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    Home » Side dishes

    Published: Dec 29, 2023 by Zen · This post may contain affiliate links.

    13 Taiwanese Side Dishes Recipes (Authentic)

    Sharing food makes everyone happy! :)

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    2 Taiwanese side dishes with text in between.

    13 authentic Taiwanese side dishes recipes that everyone will love. From Din Tai Fung copycat Cucumber Salad, Tomato with Preserved Plums, Scallion Pancake, Tian Bu La, Popcorn Chicken, San Bei Zi, Tea Eggs, Papaya Milk, Boba Milk Tea and more! (OK maybe not the Smelly Tofu!)

    Side view of 2 plates of Din Tai Fung copycat cucumber Salad.
    Jump to:
    • What is Taiwanese Food?
    • Vegetables
    • Seafood
    • Chicken
    • Others
    • Drinks
    • Desserts
    • FAQ
    • Other Side Dish Recipes
    • 💬 Comments

    What is Taiwanese Food?

    Taiwanese food is a fusion cuisine that has strong flavours: it's sweet and has lots of umami.

    It has been influenced by:

    • its aboriginal food
      • salting, slow smoking and millet are some legacies of the Taiwanese aborigines
    • Hokkien food (food from Fujian (South China), also known as Min cuisine)
      • If you like Gua Bao (Taiwanese "hamburger"), you'll love Kong Bak Bao (Pork Belly Buns), the Hokkien equivalent!
      • If you're curious about Hokkien food, try this Tau Yew Bak (Soy Sauce Braised Pork) recipe, which is a Singaporean Hokkien family favourite!
    • Hakka food
      • Common ingredients include basil, peanuts, mint, sesame and mung beans
    • Japanese cooking
      • Think mochi, pickles and seafood
      • If you have the fortune to travel to Taiwan, it has very good, inexpensive Japanese food!
    A bowl of braised pork rice with hard boiled egg and fried shallots.

    Read on for the best Taiwanese side dishes to go with your hot pot, beef noodle soup, oyster vermicelli or Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Rice.)

    Fun fact: you know about light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sweet soy sauce, but did you know that Taiwanese also have a thick soy sauce? Click through for an easy DIY recipe!

    Vegetables

    Cucumber Salad

    Side view of 2 plates of Din Tai Fung copycat cucumber Salad.

    If the copycat Din Tai Fung salad is too much work for you, here is a 5 minute, 3 ingredient cucumber salad recipe!

    Din Tai Fung inspired cucumber salad
    Whilst cucumber salad isn't unique to Taiwan, Din Tai Fung is 1 of its most famous culinary exports. This Din Tai Fung inspired cucumber salad is healthy, crunchy and refreshing. Easy to make and works well as an appetiser too.
    Click here for the Taiwanse salad recipe.
    Side view of 2 plates of Din Tai Fung copycat cucumber Salad.

    Cabbage Stew

    A platter of Taiwanese cabbage stew.

    The cabbage is huge, so leftovers can be made into easy Cabbage Soup.

    Taiwanese Cabbage Stew
    A humble dish made with simple ingredients, it's naturally sweet, crunchy and filled with umami.
    Click here for the Taiwanese cabbage recipe.
    A platter of Taiwanese cabbage stew.

    Tomato with Preserved Plums

    Close-up of Taiwanese tomatoes with Chinese preserved plum.

    This mouthwatering, tangy appetiser meets side dish was introduced to me by a Taiwanese friend when we studied together at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

    There weren't many- well actually there weren't ANY- Asian shops in town so this was 1 of the few dishes we could make!

    Ingredients

    1. 250g/ 8.8 oz Cherry tomatoes
      • Get vine ripened ones so that they'll be sweet! If not you may want to add a pinch of sugar to the recipe
    2. 10 Chinese Preserved plums (Hua Mei)
    3. Optional: ¼ Cup lime juice
      • Use calamansi lime if you can as it has a more floral bouquet
    4. Optional: 1 Tablespoon of sugar (or to taste)
    5. Optional: 3 Cups of water

    How to Make: Easy Version

    1. Make sure your Hua Mei are seedless. If not, remove the seeds, and slice into smaller pieces that can fit into a cherry tomato.
    2. Make a slit in the cherry tomato but don't cut all the way through (think of the opening of a Gua Bao Bun)
    3. Insert the plums into the cherry tomatoes and serve

    The taste of the plums go really well with the cherry tomatoes but as this is a quick version, the taste hasn't truly infused into the tomatoes yet. If you have time, make the following overnight version. (It's also very simple!)

