Dishes
Beef hot pot
牛肉火鍋
Also called: 溫體牛火鍋 (fresh-beef hot pot) · 涮牛肉 (swished beef) · 牛肉爐
Thin slices of same-day beef swished in a light broth at your table, drawing on southern Taiwan's beef-soup tradition.
Photo: bryan... from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Clarayyt, CC BY-SA 4.0What it is
A pot of broth made from beef bones, brisket and vegetables, in which you cook hand-cut slices of fresh beef for a few seconds. Cuts such as brisket bring juicy fat and gelatinous sinew. Shops also stir-fry beef as side dishes.
Where it comes from
Beef was not a traditional everyday meat in Taiwan, where cattle were valued as farm animals. One academic study argues that Chaoshan (Teochew) migrants who settled in Tainan after 1949 brought sha-cha sauce, which Taiwanese now treat as essential to beef hot pot, and that this boosted beef eating.
How it is made
The broth is simmered from beef bones, brisket and vegetables, sometimes with fruit for a light sweetness. Beef from cattle slaughtered that day is cut by hand into slices or strips and brought raw to the table.
How to eat it
Give each slice a brief swish and eat it straight away. At Hu Dong, book ahead and pre-order the large platter for more marbling. Niu Lao Da has a help-yourself vegetable station.
In Kaohsiung
Fresh beef comes in from Tainan every day to Kaohsiung's beef houses, such as Hu Dong in Hunei and Niu Lao Da in Qianjin. Michelin inspectors link Niu Lao Da to Tainan's beef-soup tradition.
Where to eat it in Kaohsiung
湖東牛肉館Hu Dong Beef
Same-day Tainan beef, swished in a bone-and-brisket broth, at a beef house in Hunei. Book ahead and pre-order the large beef platter.
牛老大涮牛肉（自強二路）NIU LAO DA (Zihciang 2nd Road)
Open until midnight, this lively beef hot pot house serves hand-cut fresh Tainan beef for dipping in a light, sweet broth. Add a stir-fried beef plate.
Sources