Travel to Taiwan! A Lunar New Year 2014 Edition

For many of us living in the United States, a visit to Taiwan can be as infrequent as “that time in 4th grade and all I remember was it was very hot.” A lucky number of us, however, do get to visit Taiwan more often, especially during the holidays. This past Lunar New Year, TaiwaneseAmerican.org staffers-at-large Eric Kao [Social Media Manager] and Kristina Lin [Admin Director] made it their mission to hit up iconic and “hidden gem” destinations around Taipei. They asked resident…

Taiwanese Oyster Omelette Reduxe

*This is a post-script to "Flipping Out: An Irreverent Photo Essay on Making the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette" (“Oh-ah-jen” 蚵仔煎) since people inquired about recipes As Mrs. Lin did not use a formal recipe (like all venerable grandmother chefs, she comes from the "a pinch of this" and "a handful of that" era), below are tried-and-true recipes from two tasty Taiwanese food sites: Taiwan Duck and its excellent step-by-step video on how to cook (and flip) the oyster omelette. Mrs. Duck—okay,…

Flipping Out: An Irreverent Photo Essay on Making the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette

Ah, "Oh-ah-jen" (蚵仔煎). Oyster omelette. Taiwan night market staple. Street food favorite—and rare find in the United States. McD's does not exactly have an Oyster McOmelette on the drive-thru menu. So, last Saturday, several of us made the pilgrimage out to Union Church in Astoria, Queens to take part in TAP-NY's "Cooking Series" (aka Cooking 101 with a Taiwanese "Ah Ma"). Mrs. Lin, our oyster omelette Yoda, introduced us to the main ingredients of sweet potato starch, eggs, oysters…

The Spoken Word: Say You Heard My Echo

[caption id="attachment_7562" align="aligncenter" width="630" caption="Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Adeeba Afshan Rana, YaliniDream"] [/caption] I was fortunate enough to be back in NYC to catch the opening night of Say You Heard My Echo, an evening-length spoken-word poetry theater project written by Chinese Taiwanese spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai. In lovely contrast to the vignettes and tantalizing glimpses found in traditional spoken word pieces, SYHME is a rich and immersive feature-length…

NYC Cravings, Taiwanese-Style Food from the Truck: Like Your Grandmother Cooked It

Update: NYC Cravings is now called Bian Dang! Where can one get Taiwanese-style fried chicken over rice, seasoned with a delicious home-cooked pork sauce, with tea eggs and handmade dumplings on the side? Earlier this summer, possibly the first Taiwanese-style food truck in the United States drove into town and opened for lunch at neighborhoods around New York City. The response? Long lines and lively word-of-mouth between friends and foodblogs—enough so that NYC Cravings sold out of…

Literary author Francie Lin talks about a different kind of Foreigner

Francie Lin may have never visited the Taiwanese criminal underworld or sang in a seedy karaoke bar, but she has written an acclaimed debut novel, The Foreigner, set in the hidden alleys of Taipei. Emerson Chang is a 40-year-old Taiwanese American virgin who has met his mother for dinner every Friday night for fifteen years. But after her unexpected death, long-buried secrets and family loyalty will take him on an unpredictable journey back to Taiwan—and to the rebellious younger brother lost…