    How to Make: Overnight Version

    1. Pour the water, plums (with seeds removed) and lime juice into a pot then bring to a boil.
    2. Simmer till the liquid is about halved, then allow to cool.
    3. Whilst the brine is simmering, remove the skins of the cherry tomatoes. You can do this easily by making a cross at the top of the tomato, quickly blanching them then chilling in ice-cold water. The skins should be ready to fall off!
      • Skinless tomatoes absorb the flavors more readily
    4. Once cooled, pour the brine and tomatoes into an air-tight container and marinate for 1-2 days, after which the tomatoes are ready to eat!
    A glass of Chinese preserved plum tea with its ingredients

    Note: if you don't know what to do with the rest of the plums, why not make Chinese Suan Mei Tang, or sour plum tea?

    Scallion Pancake

    Crispy and flaky pan fried scallion pancakes on parchment paper.

    If you've run out of spring onions, here are some readily available green onion substitutes.

    And did I mention these savory pancakes can be cooked directly from frozen?

    Taiwanese green onion pancake recipe (Cong you bing)
    Taiwanese green onion pancake (Cong you bing), also known as Chinese scallion pancake, is a delicious savoury street snack that is easy to batch make and freeze.
    Click here for the scallion pancake recipe.
    Crispy and flaky pan fried scallion pancakes on parchment paper.

    Seafood

    Tian Bu La

    Similar to Japanese oden, this is a fried fishcake which is later boiled.

    White fish have their bones removed then are mixed with eggs and potato or tapioca flour. This fish paste is directly piped into the hot oil and fried. The fried fishcakes are then simmered in a soy sauce broth.

    You'll see this in many Taiwanese street stalls. If the above sounds like too much work, you can get fried fish cake at most Asian grocery stores then cook them in broth for a quick hack!

    Chicken

    Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

    This twice-fried chicken is tossed with basil, salt and pepper, then dusted with five-spice powder.

    It comes in small bite-sized "popcorn" or as larger cutlets but, either way, is a must-have at Taiwan's infamous night markets.

    Click here for a recipe form Eatthelove.

    Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Zi)

    Literally translated into Three Cup Chicken, you do not actually use 1 Cup of soy sauce, 1 Cup of sesame oil and 1 Cup of shao xing wine for this Taiwanese recipe!

    The chicken is caramelised with ginger & garlic in a syrupy and sweet sauce, then mixed with Thai basil. This mouthwatering dish will leave you wanting more and is perfect with a bowl of white rice!

    Click here for the Pupswithchopsticks recipe.

    Taiwanese Porridge

    A bowl of chicken rice porridge with various vegetable side dishes.
    Note: the porridge in the picture above is Japanese-Brazilian and not Taiwanese, but the side dishes shown can go with Taiwanese porridge!

    If you're looking specifically for side dishes to go with Taiwanese xi fan, click here.

    Others

    Tea Eggs

    A moody side shot of a Taiwanese tea egg.
    Instant Pot Taiwanese Tea egg
    This street snack is easy to make, sweet but savory and overflowing with the aroma of tea. It can be kept for several days in the fridge and is the perfect make-ahead snack!
    Click here to learn to make Taiwanese Tea Egg in an Instant Pot.
    A moody side shot of a Taiwanese tea egg.

    Braised Eggs

    5 hard boiled eggs sitting in a soy marinade.
    Chinese Braised Eggs
    Chinese Braised Eggs is a delicious, easy make-ahead dish that can last for almost a week in the fridge! It makes for a very comforting meal, even with just a bowl of white rice or porridge. It usually needs to be marinated overnight in the fridge before it can be eaten, but I show you how to vary the recipe so it can be eaten immediately.
    Click here for the braised eggs street snack.
    Close-up of a Chinese braised egg in a wooden spoon.

    Soy Sauce Eggs

    A photo of 1 whole and 1-halved braised egg.
    2 ingredient Eggs
    These perfectly cooked egg yolks with smooth whites are fragrant with the aroma of the master stock- you can use the leftover sauce from my soy sauce chicken recipe as the master stock to braise the eggs!
    Click here for the Egg recipe from Pressurecookrecipes.
    A photo of 1 whole and 1-halved braised egg.

    Iron eggs (Tie Dan)

    If you love eggs, you can't miss out on Iron Eggs, a Taiwanese street snack usually made with quail eggs. It needs to be boiled many times to get the signature rubbery and "QQ" mouthfeel, so it's probably easier to buy it than make it!

    Click here for a HongKongCookery recipe.

    These 3 recipes were used to semi-preserve eggs- they keep for several days in the marinade in the fridge. If you're interested in Chinese egg preservation, click here for a salted egg recipe.

    Smelly Tofu

    Also known as chou dou fu, this is a love-it-or-hate-it dish.

