COCOA and NAMASIA EXPLORE - PART I
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| Sakuliu Pavavalun 'Paiwan Wedding' |
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| Trichodesma calycosum 假酸槳 |
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| Taiwan 'Jin Huang Mango' 金煌芒果 |
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| Zanthoxylum ailanthoides 刺蔥 tana |
The population of the township is mainly the indigenous Bunun, Kanakanavu and Saaroa peoples. The modern-day population of the Kanakanavu people live in the two villages of Manga and Takanua .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namasia_District
NUYA AHANAH 努亞 阿海納
I was connected to Ahanah through 'East Kaohsiung Friendly Food Tour' scheme introduced to me by a mutual friend Rich Matheson (a veteran Canadian photographer based in Southern Taiwan). Rich contributed a number of photos to my co-authoring book "A Culinary History of Taipei" . His Bunun 布農 wife Alas and twin sister Abas run a restaurant and a 'camp site'.
It just came together in a casual conversation that I could meet up with both and have a poke around what they were doing which seemed so fascinating and an opportunity to get out of Taipei exploring areas I would not otherwise be actively engaging. Ahanah upon the initial message, wholehearted and gracefully offered to drive me around and arranged an overnight stay at Rich and Alas's 'Home' at Namasia.
EAST KAOHSIUNG refers to the eastern nine districts including Namasia, Taoyuan, Liugui, Jiaxian, Shanlin, Neimen, Meinong, Maolin and Qishan.
These food tours take participants to each district exploring local ingredients and produces. Workshops, talks and hands-on cooking are planned and arranged to showcase food-environment relationship and inspire eco-friendly eating and cooking. In few words to propel and boost Kaohsiung food tourism and economy.
For instance two villages in Liugui exploring white, red, green tea-making tradition dated back from Japanese colonial period; and a black/white pepper farm acclaimed the only 'pepper' farm in Taiwan.
Or it introduced me to a fruit I recently 'discovered' in Wulai - 木鱉果 Gấc - brought in from Taitung 台東七里坡紅藜養生料理 where it claimed a native fruit.
I am curious how long it has been living in Taitung (and seems a predominant Amis food), could be between 20 to 2000 years ?? Needs more research to find out.
(Gấc (botanical name: Momordica cochinchinensis) is a type of perennial melon grown throughout Southeast Asian countries and Northeastern Australia. Gấc is notable for its orange-reddish color resulting from its rich content of beta-carotene and lycopene)
Culinary Magic Wand
https://www.bo6s.com.tw/news_detail.php?NewsID=10914&fbclid=IwAR2bKrjzFKvxfhMGp5NAEPaEuAvroCQIx8IJ4UgyPmQAlZflS6taTRDPUxU
Ahanah is a Mongolian name meaning Clear Water. Born in Taiwan and grew up in Military village in Taipei, Ahanah decided to use the name by his paternal heritage at age 40. Before that, he is only known and identified by his official Chinese name. His maternal side, however, has White Russian ancestry. Listening to his complicated family background and exceptional colourful history is, I don't know.... like a ride on a time roller-coaster to Genghis Khan, Gobi desert, beef jerks, Siberia ear-dumpling and Dr Zhivago ! Indeed, these are all in him and his 'families' are all over the place as one can fathom.
He developed a discerning palate through hanging out around Taipei Grand Hotel kitchen since he was a kid - a culinary central during martial-law Taiwan where his father worked as Chinese Cuisines chef.
Children are like little sponges, they absorb all the information around them and anticipate that one day when everything makes sense. That's what happened and that's how Ahanah today develops a good taste. After several stunts in life - in media, filmmaking etc, he now settled a well established and widely acknowledged food ingredients consultant, based in Southern Taiwan.
I asked where he got the title 'Environmental chef' ? He laughed from his cousin - a well-known artist Lama Moltis 拉馬-默提司 呂沐芢. He asked Lama if he could makeup business card for him to use and Lama delivered the job the following day.
In 1650 chocolate beverages first appeared in England coinciding with the arrival of tea from China and coffee from the Middle East. For many years it remained a treat reserved for the upper classes.
The first chocolate lozenge appeared in England in 1674; cocoa powder was originally produced by the Dutch in 1828; the chocolate bar originated in Great Brittan in 1830; and, the Swiss successfully entered the chocolate market with milk chocolate in 1830, followed shortly thereafter with chocolate imbued with hazelnuts.
This farmer is Chiu Ming-song 邱銘松 and Choose Chius chocolate he founded was the first stop of my overnight adventure.
