My grandmother once told me that in her childhood she thought that Taiwanese kimchi was the most delicious food. When I was a child, she told me a bedside story about her early life. She told me how, in the early days of Taiwan, families with farming backgrounds faced financial struggles. They relied on thin porridge with a few small, pickled dried fish, or soy sauce. They rarely had the opportunity to enjoy dishes with meat or vegetables.
One day her older brother brought home a jar of Taiwanese kimchi from the factory where he worked. It was a luxurious treat for the family — so much so that they were reluctant to eat it. They almost treated it as a treasured heirloom.
But eventually, driven by curiosity, my young grandmother secretly tasted a tiny piece and discovered the extraordinary delight of this luxury food
— Yvonne
Image by Mega Hammond - CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