    Some think it smells like garbage and other's can't live without it. Either way, you'll definitely smell it before you see it at these Taiwanese street markets!

    Click here for a Yumofchina recipe.

    Drinks

    Papaya milk

    A mug of papaya blended with milk

    Beloved by Taiwanese women for its supposed bosom augmentation properties!

    Papaya Milk (Taiwanese drink)
    This old school street drink is a 2 (or 3) ingredient, 2-step, 3 minute recipe- literally 1 of the easiest Asian drinks you can make!
    Click here for this popular Taiwanese fruit drink.
    A glass of Taiwanese papaya milk

    Boba Milk Tea

    2 glasses of homemade Taiwanese tiger milk tea with brown sugar streaks on the glass.

    And how could I forget Taiwan's national drink, bubble tea?!

    Best sweetened with this brown syrup recipe. (Pair it with brown sugar tapioca pearls and milk to make Tiger Tea.)

    Tiger Milk Tea
    Tiger Milk Tea Boba, also known as Brown Sugar Bubble Tea, is a super popular beverage in many Asian countries thanks to its creamy, deep toffee-like flavor. Like most bubble tea recipes, it's not difficult to recreate at home- cheaper too! Plus, it's done in under 20 minutes and requires only 3 ingredients!
    Click here for the Taiwanese bubble tea recipe.
    2 glasses of milk tea with brown streaks on the walls of the glasses.

    Desserts

    Finish the meal with some Pineapple Cake (Sunny Hills does a great version), Aiyu Jelly or Bao Bing, a refreshing Taiwanese shaved ice dessert.

    FAQ

    What are some of the most popular Taiwanese dishes?

    Although not a dish per se, the most famous Taiwanese food is probably bubble tea, or milk tea with boba. For foods that one eats, famous Taiwanese dishes include Smelly Tofu, Gua Bao (Pork belly "burgers"), oyster omelette, beef noodles (toted as the National Dish), minced pork rice and more!

    What are some must-try Taiwanese fruits?

    Because of the subtropical climate, there are many fruits that grow in Taiwan, from bananas to strawberries. In fact, it's even the world's largest supplier of custard apples! That's why you see fruits in so many Taiwanese foods, such as papaya milk.

    Other Side Dish Recipes

    • Crispy and flaky pan fried scallion pancakes on parchment paper.
      25 Sides to Serve with Peking Duck
    • A bowl of boiled edamame beans.
      31 Japanese Side Dishes For Sushi
    • A bowl of rice porridge with 5 side dishes.
      24 Best Chinese Congee side dishes
    • Close-up of cut cucumbers drizzled with a spicy Korean sauce.
      28 Best Korean Side Dishes for Bossam

    If you've found this list of Taiwanese side dishes useful, please do share it on your social media! Alternatively, if I've missed out on your favourite Taiwanese dish, let me know in the comments!

    I have other recipes you may like here! :)

    • 6 Korean Chicken lettuce wraps on a white plate.
      Korean Chicken Lettuce Wraps (30 min)
    • Side shot of Chinese steamed salmon fish in a soy based sauce with spring onions.
      Chinese Steamed Salmon (25 min)
    • A bowl of garlic and chilli mixed with calamansi lime and soy sauce .
      Toyomansi Sauce (Calamansi Soy Sauce)
    • Teriyaki chicken wings and Japanese salad on a white plate.
      Teriyaki Wings (Stovetop, No Cornstarch)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shu-Chun says

      August 13, 2022 at 5:40 am

      This is a wonderful Taiwanese food round-up.
      Mouth watering already...

      Reply
      • Zen says

        August 13, 2022 at 12:29 pm

        Hi Shu-Chun so glad you enjoyed it! Are you from Taiwan? 🙂

        Reply
    2. Fern says

      July 19, 2022 at 7:58 am

      I had those tomatoes at a restaurant And always wanted to make them!! Thanks for the recipe

      Reply
      • Zen says

        July 19, 2022 at 1:31 pm

        Great to hear Fern, hope they taste the same as u remember (or even better!)

        Reply

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    Greedygirlgourmet eating 2 sandwiches in Scotland

    Hi I'm Zhen also known as GGG! I couldn't boil water till I was 18! However, I love creating community and nurturing people, so when I lived abroad (in St. Andrews then London) for 11 years, I started hosting regular parties for friends, and that's how I started cooking and helping out in professional kitchens. (Couldn't cook before that!) I even organised a supper club for charity (which strangers came to!) Learning to cook late, I make sure my recipes go into enough detail for those new to Asian cuisine or who love a test kitchen approach to cooking!

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