In Taiwan, cocoa trees are predominantly cultivated by Hakka communities in townships across Pingtung, including Wanluan, Neipu, Jhutian, Jiadung, Shinpi, Changjhih and Gaushu. Cocoa plantation can also be found in some non-Hakka communities, in townships such as Jiuru and Ligang.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namasia_District
NUYA AHANAH 努亞 阿海納
I was connected to Ahanah through 'East Kaohsiung Friendly Food Tour' scheme introduced to me by a mutual friend Rich Matheson (a veteran Canadian photographer based in Southern Taiwan). Rich contributed a number of photos to my co-authoring book "A Culinary History of Taipei" . His Bunun 布農 wife Alas and twin sister Abas run a restaurant and a 'camp site'.
It just came together in a casual conversation that I could meet up with both and have a poke around what they were doing which seemed so fascinating and an opportunity to get out of Taipei exploring areas I would not otherwise be actively engaging. Ahanah upon the initial message, wholehearted and gracefully offered to drive me around and arranged an overnight stay at Rich and Alas's 'Home' at Namasia.
EAST KAOHSIUNG refers to the eastern nine districts including Namasia, Taoyuan, Liugui, Jiaxian, Shanlin, Neimen, Meinong, Maolin and Qishan.
These food tours take participants to each district exploring local ingredients and produces. Workshops, talks and hands-on cooking are planned and arranged to showcase food-environment relationship and inspire eco-friendly eating and cooking. In few words to propel and boost Kaohsiung food tourism and economy.
For instance two villages in Liugui exploring white, red, green tea-making tradition dated back from Japanese colonial period; and a black/white pepper farm acclaimed the only 'pepper' farm in Taiwan.
 |
| https://ihappyday.tw/blog/post/friendlyfood?fbclid=IwAR0ug1YYx_iMOaKR6OejaTIB-aDYqwRPZ1bbXOznBVdj4cxub-J72GTzJKE |
Or it introduced me to a fruit I recently 'discovered' in Wulai - 木鱉果 Gấc - brought in from Taitung 台東七里坡紅藜養生料理 where it claimed a native fruit.
I am curious how long it has been living in Taitung (and seems a predominant Amis food), could be between 20 to 2000 years ?? Needs more research to find out.
(Gấc (botanical name: Momordica cochinchinensis) is a type of perennial melon grown throughout Southeast Asian countries and Northeastern Australia. Gấc is notable for its orange-reddish color resulting from its rich content of beta-carotene and lycopene)
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| Here is an youtube how it is prepared in Amis kitchen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxwy5ZVvRLo |
Culinary Magic Wand
Ahanah is a Mongolian name meaning Clear Water. Born in Taiwan and grew up in Military village in Taipei, Ahanah decided to use the name by his paternal heritage at age 40. Before that, he is only known and identified by his official Chinese name. His maternal side, however, has White Russian ancestry. Listening to his complicated family background and exceptional colourful history is, I don't know.... like a ride on a time roller-coaster to Genghis Khan, Gobi desert, beef jerks, Siberia ear-dumpling and Dr Zhivago ! Indeed, these are all in him and his 'families' are all over the place as one can fathom.
He developed a discerning palate through hanging out around Taipei Grand Hotel kitchen since he was a kid - a culinary central during martial-law Taiwan where his father worked as Chinese Cuisines chef.
Children are like little sponges, they absorb all the information around them and anticipate that one day when everything makes sense. That's what happened and that's how Ahanah today develops a good taste. After several stunts in life - in media, filmmaking etc, he now settled a well established and widely acknowledged food ingredients consultant, based in Southern Taiwan.
I asked where he got the title 'Environmental chef' ? He laughed from his cousin - a well-known artist Lama Moltis 拉馬-默提司 呂沐芢. He asked Lama if he could makeup business card for him to use and Lama delivered the job the following day.
(source online - a group of contemporary art artist. Lama left three)
Environmental chef is a chef drawing inspiration from ingredients found in natural environments. Naturally, Ahanah role as a consultant, is to savvy what to do to bring Taiwanese food to another level.
Note: Ahanah's recommend! -Taitung's first Taiwan red quinoa cuisine restaurant who also does delicious木鱉果 Gấc dishes:
"YOU WILL BE AMAZED!" Says Ahanah!
HIGH QUALITY COCOA BEANS grow in the county of Pingtung, Southern Taiwan - Fruity, Sour and Nutty.
In 1650 chocolate beverages first appeared in England coinciding with the arrival of tea from China and coffee from the Middle East. For many years it remained a treat reserved for the upper classes.
The first chocolate lozenge appeared in England in 1674; cocoa powder was originally produced by the Dutch in 1828; the chocolate bar originated in Great Brittan in 1830; and, the Swiss successfully entered the chocolate market with milk chocolate in 1830, followed shortly thereafter with chocolate imbued with hazelnuts.
(http://old.worldagroforestry.org/treesandmarkets/inaforesta/history.htm)
Taiwan owes its cocoa history to Taichiro Morinaga, founder of Morinaga & Co, the first modern candy company in Japan, and the first to produce chocolates in the country. Morinaga also great grandfather of Akie Abe, wife of the current Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe.
