TAIPEI – Like many people in Taiwan, Allen Hsueh has a new zeal for pineapple.
The 38-year-old chef presented at least a dozen new recipes for his restaurant in Kaohsiung, called Pomme de Terre, including pineapple wrapped in pork with mozzarella cheese, seafood curry with pineapple and spiced chicken breast and salad pineapple. The 20 places for a special five-course meal inspired by pineapple, scheduled for the end of this month, sold out in one day.
The key to eating a lot of fruit is variety, said Hsueh. “You will be bored if you keep eating pineapple every day.”
It is not just an act of culinary bravery. Currently, pineapple consumption is seen as an act of patriotism. Taiwanese residents have been devouring the fruit since China – by far the largest foreign buyer on the island – banned imports of its pineapples as of March 1, citing dangerous pests detected in recent shipments.
The government of Taiwan – a democratically governed island that Beijing considers part of China – has denied any infestation, saying that 99.79% of its pineapples imported into China last year passed the inspection. Instead, he launched a challenge to the island’s 24 million citizens, as well as his friends abroad, to snap up “freedom pineapples” as a protest and said he would support pineapple prices. The voracious answer is now raising questions about whether there are too many good fruits.