Delights – Night Markets (夜市）

Night markets are the heart of social life in Taiwan. Why go clubbing or bar hopping when you can go to a night market for both people watching and snacking on inexpensive street food until you just can’t anymore. They are completely casual where all social classes rub shoulders with one another. They all share a common theme, they must be “renao (熱鬧)” or else they are really just places to get street food. Renao means an atmosphere that is at once lively, noisy and crowded (imagine that in the time of Covid). Every city and town will have at least one if not many as in Taipei and Kaohsiung, where each neighborhood has their only night market.

Not only will there be so much street food, but there are also many homemade carnival games, crafts for kids and cheap knock-off clothing and electronics to be had as well.

What is the best way to present night markets? It’s impossible to be comprehensive as any given night market may have 50+ or 100+ stalls, but doing just the top 10 foods seems to miss out on the wonderful variations and local specialties there are, so here’s a hybrid of top foods plus unique finds. These are not in any specific order, just what popped into my head. Also, definitely not based on any market research!

Top Night Market Must Eats

Oyster Omelette (蚵仔煎)– griddled oysters in a sweet potato flour batter along with egg and crunchy green lettuce-like vegetable smothered in the house-made sweet sauce. The difference between good and great is the freshness/juiciness of the oysters, the slightly fried edges of the pancake and the balance of the sweet and savory of the sauce. Looks hideous but so very Taiwanese.

Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐) – I covered stinky tofu in another blog but it is a night market staple. When done right, it has a continuous line waiting for the stinky goodness, so this is a case where the queue does signal quality stink. You cannot miss it because you will smell it before you even see it.

Black Pepper Buns (胡椒餅)– Tandoor-baked buns with sesame seed exterior over-stuffed with green scallions and heavily seasoned black pepper pork. The buns are cooked on the interior wall of the tandoor oven, heated by wood charcoal. The pronounced black pepper flavor, scallions and five spice give this bun quite a punch. The hot juices will also scorch your mouth if you bite into one straight from the oven. There will usually be a queue of folks eager to get one straight from the oven.

Big Sausage Wrapped Around Small Sausage (大腸包小腸) – This is a grilled glutinous rice sausage acting as the bun for a juicy grilled housemade Chinese sausage topped with multiple flavored toppings. The best night market stalls make their own sausage that provide beautiful snap and deep sausage flavors. Perfect night market portable meal. The selection of sauces and toppings can be intimidating, but stick with the basics and throw on some garlic slices and it will be amazing.

Fried Chicken Steak (雞排) and Other Fried Foods on a Stick

Fried chicken steak is a massive piece of fried boneless chicken that has been marinated in house special sauces and then fried with a light, crispy batter that is then seasoned with a combination of stall-specific spice mixes. This whole category of fried foods takes the American fried chicken to another level, by far tastier and juicier than the American original, according to my daughter, the food connoisseur. Of course, this wouldn’t be street food if it wasn’t either on a stick or can be eaten with a stick.

Steamed Fried Buns (生煎包) and Dumplings (鍋貼) – These fluffy and crispy buns containing vegetables and pork hail from China via northern Chinese who immigrated to Taiwan post-World War II. They are pan fried and steamed at the same time in a giant covered griddle. The key is a generous amount of water that is poured in during the cooking process to steam the buns under cover. This makes the dough fluffy and chewy at the same time. Once the water evaporates, the griddle crisps the bottom of the buns to give it that crunch. Our resident food connoisseur is very particular about the filling, requiring the perfect combination of correctly diced cabbage and seasoned meats. There is an equivalent dumpling version made oblong with thinner dumpling skin but cooked in a similar manner and just as tasty.

Grilled Cuttlefish (烤墨魚) and Grilled Octopus (烤章魚) – As with many food traditions in Taiwan, grilled cuttlefish likely developed from the era of Japanese occupation as it has a light teriyaki-like sauce brushed on it during the grilling process. One hopes the vendor grills these cephalopods well as one can encounter perfection or chewiness. Again food delivered on a stick is great portable food.

Scallion Pancakes (蔥油餅) – Scallion pancakes alone come in numerous formats of crispy, oily, savory goodness. I could have devoted a whole blog to them but they are a night market staple. There’s the giant pancakes either stuffed or sprinkled with green onions. There’s the flaky version (抓餅) (not pictured yet) that gets fluffed to expose its multiple layers, which is my favorite. There’s also the kind that’s stuffed and rolled into thick pancakes. Then there are those that uses scallion pancakes as the wrapper for a roll stuffed with braised beef, roast duck or pork. The options seem endless with this flatbread.

Sweet Potato Puffs (地瓜球) – The sweet potato balls are a recent addition to the night market scene and they are addictive. Sweet potato flour dough is thrown into oil until they puff up into light, airy balls. So simple and cheap, they make the perfect closing dessert snack that too can be eaten on a stick.