Seeking surprise

But she never meant to merely celebrate the familiar.

"I wanted to search for surprises as I traveled through Taiwan to write this book. I looked for interesting regional dishes that were famous locally, but little-known outside of its city. For instance, in Chiayi, I encountered chicken over rice, a very simple yet subtly flavored dish that is wonderful and has grown in popularity throughout Taiwan in recent years."

The range she found was huge, from the easy-to-appreciate three-cup chicken to acquired tastes like the island's beloved stinky tofu.

"I think the vast scope of Taiwanese food might be surprising to anyone discovering it for the first time," she says. "There is a really interesting blend of influences - whether that's from the many different immigrants who made it their home, or Taiwan's environment or social and lifestyle factors.

"And it keeps innovating with food all the time. Nothing is too strange to become an eating sensation in Taiwan!"

So how did a woman who loves roaming Chinese night markets adjust her enthusiasm to a mostly American audience?

"I like offal myself and I think that chefs and adventurous eaters in the US are having a grand time exploring offal meats (though not quite to the level that everyday Taiwanese people have been doing for a long time).

"I tried to keep all the ingredients accessible for the everyday home cook in the US, however. So I have a recipe for mackerel, but not milkfish, a similar fish that's only found in Southeast Asia. There's a recipe with loofah gourd, a popular Asian squash, but I say you can substitute it with summer squash. When it comes to offal, I include recipes with pork belly and even pork knuckle, even though these are hard to find in the average US supermarket."