Our Cover Story this month takes readers on a journey to various microbreweries, wineries and distilleries around Taiwan. We explore the places where a diversity of alcoholic beverages are made—from beers and tea-based drinks with local flavors to Taiwanese-style whisky, which has put Taiwan on the map of international whisky producers.
We also visit Yangmingshan’s Zhuzihu area, famous for its calla lilies. Besides being a place for admiring flowers, Zhuzihu is the place where Japonica rice was first grown in Taiwan. We see Chen Yongru, chairman of the Zhuzihu Ponlai Rice Seed Field Club, lead people in getting hands-on experience of rice milling, and we tell the origin story of Japonica (a.k.a. Penglai or Ponlai) rice varieties in Taiwan.
Another example of a local industry is the recycling of oyster shellstring cords and discarded fishing nets in Chiayi’s Dongshi Township. Based on the size of its oyster farms, Chiayi County alone is calculated to generate 1,300 metric tons of waste shellstring cords a year, enough to circle Taiwan ten times. We report on how this waste material is turned into environmentally friendly yarn used by international brands in products such as technical clothing.
Our article on instant noodles features noodles paired with “tonic” ingredients, such as dong quai duck, sesame oil chicken, and braised pork ribs with medicinal herbs, as well as other options including pork ramen with Shaoxing wine, sakura shrimp dry noodles with Shaoxing wine, and beef noodle soup (a must-try for foreign visitors). For this story we sampled the delicious flavors of Taiwanese instant noodles, and we trace the origins and history of instant noodles and Taiwan’s instant noodle culture.
“When I was asked to state my preferences for overseas postings, Taiwan was the only place I even listed.” Eduardo Euba Aldape, director general of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, describes what he has learned and experienced in the three-plus years he has been stationed here. Taiwan has delighted this friend from Spain with its warm and friendly people, delicious xiaolongbao dumplings, bicycling experiences, and mountain hiking trails that are only ten minutes from downtown.
We also report on the Ciyakang heritage site in Hualien County. First discovered in 1929 by Japanese naturalist Tadao Kano, it is an important archaeological site featuring an international jade production area dating back thousands of years. We visit the site and use the findings of archaeologists to piece together a Neolithic-era story of jade mining and carving, maritime trade, and the Austronesian-speaking peoples, highlighting an important period in Taiwan’s past.