Due to high demand for chocolate in Japan, and Taiwan under Japanese rule 1895-1945, Morinaga came to Taiwan in 1927 to find a land where he could grow cocoa, and make the company self-sufficient chocolate manufacturer in the country. His successor 大串松次 Matsuji Ogushi continued the cocoa mission arriving in Taiwan in 1937 and set up an experimental farm and research institute in Pintung area dedicated to cocoa plantation.
The laborious process of transporting cocoa from Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, fungal spoilage, challenges in terms of germination and low temperature in winter proved difficult to root cocoa in Taiwan. Same fruitless effort by another company Meiji Co between 1939-1940 .
Laden with plantation obstacles and outbreak of World War II 1939 dashed Morinaga's Taiwan chocolate dream for good.
Mulinaga/Tjarilik Villlage (森永部落)
Japanese cocoa trail is now left in the Southernmost point of Taitung county Daren Township 達仁鄉 - the location of the former Morinaga Cooperation for quinine, coffee and tea cultivation.
Cocoa Grown Under Betel Nut Palms
In between after Japanese left in 1945 and 2000, the area had been dotted with cocoa trees but unsustainable farming techniques did little to help survive.
Intermix Cocoa and Betel Nut Past: Best Cocoa plantation condition is hot, humid weather and shady - protected from sun and wind. Betel nut palms therefore provide the shade and during typhoon season, tied to palms prevent them from toppling.
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| https://damecacao.com/cacao-plantations-taiwan/ |
Intertwined Cocoa and Betel Nut Future: Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) promoted betelnut for its economic value and cocoa trees soon became victims under national economic development - practically a forgotten history.
Until in 2000, a Hakka betelnut farmer made a come back of cocoa in bid to find a new direction of the region's waning betel nut growing business that dominated Taiwan for 40 years.
This farmer is Chiu Ming-song 邱銘松 and Choose Chius chocolate he founded was the first stop of my overnight adventure.
In Taiwan, cocoa trees are predominantly cultivated by Hakka communities in townships across Pingtung, including Wanluan, Neipu, Jhutian, Jiadung, Shinpi, Changjhih and Gaushu. Cocoa plantation can also be found in some non-Hakka communities, in townships such as Jiuru and Ligang.
According to theDepartment of Hakka Affairs 2019-01-12, about 200 hectares of farmland in the county are
dedicated to the crop. In addition, the
county's cocoa industry has experienced a boom in recent years after chocolate
made from cocoa grown in the region received many accolades, due to its perfect
geography and climate.
Second cocoa stop was Wugawan 牛角灣。Founder Lai 賴錫賢, a pineapple farmer advocating eco-friendly farming, is said to plant the first batch of cocoa trees in 2005.
Taiwan is the only developed country that grows cocoa. According to the statistics of Pingtung County, Pingtung currently has more than 200 hectares of cocoa farmland, relatively low compared to major production areas Africa and South America but price five time or more expensive.
風刮地‧秋月的店 Driving up to Namasia, Ahana made a point to stop and introduce his good friends. First one is a very interesting Paiwan-theme Cafe Karuvekuv. Autumn Moon's Shop (Karuvekuv in Paiwan language means Wind Blowing Through Leaves)
Second cocoa stop was Wugawan 牛角灣。Founder Lai 賴錫賢, a pineapple farmer advocating eco-friendly farming, is said to plant the first batch of cocoa trees in 2005.
Taiwan is the only developed country that grows cocoa. According to the statistics of Pingtung County, Pingtung currently has more than 200 hectares of cocoa farmland, relatively low compared to major production areas Africa and South America but price five time or more expensive.
風刮地‧秋月的店 Driving up to Namasia, Ahana made a point to stop and introduce his good friends. First one is a very interesting Paiwan-theme Cafe Karuvekuv. Autumn Moon's Shop (Karuvekuv in Paiwan language means Wind Blowing Through Leaves)
Autumn Moon 秋月 is the name of the lady owner who married a Paiwan artist family including
撒古流·巴瓦瓦隆 Sakuliu Pavavalung Husband
白壤‧巴瓦瓦隆 Pairang Pavavaljung Nose-flute artist Father-in-law
撒古流·巴瓦瓦隆 Sakuliu Pavavalung Husband
白壤‧巴瓦瓦隆 Pairang Pavavaljung Nose-flute artist Father-in-law
伊誕‧巴瓦瓦隆 Etan Pavavalung Brother-in-law
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| https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20171223003320-260405?chdtv |
Note: Pairang Pavavaljung - The name Pairang is 白浪 Paylang! Explained in my previous post. https://katyhuiwenhung.blogspot.com/2019/07/fun-taiwanese-linguistic-fact-paylang.html
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