(gentle smooth music) - Everywhere you look around the small lush island of Taiwan, you see something delicious.

(inspirational music) (bright pleasant music) Half a day's journey from Taipei, I've come to Xiluo, a sleepy town in Yunlin County, known primarily for its soy sauce.

That's where Hsieh Yi-Chena, who goes by Ozzy and his brother, Ee-jah, returned after they put in their time in the city.

They now spend long hot days in a soy sauce factory that doubles as their home, producing Taiwanese black bean soy sauce in a traditional way.

(beans clattering) - With direct fire we believe the flavor is way much better.

- Mm, more concentrated.

- Yes.

(calm music) - This is so fragrant.

Almost smells like sake.

- Yeah.

- Because I guess the same kind of like... - Yeah.

The fermentation process.

- Process of the fermentation.

- Yes.

(calm music) - Why do you use black bean instead of yellow bean?

- It's a tradition that passed down from my grandfather.

It's, we have been using black bean for three generations, so we just keep using it.

Right now, we are mixing the toasted rice bran with koji all together.

Koji is kind of like an enzyme bacteria, which helps the black beans to ferment.

And the Koji itself break down the protein from black beans and then into amino acids.

And that is the, that's where the umami comes from.

(calm music) We just spread on the beans on the plate.

You make like a circle, like you are having tai chi.

(chuckles) - That's what your actions reminded me of.

- Yeah?

- Tai chi.

- While we spread all the beans, it need to be thinner in the center.

- Mm-hmm.

- Because the temperature's higher in the center.

Okay.

- Okay.

Ready?

- Yes.

(beans rustling) Okay.

It's right now mixed evenly.

- Ah, yes.

- Right?

- Very much so.

- Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

(beans clattering) Koji.

(whimsical music) (whimsical music) So before we finish the whole process, we will cover out with the six sea salts to protect the beans underneath.

- It's really a family operation.

- Yes.

- There's your dad.

- Yes.

- He is in such, he's so fit.

Look at him.

chuckles) - For the Taiwanese black soybean sauce, we need to ferment under the sunlight for at least six months, and some of them even more than one year.

- So in one terracotta urn... - Yes.

- You make different types of soy sauces?

- Yes.

We basically, we can layer up into three parts.

The upper parts, we take out to make more saltier, savory soy sauce.

And the middle part we use for the light soy sauce.

And because we just let it sit under the sun, we don't stir it.

Unlike the Japanese green beans, Japanese soy sauce, they constantly stir it.

And inside the house, we in the barrel or in the vaut.

But here we use the terracotta and we let it set.

I really like to walk around here sometimes because if it's not too hot, then you can feel the vibe here because it's all alive.

- Yes.

- Yes.

- And you have little love letters written.

- Yes.

- To... On each of these urns.

- Yes.

- It's as a little black bean I love you.

- Yes.

(calm music) We are raised by the soy sauce.

So you will have some kind of a connection with our soy sauce and it start with our grandfathers.

Yeah.

- Well, I guess with every new generation there comes change.

- Yes.

- I mean, what have you introduced to the soy sauce that is different from, you know, your father and your grandfather's generation?

- We incorporate local ingredients and we also tell people how to use it.

And the main goal is to get customer to find their, the soy that they love.

And our main goal is to promote Taiwanese soy sauce and let the world know and let them know the culture of the soy sauce behind it.

- When you guys were younger, did you have such a variety of soy sauce?

- No.

- No?

- No.

- This is all, this is part of your innovation, then.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We have a very important mission is that all the innovation is based on the traditions.

- Ozzy has developed books of recipes made with Yu Ding Xing soy sauce.

So I ended my visit to the soy sauce factory on a sweet note with their unique take on creme brulee, which develops a salty, umami rich kick, given the artisanal soy sauce.

Why is it so important to preserve this tradition?

- If we don't preserve, the flavor is disappearing.

