Artisan Siraw and Coffee:

Preserving Amis food traditions

Tiyansu’s decision to return to Kaadaadaan was also fueled by his abiding interest in Amis culture. Pursuing a career in the indigenous village enables him to delve more deeply into the culture of his people. In addition to growing organic rice, he has learned to make traditional siraw from his grandmother. A preserved pork dainty that plays a vital role in Amis cuisine, siraw lends itself to many variations, with each family taking pride in its own special recipe.

Siraw recipes also show regional differences. “The Amis in places like Chishang, Guanshan, and Luye in the Huadong Valley are a bit special. After fermenting the pork twice, they put in cooked rice or cooked glutinous rice,” Tiyansu explains. The combination of gelatinized rice and the enzymes in the meat promotes the growth of lactic acid bacteria, making the siraw taste slightly sour, like Iberian ham.

Tiyansu Pawtawan has given traditional Amis siraw cuisine an exquisite texture reminiscent of authentic Japanese sushi.

Reinventing siraw

Having cooked his homegrown rice, Tiyansu squeezes it into a wooden sushi mold to shape the rice into chunky blocks. He then cuts siraw meat into slices about one millimeter thick, lays these on the blocks of rice, and gently sears the pork with a blowtorch. A fusion of Amis siraw and Japanese hand-pressed sushi (nigirizushi), this is Hezuo Friendly Crops’ creative offering at the Slow Food Festival.

Not only has Tiyansu’s inventiveness dazzled village elders, but he has exhibited his creations at the 2024 edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Italy as well, bringing Amis food culture to the attention of the wider world. Also this year, Hezuo Friendly Crops won the approval of Xu Zhong, a high-profile epicure, and was included in the “500 Dishes” and “Taitung 100 Bowls” lists—the first local food reviews to be conducted from distinctively Taiwanese perspectives.

Tiyansu Pawtawan learned to make siraw from his grandmother. He tells us that recipes for siraw differ from family to family. There are regional differences as well. For example, people in Chishang, Guanshan, and Luye in the Huadong Valley add cooked rice for fermentation, while on the East Coast rice wine lees are used.

New inspirations

It was thanks to the government’s Farm-to-Table Program that Tiyansu became acquainted with the slow food movement. His involvement in this initiative set in motion a series of discoveries that have had a profound impact on his career. While serving as a local tour guide, for example, he discovered that the Japanese used to cultivate coffee in Kaadaadaan. This inspired him to acquire a brewing kit to make coffee for tourists. When the Slow Food Festival launched the theme of “Invigoration,” he got to know many local coffee shop owners, with whom he sometimes meets up to discuss coffee. Tiyansu has also learned to roast coffee. For him, coffee-related work is the most enjoyable thing to do these days. Standing behind the bar, he tells us that Kaadaadaan Coffee is produced in a low-elevation environment, so the beans have a soft and crunchy texture; when roasted, they have a flavor with notes of walnut. Tiyansu is eloquent about coffee, looking happy and self-­assured while sharing his knowledge with us.

Just as Tiyansu has transformed traditional Amis siraw into an exquisite delicacy comparable to authentic Japanese sushi, so his coffee business, having achieved ISO 14067 product carbon footprint verification, is the first zero-­carbon local coffee shop in Taiwan. These successes were made possible by the Slow Food Festival, which has given him access to inspiring insights and new learning opportunities.

Hezuo Friendly Crops is Taitung’s first zero-carbon coffee shop.

Talking about food

When we ask Tiyansu how exactly Amis culinary culture can be related to the slow food movement, he tells us: “I think slow food’s emphasis on ‘good, clean, and fair’ is actually akin to the philosophy that underlies indigenous cuisine.” When Amis people throw a party, they always bring out their best-loved foods. A typical feast would include fresh vegetables, steamed glutinous rice, and precious siraw prepared with fermented fresh pork, all laid out on woven bamboo trays. These dishes resonate with the principles of “good” and “clean” espoused by the slow food movement. Moreover, Amis farming life hinges on the satisfaction of mutual needs through exchanges of labor, which further involve the transfer of skills and knowledge. This is directly relevant to the concept of “fairness.”

Tiyansu is a terrific storyteller when it comes to Amis subjects. Again, the Slow Food Festival has helped sharpen his eloquence. “I share these stories with my customers. For me, to serve food is actually to talk about food, to give verbal expression to Amis culture so that more people can appreciate it.”

Tiyansu Pawtawan insists on using organic farming methods. He says that food is interlocked with the environment and the earth, as well as being closely intertwined with our daily lives.