Dishes
Tomato plate with ginger soy dip
番茄切盤
Also called: 薑糖番茄 · 番茄沾醬
Fresh tomato eaten as fruit, dipped in a sweet and salty sauce of soy paste, ginger, sugar and licorice.
Where it comes from
Chinese Wikipedia calls ginger-sugar tomato Tainan's oldest snack and says tomatoes were first planted in Tainan by the Dutch, who arrived in 1624. Treat this as a local claim rather than settled history.
How it is made
The dip is mixed from soy paste, ginger, sugar and licorice, and the cut tomato is served with it for dipping.
How to eat it
Order a plate at a fruit shop and dip each piece. It is eaten as a fruit snack, not a salad.
In Tainan
Lily Fruit Shop on Fuqian Road grew from a Japanese-era produce stall at Nanmen Market, and Tainan's tourism site credits it with introducing fresh juice to the area.
Where to eat it in Tainan
Sources