And I'm not able to taste the good stuff that I would like to taste.

(calm music) (exciting music) - Now I am heading to Luoshan, an isolated mountain village on the east coast of Taiwan for a unique local version of another Chinese staple, tofu.

The Yih-Chena's family has resided in this remote village with a population of just 200 for more than three generations.

Mr. Lin makes his robust entirely natural tofu with volcanic mud that he carries back from a local spring.

I had to see for myself.

And the tofu master was kind enough to share his process with me from start to finish.

My reward, in addition to some delicious tofu, was an unexpected workout as I learned traditional methods of grinding soybeans and pressing the finished cakes.

This is what you used to grind the soybeans with?

- Yes.

- Traditionally, before there was electricity.

(speaks in foreign language) - You used a stone grinder.

(speaks in foreign language) - Okay.

- Ah!

He has soybeans here that he grew on the property and soaked in water overnight.

And we're ready to grind it for the tofu.

(exciting music) (speaks in foreign language) - Uh-huh.

(speaks in foreign language) - Okay?

- Okay.

- Ah!

(speaks in foreign language) - More faster.

- Faster.

- Yeah.

(speaks in foreign language) - Yeah, once you got it down, it's pretty easy.

Kind of a rocking back and forth motion.

(happy music) (speaks in foreign language) - Ooh!

(milk swooshing) (milk dripping) (happy music) - So this is all the fresh soy milk that we just ground and I'm putting it into this big wok.

We're gonna cook this to 100 degrees Celsius.

(oven clicking) Because this soy milk is so high in protein, you have to keep stirring it or else it'll stick together.

So we're gonna do this for about five to eight minutes.

(whimsical music) Coaxing out all the deliciousness, the richness, the nuttiness.

(whimsical music) (whimsical music) So these are the soy curds.

(speaks in foreign language) - That he uses to make a specialty pastry.

So he's gonna use this soy curd to make waffles and muffins.

(chopsticks tapping) (milk whooshing) Now that we've strained the soy milk, we're gonna reheat it to make the tofu.

That is crazy.

(speaks in foreign language) - Because the volcanic mud water is a natural coagulant.

So, see what happens immediately?

This will just coagulate and turn into tofu.

(speaks in foreign language) - It only takes three minutes to cook this.

(speaks in foreign language) - Okay?

- Oh, that's tofu brains.

(speaks in foreign language) - Yeah.

- Clean.

- Clean water.

Uh-huh.

- Yes.

Finished.

- Finished.

Now we're gonna press this into tofu.

(cheerful guitar music) - Okay.

Okay.

- Mm-hmm.

(speaks in foreign language) (liquid flushing) (cheerful music) - Use your body weight.

(speaks in foreign language) (lips smacking) (both laugh) (speaks in foreign language) - Okay.

Tofu.

(cheerful music) - Masterpiece.

(cheerful music) Waffles with bean curd that we pressed, and oolong and black tea.

With the jam.

I'm gonna try it with some citrus chili jam.

(cheerful music) (both laugh) (cheerful music) It's so chewy.

The batter is so moist.

But yet, it's crunchy on the outside and really soft and chewy and moist and delicious on the inside.

Perfect waffle batter.

Who would've thought?

I would've never have thought that you could use, you know, the remnants of the pressing to make these delicious waffles.

I'm gonna taste it unadulterated without any sugar or salt.

Wow!

(speaks in foreign language) - It's so rich.

(speaks in foreign language) - I've never tasted tofu with this type of texture before.

It's not silken and smooth, the way that you usually find tofu.

- Mm.

- But it has excellent texture and chewiness.

(speaks in foreign language) - Okay?

- Just a drop.

This is the greatest palette.

It's a blank palette for whatever flavors you wanna bring to it.

- Mm.

- Soy sauce.

Just one drop of that soy paste makes it a totally different experience.

Now we're gonna try it with hot sauce.

