A Taste of Taiwan: TikTok’s Tiffy Chen Shares Her Fave Childhood Taiwanese Dishes

Vancouverite Tiffy Chen gained TikTok fame by reverse engineering her favourite childhood dishes from Taiwanese street vendors—and now, with her new book Tiffy Cooks, we get to reap the rewards and taste this fresh take on her most memorable meals here in our home kitchens. Even if you’ve never been to Taiwan, her dishes are designed to take you there.

1. Traditional Taiwanese Chow Mein (Gu Zao Wei Chao Mian)

If you were to ask my dad which of all the dishes my mom makes is his favourite, he would say Taiwanese chow mein. This recipe has been perfected and passed down from my grandma. It has the perfect combination of salty and slightly sweet and uses simple pantry condiments for the sauce. My mom made it all the time when we first immigrated to Canada because of how accessible all the ingredients were. Don’t leave out the fried shallots—they make this dish truly special.

2. Fried Shallots

An essential in Taiwanese cooking. Make a batch and store for up to a month.

3. Garlic Enoki Mushrooms (Suan Rong Nen Zheng Jinzhengu)

When you go to beer houses in Taiwan, one of the most popular dishes is garlic enoki mushrooms wrapped in foil. Super-soft enoki mushrooms are great at soaking up the spicy, garlicky sauce. This is one of those dishes that is so easy to make. Wrap everything up in foil or parchment paper and pop it in the oven—that’s it! This pairs perfectly with a bowl of rice, or you can enjoy it on its own.

4. Braised Five-Spice Beef (Hongshao Wuxiang Niurou)

This is my grandma’s secret recipe, which she perfected over decades. It may seem intimidating, but it’s seriously so easy to make! It tastes great with rice or noodles, and you can even enjoy it cold. Braised five-spice beef is a very popular appetizer at Taiwan street vendor stalls, and I’m here to bring it straight to your dining table.

Excerpted from Tiffy Cooks by Tiffy Chen.  Copyright © 2024 Tiffy Chen. Photography and illustrations by Vanessa Wong. Published by  Penguin, an imprint of  Penguin Canada, a  division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher.  All rights reserved.