TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Taiwan’s classic beef noodle soup has a bittersweet touch.
Taipei chef Hung Ching Lung created a pineapple noodle soup at his namesake restaurant, Chef Hung, in what he says is a modest attempt to support Taiwanese pineapple farmers.
The prickly fruit became a politically charged symbol after China banned the import of pineapples from Taiwan on March 1, citing plagues. In response, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen launched a social media challenge called “Eat Taiwan’s pineapples until they pop”, calling on people to support the island’s farmers.
The campaign started a media frenzy over pineapple as Taiwanese politicians sought to demonstrate their support for farmers and also for Taiwanese agriculture. Politicians from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Nationalist Party went to the farms to post pictures with pineapples.
Restaurants like Hung ran to make pineapple-infused dishes. Shrimp dumplings with pineapple, pineapple salad with betel nut and classics like fried rice with pineapple are just some of the dishes served by restaurants and hotels on the island.
Hung said he and his team spent three days testing ways to incorporate pineapple into beef noodles. It took about 10 attempts.
“The first time we tested it when we cooked it in the soup, it was very sweet, it was not edible and it tasted completely like pineapple,” he said. The successful attempt was based on separating the juice from the fruit during cooking, which removed the sweetness that would otherwise dominate the flavor of the meat.
China denies that its move to ban Taiwanese pineapple was politically motivated, with a spokesman for the Beijing Office of Taiwan Affairs saying the decision was “a normal and entirely reasonable and necessary biosecurity measure”. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has classified the measure as “going against rules-based free and fair trade”.
China recently leveraged its huge market in a trade war with Australia. He halted or reduced imports of beef, coal, barley, seafood, sugar and timber from Australia after that country supported calls for an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, which is believed to have started in China at the end 2019.
Despite the commotion, the pineapple ban may not have a drastic impact on Taiwanese farmers.
The day after the ban was enacted, Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang told local media that the amount purchased by companies and nationals exceeded the amount that would have been sold to China. The government has also promised subsidies worth 1 billion new Taiwanese dollars ($ 35 million) to help farmers.
The government said it also received orders from Japan, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and countries in the Middle East.
Each year, Taiwan produces about 420,000 metric tons of pineapple, 90% of which is sold on the island itself, according to the Agriculture Council. About 10% of this annual production is sold abroad, and China accounts for the vast majority of these purchases.
It is not clear whether the recent increase in orders from domestic and foreign countries will offset China’s long-term ban.
But in the short term, it has drawn patriotic sentiments from some local residents.
“We are all trying to find a way to help farmers,” said Alice Tsai, who stopped at Hung’s restaurant on Wednesday to try pasta that she said was surprisingly tasty.
“The other day I went to the supermarket and found that all the pineapples were exhausted and I felt very moved,” she said. “Everyone has this feeling of solidarity.”
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Associated Press journalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report.