where chefs and restaurants compete for the title of best beef noodles in Taiwan.
What is in beef noodle soup?
The red-braised version, the one most people mean, is built on a few strong ingredients:
- Beef shank, cut into large chunks so it stays whole through hours of simmering.
- Doubanjiang: spicy broad bean paste, fried in oil until the oil turns red. It gives the broth its colour and depth.
- Soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine.
- Aromatics: ginger, garlic, scallions, star anise, dried chillies and tomato.
- Fresh wheat noodles, cooked separately.
- Pickled mustard greens (suan cai) on top, for sourness.
How beef noodle soup is made
The beef is blanched for a minute and rinsed. Ginger, garlic, scallions and dried chillies are fried in oil, then tomato, then the doubanjiang until the oil turns red. The beef goes back in with soy sauce and rice wine, followed by water and star anise.
It simmers covered on low heat for about 3 hours, until the beef is very tender. Some shops simmer their stock for more than 24 hours. The noodles are boiled in a separate pot, then everything is assembled in the bowl. Our beef noodle soup recipe gives every quantity.
Where beef noodle soup comes from
The red-braised style was created in Taiwan by Kuomintang veterans from Sichuan who fled mainland China to Kaohsiung and served it in the military dependents' villages there; Chinese-language sources trace it to the air force village of Gangshan. They brought the chilli bean paste of their home province. That is why the dish is sometimes called Sichuan beef noodle soup in Taiwan, a confusing name since Sichuan has beef noodle soups of its own. For mainland noodle traditions, see our article on the national dish of China.
Beef was not always common in Taiwan. Many Taiwanese, particularly older people, avoided it out of gratitude to the cattle that worked the fields. Postwar migration and American wheat aid changed the diet, and beef noodle soup became one of the most popular dishes on the island.
Other dishes to know from Taiwan
The other dish often named as Taiwan's national dish is minced pork rice (lu rou fan): pork belly fried with shallots and braised in soy sauce, spooned over rice. When a 2011 Michelin guide attributed it to Shandong, the Taipei City Government held a press conference asking for the guide to be corrected to say it is Taiwanese.
Lu rou fan changes with the region. Northern Taiwan favours a greasier meat sauce, while the south prefers less fatty pork and calls the dish bah-sò-pn̄g, naming the sauce rather than the meat.
Gua bao is a folded steamed bun closed over a slice of soy-braised pork belly, sour mustard greens, sweet peanut powder and coriander. Xiao long bao are thin-skinned pleated dumplings whose filling hides pork-skin aspic that melts into soup in the steamer, eaten with ginger in black vinegar.
Both depend on patient preparation. For gua bao, the pork belly is braised in slices for about an hour and a half so each bun gets one intact piece. For xiao long bao, pork skin is simmered for 3 hours, set into a firm jelly, diced and folded into the filling; each dumpling is pleated with 14 folds or more and steamed for 8 minutes. Dumplings were a minor part of Taiwanese food until wheat consumption grew after the Second World War; today they are among its most popular dishes.
Much of this food is eaten as xiaochi, the substantial snacks of Taiwan's night markets. Since 2010 the government has promoted them abroad as part of its culinary diplomacy, alongside bubble tea and oyster omelette.
All three recipes are on our page about the food of Taiwan. For neighbouring kitchens, see our guide to East Asian food.
The recipes
- Beef noodle soup🇹🇼 Taiwan · 3 hours and 35 minutes
Gua bao🇹🇼 Taiwan · 2 hours and 5 minutes
Xiao long bao🇹🇼 Taiwan · 9 hours
Questions people ask
Does Taiwan have an official national dish?
No. Beef noodle soup is the dish most often called Taiwan's national dish, with minced pork rice (lu rou fan) as the other frequent candidate.
Is Taiwanese beef noodle soup from China or Taiwan?
The red-braised version was created in Taiwan, in Kaohsiung, by Kuomintang veterans from Sichuan who used the chilli bean paste of their home province.
What is the difference between red-braised and clear beef noodle soup?
Red-braised (hong shao) broth is cooked with spicy broad bean paste and soy sauce, which make it dark and spicy. Clear-stewed (qing dun) is the other main style, with a clear broth.
What is served with beef noodle soup?
Pickled mustard greens and chopped scallions go on top, and shops often offer small cold side dishes on the side.
What is the national drink of Taiwan?
Bubble tea (boba tea) is usually named as Taiwan's national drink.
Keep reading
- Traditional food of Taiwan: 14 dishes to know
- What is the national dish of China?
- What is the national dish of Japan?
- What is the national dish of North Korea?
- What is the national dish of South Korea?
- Traditional food of China: 13 dishes to know