Taiwanese cuisine (traditional Chinese: 台灣菜; simplified Chinese: 台湾菜; pinyin: Táiwāncài; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân liāu-lí (臺灣料理)) has several variations. In addition to the following representative dishes from the people of Hoklo (Hō-ló) ethnicity (see Taiwanese people), there are also Aboriginal, Hakka, and local derivatives of Chinese cuisines such as beef noodle soup.
Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of Mainland China, most notably from the province of Fujian (Hokkien), but influences from all of Mainland China can easily be found. A notable Japanese influence exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Traditional Chinese food can be found in Taiwan, alongside Fujian and Hakka-style as well as native Taiwanese dishes, includes dishes from Guangdong, Jiangxi, Chaoshan, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Beijing.
Pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. This is in part due to the considerations of some Taiwanese Buddhists, a traditional reluctance towards slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment and feeling of gratefulness and thanks to the animals traditionally used for very hard labour. Curiously, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup remains one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan, in spite of this traditional aversion.