(Lin speaks in foreign language) - Oh, he made this?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay.

(calm music) (speaks in foreign language) (calm music) - Hmm.

With that chili sauce, it really brought out the bean flavor.

It intensified it.

I love this.

This is a fermented tofu.

It's been fermented for about a hundred days with soy sauce, salt and rice wine, and some koji.

I love this taste.

The tofu has become so smooth.

- Mm, - Right?

- Yeah.

- And salty.

It's full of umami.

A lot of flavor.

- Mm.

- It's like, bam!

(calm instrumental music) Whatever you wanna call it, farm to table, locavore, or slow foods, the movement towards a less industrial way of producing the food we eat, has drawn communities of tired city dwellers seeking a simpler and more rewarding life.

In Yilan, in Taiwan's Northeast, where rice paddies cover the landscape in a checkerboard of green, I was curious to hear how someone like Joelle or Tisha Ching, an American who came to Taipei to study Chinese, found herself farming rice instead.

- I came to Yilan and I joined this group called Land Dyke, which is a queer farming collective.

- Oh!

- And I started growing rice with them only two years after I came to Taiwan.

And then I grew rice with them for four years.

And I'm still living in a rice-growing community.

And I'm part of that community.

Most of my friends are rice farmers.

(calm music) - Well, what makes this area such a great place for growing rice?

- The main thing is water.

Yilan is on the northeast coast and during the winter we have a northeast monsoon weather system that brings a lot of moisture to the island.

And the lanyon plane where we are right now, it's basically like a triangle shape facing toward the east.

So it's kind of a funnel, like all the moisture comes in here and then it's kept in by the mountains.

And at the same time during the winter, those months are months that are typically quite dry in the west and the south of Taiwan.

So Yilan is one of the only places in Taiwan where you have really consistent water for irrigation.

And that's, even though Taiwan, even though Yilan doesn't have a reservoir.

So, we have enough water that we don't need a reservoir and we have consistent water throughout the year.

So you can see, it takes a lot of water to grow rice.

- Absolutely.

- And so having consistent irrigation is really important.

(calm techno music) It's actually kind of surprising to find indica rice in Taiwan at all.

Taiwan predominantly grows japonica rice, which is short grain and indica rice is long grain.

But this variety that they're growing here... (speaks in foreign language) - Is a specific variety that was developed to be suitable for organic farming.

- So, how did japonica rice become so popular in Taiwan?

- Good question.

The Japanese colonial government.

So when Taiwan was colonized by Japan from 1895 to the end of World War II in 1945.

And when the Japanese colonists came to Taiwan, they did not like the rice that was grown here.

It was an indica variety.

It was a little harder, more dry.

And for them, they were just not used to that coming from their Japanese rice.

So this rice has been transplanted for about 20 days.

- Mm-hmm.

- When the rice is transplanted, it comes at varying heights, but it's at least about this long.

And then, you flood the paddy to prevent weed growth.

So it's about 20 days.

The whole process for growing rice is about four months.

So it's like around 120, 125 days.

When you're farming organically, you're gonna lose a lot of those rice seedlings.

You're gonna lose them to the snails.

- To the snails, yeah.

- Yeah.

(guitar music) As a person who loves rice in Taiwan, it's just really exciting to see what's going on with rice.

And new varieties are being developed.

People are growing old Japanese varieties that were almost lost and they're recovering them because they're really great for making sake.

(guitar music) We're at the... (speaks in foreign language) So that's the DUN rice mill.

- Uh-huh.

- But it's not only a mill.

So basically, as soon as farmers harvest their crop, they bring it straight here.

The track will deliver it to the front there.

And the wet grain that's freshly harvested from the field will first go to the back over here into the grain dryers.

So these are the rice milling machines.

Once the rice is dried and the big drain dryers over there, it's first put into these massive refrigerators.

We said it's about 18 degrees Celsius.

And that keeps the grain really fresh.

