Food brings people together, and the eating and exchange of food define
social groups. The family is identified as people who eat together, and
dinner is a secular ritual that reinforces family relationships. Sharing
food in the home signifies equality, and people of higher rank are never
invited to dine in one's home. Larger groups of kin, neighbors, and
temple members come together less frequently to share meals and reinforce
their social connections.
- Taiwan is a country of fish eaters. There favorite dishes are black bean sauce, prawns wrapped in seaweed, abalone, cucumber crab rolls,
and clam and winter melon soup.
- Fruit drinks
are prepared in special beverage shops.
- Small restaurants display fresh produce on
the street so that customers can choose their evening meal.
Taiwan is famous for tea, especially the lightly roasted oolong tea.
Teahouses exist in almost every town, and most households have a tea cart
to serve guests. Tea is brewed in a small pot and served in one-ounce
cups. It is considered stimulating, conducive to conversation, and
beneficial to health.
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions
Food is served as offerings to gods, ancestors, and ghosts. A cup of tea
or wine is placed on the family altar for the ancestors and gods, along
with incense. More elaborate offerings are made on special days, including
New Year's, gods' birthdays, and the Ghost Festival. Food
offerings to ancestors are made in the form of a family dinner with
seasoned dishes and rice. The altar table is set with chopsticks, bowls,
soup spoons, soy sauce, vinegar, and condiments. The gods are offered
cooked but not seasoned or sliced meats. Ghosts are offered cooked meals,
but outside the house, where one would feed beggars.
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