In Italy, ‘al dente’ is prized. In Taiwan, it’s all about food that’s ‘Q.’
As dusk falls at Lehua Night Market, the fluorescent lights flicker on and the hungry customers start trickling in, anxious for a taste of the local delicacies that give this island its reputation as one of Asia’s finest culinary capitals.
Neatly arranged pyramids of plump fish balls. Bowls brimming with tapioca balls bathed in lightly sweetened syrup. Take a bite of any of these dishes and you’ll discover a unique texture. But how exactly do you describe that perfectly calibrated “mouth feel”? Slippery? Chewy? Globby? Not exactly the most flattering adjectives in the culinary world.
Luckily, the Taiwanese have a word for this texture. Well, actually, it’s not a word, it’s a letter—one that even non-Chinese speakers can pronounce. It’s “Q.”
“It’s difficult to explain what Q means exactly, ” said Liu Yen-ling, a manager at Chun Shui Tang, a popular teahouse chain that claims to have invented tapioca milk tea in Taiwan. “Basically it means springy, soft, elastic.”
Q texture is to Taiwanese what umami is to Japanese and al dente is to Italians—that is, cherished and essential. The texture is found in both savory and sweet foods, and is most often used to describe foods that contain some kind of starch like noodles, tapioca pearls and fish balls. If something is really chewy or extra Q, then it could be called QQ.
Among Taiwanese, the appreciation for Q texture starts at a young age. Asked why Q texture was so appealing to Taiwanese, Lu Wei-chen, the owner of the stand, smiled and said, “It’s simple. When you eat it, you will be in a good mood.”
Al dente=有嚼劲（意大利）
Fluorescent=荧光的
Flicker=n.v.(on)忽明忽暗
Trickle in/into三三两两，陆陆续续
Anxious for渴望
Delicacy美食（有地方特色的）
culinary 烹饪，美食
culinary capital 美食圣地
neatly arranged pyramids of plump圆滚滚的 fish balls
brim=n.杯子，饭碗边缘，v.（with搭配，装满了东西）
bath in=浸润
lightly sweetened syrup略带甜味的糖浆
take a bite of尝一口
dishes事物
texture口感，质地
perfectly calibrated（adj）精心调配的
calibrate（v）=精准校对
slippery 滑溜溜的，chewy有嚼劲的，globby黏糊糊的
flattering讨人喜欢的
chain连锁店
tapioca milk tea珍珠奶茶
springy 有弹性的（压缩后快速回复），soft软的，elastic有弹性的（拉长后恢复）
A is to B what C is to D and E is to F
umami=鲜味
savory美味的，不甜的
savory and sweet food
starch淀粉，starchy淀粉的
stand小摊
when you eat it,you will in a good mood
extra Q特别Q
sth appeal to sb某事对某人有吸引力
the appreciation for sth对某事的喜爱