And then, when you're ready to ship the grain to your customers, first they take it out of the refrigerator for one day in hotter months and two days in the colder months, just to bring the rice back to room temperature.

'Cause you don't wanna mill the rice when it's cold.

And then the rice goes into the milling machine over there.

So the milling machine is turning it from a grain that is, it has an inedible hard hull on the outside.

It's turning it into first brown rice and then white rice, depending on what you want to have milled.

(techno music) Taiwanese rice is so good that if you just eat a bowl of white rice, it can be amazing.

You know, I wouldn't go back to the States and say, "Oh, I just want a really big bowl of white rice and I don't care what I have with it, 'cause the rice is so good."

Not so much in the US, but in Taiwan, rice is so good, it really enhances every meal.

But there's also so much more diversity to it.

I know someone who runs a factory that grinds rice into rice flour for baking.

They make rice bagels and you know, they can cater to a gluten-free community, to people who are interested in growing rice and then blending it into flour to sell to their customers or for their own baking.

(slow tempo music) And growing rice is really real.

- Mm-hm.

- You harvest as much as the labor that you put into it.

And you're, every snail that you pick outta your rice paddy is one less snail that's going to eat your rice seedlings.

So it's very real.

Also, just like, connecting with your body, connecting with the land through physical labor.

I think for a lot of people that's interesting.

You know, it's the kind of thing that if you're raised with it, you're really eager to escape because it's hard.

But when you're not raised with it, a lot of people kind of romanticize it in a way.

But I think that that itself is really interesting, just connecting with the land through physical labor and then having rice to eat that you grew.

So you could be exhausted after a day in the rice paddies, and then you go home and you eat your rice and you're like, "This is really good.

I'm really glad that I do this."

(chuckles) (slow tempo music) (upbeat music) - To me, the best thing about the food scene in Taiwan is the abundance and the amazing variety of fruit that is grown here.

And the best place to find it is in the city, at the bustling Binjiang Wholesale Fruit and Produce Market in Taipei.

That's where I meet up with Jane Chen, the founder, along with her husband, Alex Denner, of Empress Hot Sauce, a line of innovative hot sauces made with not just the freshest Taiwanese chilies, but also the best fruit to showcase Taiwan's incredible diversity and quality.

(hip-hop music) - I think the best part about the wet markets is that we really get fruits and vegetables that are in season.

- Uh-huh.

- Yeah.

And then so you get to see the seasons change as you come through.

- This looks so tender and yummy.

- Yes.

This is... (speaks in foreign language) - Which I guess if you translate is like dragon whiskers.

(speaks in foreign language) - The purpose of it is like you kind of put it into salad and what they do is they put it into salad, add some sesame dressing.

- Oh.

- And it's delicious.

But what I love about Taiwanese greens, it's just like the amount of variety.

- Yeah.

- And how well grown they are.

They're totally grown to full and their every single piece is so fresh.

And yeah.

And we have our chili peppers here.

- Ta-da!

- Yeah.

So these guys, there's a lot of different varieties available in Taiwan.

These are shishito peppers, I think those are the ones that are usually like, grilled and served.

But then there's also these, so the smaller the pepper, the spicier it is.

Yeah.

- I always feel like cooking with peppers is a bit of a mystery.

You just, you never know how spicy they are and how much you need to put in.

- Yeah.

- So that's great to know.

- Yeah, yeah.

Definitely.

I feel like, well for us, whenever we get a batch of peppers in, we do sample them.

I'm not sure I would recommend that to everybody.

- Uh-huh, uh-huh.

- But we do sample them just to make sure that they are the right pepper consist- right flavor consistency.

- This is a winter melon.

- Oh.

- Oh!

(chuckles) Whoa.

This only takes four months from seed, to this.

- These are called mountain mangoes.

And so, I love what they actually write here that says... (speaks in foreign language) - Which means they let it ripen on the tree.

