A Frenchman on an Asian film set
Ku has visited the night market voted “the worst in Taiwan” and still found unique charm in it. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he even set up his own night-market stall in his home and invited foreign friends to come and check it out, which gives an idea of his love for night markets as well as his creativity. Recently he held a competition involving two teams of French high-school students who were required to make their own stinky tofu and wheel cakes (round Taiwanese pastries with fillings) and sell them in a night market. He hoped this would give them a feel for Taiwanese culture and the kindness of the island’s people.
When his French high-schoolers first set foot in the streets of Taiwan, they declared excitedly: “It feels like being on the set of Asian movies we’ve seen.” This sense of novelty reminded Ku of his own arrival in Taiwan. He says that in France utility cables are all buried underground and streets are laid out in a relatively uniform manner with few shop signs sticking out. Thus when he first saw the crisscrossing wires, forest of telephone poles, wildly colorful signs, and wide variety of street vendors in Taiwan, he found the scene to be powerfully exotic and charged with energy.
Ordinary to you, incredible to me
In exploring night markets, Ku has discovered many things that Taiwanese take for granted but which he has found to be “incredible.” When he first arrived in Taiwan, the odor of stinky tofu made a deep impression on him, and for a few months he even thought it was the smell of vomit. Now he loves its unique flavor, and has made a video in which he travels all around Taiwan to try local stinky tofu. Today, when foreign friends come to Taiwan, he never fails to introduce them to this Taiwanese delicacy.
Besides stinky tofu, Ku also loves the beefsteak sold in night markets. Although there is also steak in France, it is very different from that sold in Taiwan’s night markets. In Taiwan, when the steak is brought to the table the server patiently waits for the customer to put on a paper napkin to protect against hot oil splattering from the heated cast iron plate on which the steak is served, then removes the cover from the plate and offers the diner the sizzling, steaming steak. Ku feels that this multisensory meal, engaging sight, hearing, smell, and taste, evokes a sense of ritual.
Ku suggests that Taiwanese cuisine makes good use of texture to make foods more interesting. For example, soft pig’s trotters contrast with crisp vegetables, enriching the taste experience. He is even more enchanted by the intertwined cold and hot mouthfeel of “ice and fire” tangyuan (glutinous rice balls with sweet fillings), in which the hot tangyuan are served with shaved ice.
Ku is also a keen observer of the differences between Taiwanese and French culture. In France, people usually sit down and savor their meals at their leisure. But in Taiwan’s night markets, it’s normal to eat while walking. Although Ku still prefers dining in the traditional manner, he invariably introduces his visiting friends to the pleasures of the impulsive night-market experience in which they buy whatever takes their fancy and eat it as they walk along, enjoying the unique spontaneity of these venues.
When asked what he would sell if he were in a night-market stand competition, Ku replies without hesitation, “Crêpes!” He notes that the crêpes eaten in Taiwan are not in the least “French style,” so he would use the opportunity to show people the authentic flavor of French crêpes. As far as Ku is concerned, night markets are not only palaces of delicious food, they offer a banquet for all five senses. The rich, diverse experiences they provide make them places where the most intriguing “Taiwan sensibility” can be found.
Ku has observed that in Taiwanese cuisine, texture is used to make food more interesting. For example, he is entranced by the complex flavors of “ice and fire” tangyuan, which are served hot with shaved ice.
Pedestrians strolling slowly through, the wok hei (heat, steam, and fragrance given off by a wok) of stir-fried food over a large flame, and vendors preserving traditional flavors at their small stands—these are all part of the charm of night markets.
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