New Taipei restaurant reinvents Taiwan’s beloved snacks

New Taipei restaurant reinvents Taiwan’s beloved snacks

2024-02-05

Now for a trip to New Taipei, where a couple are reinventing some of Taiwan’s beloved snacks. Have you ever had rice noodles with squid and prawns? How about noodles with braised pork belly? These restauranteurs got into the business in the second half of life, and brought lots of creativity into their unique menu.

Crispy fish crackers sit neatly in a row. This “surf and turf noodles” features rice noodles soaking up bone broth. It’s packed with large intestines, fresh oysters and young squid. The chewy squid are a perfect foil to the silky noodles.

Squid and shrimps go in the pot and simmer on low so as not to overcook.

The bone broth is seasoned with katsuobushi. The chef adds stew, intestines, oysters, shrimps and squid with ease. The fish crackers are the finishing touch, giving a slight crunch.

Chang Hsiang-chi
Restauranteur
The squid come from Kanzaiding in Keelung. The seafood all has to marinate fully so you can taste its fresh, delicious flavors, without getting overcooked.

These noodles feature Japanese style braised pork belly. The chef has combined rice noodles with elements of Japanese ramen. There’s even a soft-boiled egg on top.

This stinky tofu has been deep-fried twice, first on high to set its shape, then again to get it crispy. It’s crackly on the outside and tender on the inside.

Chang Hsiang-chi
Restauranteur
I used to work in trade. My husband made perfume. When we jumped into this business, people wondered how we could go from perfume to stink. My husband was seriously injured and couldn’t really go back to his old working life, so that’s why we decided to get into snacks.

The couple once worked in trade and perfume, but had a major life transition after 50. Now they’re experts in rice noodles, stinky tofu, and the art of running a small business.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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麵線加入整尾小卷添海味! 放上日式叉燒玩創意

2024-02-05

國民小吃麵線也玩創意，新北市有小吃店，麵線加入整尾小卷、蝦仁增添海味，另外，麵線裡還吃的到日式叉燒，味道如何一起去品嚐。

酥脆的魚酥排排站，這是海陸麵線，吸飽大骨湯的麵線，除了大腸、鮮蚵，還有整尾小卷，彈牙小卷和綿密麵線，一口品嘗到兩種口感。

小卷、蝦仁，放進鍋裡泡，不大火滾煮，免得肉質太老。

大骨湯、柴魚熬煮的麵線，老闆熟練的放進肉羹、大腸、鮮蚵、蝦仁、小卷。最後用魚酥劃下句點，增添酥脆口感。

[[業者張湘綺]]
“小卷都是從基隆的崁仔頂那邊過來的，海鮮類的東西，都是要用泡熟的方式，就吃得到它的鮮美，然後也不會過老”

麵線怎麼放上日式叉燒，原來老闆把日本拉麵的元素，結合麵線，還點綴溏心蛋，才算大功告成。

再品嘗臭豆腐，得經過兩次油炸，先高溫定型、再炸酥，吃來外脆內嫩。

[[業者張湘綺]]
“我本來是在貿易公司，先生是做香氛的，其實那時候跳到這邊來，都覺得說我們怎麼從香的部分，跳到臭的部分來，先生受了很嚴重的傷，那要回到原來的那個工作的狀態，其實不太可能，所以才會選擇說做小吃的部分”

原本做貿易和香氛的老闆夫婦，在50歲後人生轉彎，賣起麵線、臭豆腐，一圓創業夢想。

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