- Oh.

- And that's actually the best indicator you want to see from fruits because when it's ripen on the tree, it gets all the nutrients it needs.

They're really fat grapes.

And so they're a little bit fermented.

They're good for, they taste really sour.

They're only available for, I think, a short period of the season.

So this is a (speaks foreign language) it's a green date.

And so it's crispy and it's sweet.

It's only available during winter time.

Yes.

- This one's gorgeous.

Should we get a wax apple?

- Yes.

- Since this is something that people don't usually see.

- You gotta look for ones that are a little bit red.

- Mm-hmm.

- And then, actually I was told that if you have a fuller body, it has more sugar and more content to it.

Yeah.

So these are loquats.

They're grown on trees.

I believe in like, the middle of Taiwan or in the south of Taiwan.

Mm.

- It's pure honey.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

This is more my kind of fruit.

(both laugh) - Alright.

We have similar palettes.

- Yeah.

You see how it's really thick and round?

- Yes.

- And so, it's really well balanced.

So this one, I think, when you cut open, it's gonna be juicy, it's gonna be sweet because it's really fully developed.

So usually when you open it, (upbeat music) you see the goodness that's inside.

- Wow.

- Slurp it up.

- It's also so great.

- Yeah.

- In just anything, like drinks... - Yes.

- Desserts.

- Mm-hmm.

- Cocktails.

- We put it on our hot sauce.

- Oh, you do?

- Mm-hmm.

Oh, it's so fresh.

- I've never tried a custard apple either.

(gasps) - One of my favorite fruits also.

- Really?

- It's so good.

- This is grown in Taiwan?

- Grown in Taiwan.

(speaks in foreign language) - And then just let it come apart like that.

- Oh, wow!

- Yeah.

- I love it!

- Isn't it incredible?

- It's like a pineapple and a guava blend.

- Oh, so good.

Yeah.

But it's delicious.

It's worth the work.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

(speaks in foreign language) - Look at that!

- Ah!

- So good.

- Wow!

- That's what I love best about Taiwan is the amount of delicious fruits that we get here.

And that's what we think the world should know more about.

- After our shopping expedition, I was eager to check out how those fresh Taiwanese fruits taste in the hot sauces Jane and Alex make.

- Me and my wife Jane, we moved here about six years ago, and for the first few years I was kind of just learning Chinese.

And then, afterwards, one day I was really missing my mango habanero hot sauce that I had from the States.

And it was mango season, so I was walking through one of the wet markets and luckily, mangoes and chilies were sitting next to each other and I'm like, "Maybe I could try something?

Maybe I can make the hot sauce."

- That was a sign.

- Yeah.

But these are very, very pretty.

We're very, very lucky to work with.

- They're gorgeous.

They're unblemished.

- Yes, they're perfection.

- They're almost unreal.

- Yeah.

- They don't look like food.

- No, but they're, they look like the plastic things you see in Japan.

- They look like candy, you know?

- Yes.

Yes.

- So this is made with irwin mangoes.

So this is the first sauce that I think he made.

And so this is irwin mango hot sauce.

And you can see the color itself is just gorgeous.

So this is a thicker sauce.

- This is probably the most traditional of the sauces I've tasted so far.

- So this is a passion fruit mustard mixed with Jamaican jerk spices.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

So the passion fruit and the mustard kind of are accentuated by the coconut milk, and the spices that are actually in that coconut milk kind of help everything sort of bloom and you kind of get this tangy, spicy, fruity, Jamaican jerk spice sauce.

(chill hip-hop music) - We are a new form of Taiwanese where we are more, I would say we're almost more American than locally Taiwanese, but we're also more Taiwanese than we're American.

And so, we find that balance through our sauces or through our products.

And so, the way that we try to stay authentic is by purchasing from local growers and try to make sure that our sauces are doing right by them and that we're able to tell their story too.

(chill hip-hop music)