Tainan (Taiwan) (AFP) – Preparing a state banquet that reflects the self-governing island's unique history, Taiwanese chef Wes Kuo surrounds the sauce with delicate vegetable leaves inspired by the cuisines of the five major ethnic groups. to place.
Publication of: change:
4 minutes
The dish will be part of an eight-course meal full of symbolism that will be served after Lai Qingde takes office as president on Monday amid mounting pressure from neighboring China.
Although the Chinese government claims Taiwan as part of its territory, a survey conducted last year by the island's National Chengchi University found that less than 3% of people identify as Chinese, compared to 1992. decreased from 1/2.
Kuo said the banquets, designed by Taiwanese chefs and food critics, reflect the island's identity.
“We packed Taiwan's seasonal ingredients into one plate and combined them with five different sauces to express the flavors of each ethnic group,” Kuo told AFP while practicing cooking at Embers restaurant in Taipei.
The sauce gives a vivid impression.
Fermented tofu paste, commonly used in Taiwanese cuisine, is alongside kumquat concoctions popular in Taiwan's Hakka community.
There is also a satay sauce similar to Southeast Asian cuisine, with a hint of chili pepper.
The finishing touch is a drop of clear tenas made with sea salt, chili pepper, and water from the Ami tribe of Taiwan.
The sauces “mix together really well when you eat them together,” Kuo said.
Food critic Jewel Tsai said the dinner was about Taiwan and its most important elements: “freedom, democracy and diversity.”
The dinner will be held in Tainan, where Lai previously served as mayor.
Senior officials scheduled to attend include former officials from the United States, Taiwan's main supporter, as well as leaders from its dwindling number of allies.
“Political symbol”
Long before Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan after the Communist Party took control of China in 1949, the island's cultural identity has been dominated by indigenous peoples and Chinese, European, and Japanese rulers for centuries. has been shaped by.
By the 1990s, as Taiwan transitioned from autocracy to democracy, residents who had been educated in a Chinese curriculum began to develop a distinct Taiwanese identity.
“Many common people were oppressed in the past, or felt that they were being oppressed. So if we can show the food of the common people, it will connect to local identity,” says a Taiwanese food historian. Chen Yuzhen told AFP.
“Taiwanese people are very confident in their food and culture…It has developed into a political symbol.”
Mr Lai's inaugural menu also includes chicken soup, common at small eateries, and the island's signature tapioca milk tea, which usually contains milk, sugar and tapioca pearls.
The yellowfin fish dish is served with a fragrant tanna herb and pepper sauce derived from traditional indigenous cooking.
Lai herself requested a sweet potato and kumquat roll from her favorite country restaurant in her hometown of Wanli in the north.
“He likes sweet food, and it really suited his taste,” said Tong Shimin, owner of Jiuzhuang Meishi restaurant, as staff prepared 1,000 rolls.
Earlier this month, Mr. Lai stopped by Mr. Tong's restaurant and signed a bottle of Taiwanese Gaoliang wine with a commemorative label of himself and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bikim.
Chef Kuo said incorporating everyday street snacks like pastries into fine dining banquets represents Taiwan's acceptance of different cultures and lifestyles.
“I think this is the most important value of democracy: it's not exclusivity.”
© 2024 AFP
