Taiwanese home cooking

Taro and Purple sticky rice


1 cup sticky rice, and 0.75 cup water

1 cup black or purple rice, and 1.5 cup water

1 tablespoon cooking oil


5 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar


4 tablespoons cooking oil or black sesame oil

A small chunk of ginger, sliced


12 small shiitake mushrooms, sliced


2 cups cooked taro, chopped 1cm square

½ cup soup stock

Coriander, chopped for garnishing

Iron Plate Toban Tofu and eggplant

Cooking ingredients

Cooking oil, 3 tablespoons

Hard tofu, about 270g, cut into triangular shapes

Eggplant 100g, sliced 0.5 cm thick

2-3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced 0.5 cm thick

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

Toban paste, 1 tablespoon

1 tablespoon sugar

½ cup water

A small bunch of basil

Taiwanese sweet and sour pickled ginger recipe:


1000g young ginger

4 teaspoons salt

400ml rice vinegar

200g crystal sugar


What is young ginger?

There are several things to look for to identify young ginger:

1. The color is pale, not dark like aged ginger.

2. The texture is tender, not strong like older ginger.

3. Young ginger is less than 30 days old. Aged ginger is from 3 months to 2 years old.

Taiwanese sweet and sour pickled ginger

During Taiwan’s hot and humid summer, it’s very common to see Taiwanese people add a few pieces of pickled ginger to their food. In this season, Taiwanese people believe that pickled ginger is appetizing, and it’s also good for the stomach if your stomach tends to feel bloated.

I learned how to make sweet and sour picked ginger from a very experienced Taiwanese chef. She said there’s no exact recipe – the amount of sugar and rice vinegar you add is up to you, so how sweet or acid you want it depends on your taste. Some people like it sweeter; Some prefer to add more vinegar.

Iron Plate Sweet and Sour Tofu

Sweet and sour sauce ingredients

4 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon
Freshly chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon


Cooking ingredients

Cooking oil, 3 tablespoons
Hard tofu about 270g, cut into triangular shapes
Mushrooms about 50g, 0.5cm, sliced
Bell pepper about 50g, 1cm sliced
Green onion, chopped


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