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 HOME-STYLE
TA I WAN ESE
COOK ING
)DPLO\)DYRXULWHV
&ODVVLF6WUHHW)RRGV
3RSXODU6QDFNV

Liv Wan
 HOME-STYLE
TAIWANESE COOKING
HOME-STYLE
TA I WAN ESE
COOK ING
Family Favourites
Classic Street Foods
Popular Snacks

Liv Wan
Editor: Lydia Leong
Photographer: Chris Radley of Chris Radley Photography (chrisradleyphotography.com)
Illustrator: Liv Wan of Liv Wan Illustration (livwanillustration.com)

ISBN 978 981 4974 868

Copyright © 2014 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited

This new edition © 2021

Published by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine

An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted,

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be
addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited,
1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: (65) 6213 9300
E-mail: genref@sg.marshallcavendish.com Website: www.marshallcavendish.com

Limits of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The Author and Publisher of this book have
used their best efforts in preparing this book. The parties make no representation or
warranties with respect to the contents of this book and are not responsible for the
outcome of any recipe in this book. While the parties have reviewed each recipe carefully,
the reader may not always achieve the results desired due to variations in ingredients,
cooking temperatures and individual cooking abilities. The parties shall in no event be liable
IRUDQ\ORVVRISURċWRUDQ\RWKHUFRPPHUFLDOGDPDJHLQFOXGLQJEXWQRWOLPLWHGWRVSHFLDO
incidental, consequential, or other damages.

2WKHU0DUVKDOO&DYHQGLVK2č FHV
Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 800 Westchester Ave, Suite N-641, Rye Brook,
1<86$ï0DUVKDOO&DYHQGLVK,QWHUQDWLRQDO 7KDLODQG &R/WG$VRNH
WK)ORRU6XNKXPYLW5RDG.ORQJWRH\1XD:DWWDQD%DQJNRN7KDLODQGï
Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech
Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Marshall Cavendish is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited

Printed in Singapore
DEDICATION
To everyone who helped us
during the development of this
book. Without your help, this book
would not have been possible.
CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION 11

ONE-DISH MEALS
Minced Pork Rice 14
New Year Pork Fried Rice 16
Savoury Glutinous Rice 18
Beef Noodles 20
Stir-fried Seafood Noodles 23
Home-made Noodle Salad 24
Stir-fried Rice Noodles 26
Smoked Duck Noodle Soup 28
6ZRUGċVK5LFH1RRGOH6RXS 30
Tan Tsai Noodles 33
Tiger Bites Pig 34
Salad Boat Sandwiches 36

MEAT
Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg 40
Boiled Pork Belly with Garlic Sauce 42
Braised Pork Belly with Dried Bamboo Shoot 44
Braised Pork Hock 46
Deep-fried Red Vinasse Pork 48
Fried Pork Chops 51
Stir-fried Lamb with Water Spinach and BBQ Sauce 52
Stir-fried Minced Beef with Coriander and Chilli 54
Stir-fried Beef with Taiwanese-style Kimchi 56
 POULTRY AND EGGS
Drunken Chicken 60
Dragon Phoenix Legs 62
Fried Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries 64
Deep-fried Chicken Legs Stuffed with Savoury Glutinous Rice 66
Boiled Chicken with Spicy Ginger-garlic Dip 69
Three-cup Chicken 70
Oyster Omelette 72
Omelette with Preserved Radish 75
Soy Sauce Eggs 76
Steamed Egg with Seafood Sauce 78

FISH AND SEAFOOD

6TXLGZLWK7DLZDQHVH)LYHČDYRXU6DXFH 82
Stir-fried Squid with Celery 84
Stir-fried Oysters and Tofu with Black Bean Sauce 86
Steamed Prawns with Glass Noodles and Garlic Sauce 88
Deep-fried Prawn Rolls 91
Stir-fried Mussels with Basil 92
Steamed Halibut with Pickled Cordia 94
Deep-fried Fish and Pork Rolls 97

SOUPS
Ginger and Sesame Oil Chicken Soup 100
Mustard Green Chicken Soup 102
Pickled Pineapple and Bitter Gourd Chicken Soup 104
Pork Ball Soup 107
White Radish and Pork Rib Soup 108
White Radish and Fried Pork Rib Soup 111
Pork and Fish Dumpling Soup 113
Salmon Tofu Miso Soup 114
 VEGETABLES AND TOFU
Stir-fried Aubergine with Basil 118
Stir-fried Pickled Bamboo Shoot with Spicy Minced Beef 120
Three-cup Mushrooms 122
Salted Mustard Greens with Tofu and Edamame Beans 125
Taiwanese-style Kimchi 126
Braised Chinese Cabbage 129
Bamboo Shoot Salad 130
Hakka-style Stuffed Tofu 132
Steamed Tofu with Prawns 134

SNACKS AND DESSERTS

Taro and Sweet Potato Balls 138
Deep-fried Sweet Potato Balls 140
Peanut and Sesame Mochi 142
Peanut Pancakes 145
Sweet Glutinous Rice Soup with Dried Longans and Red Dates 146
&Rč Q%UHDG 149
Fa Gao 150

BASIC STOCKS 152

GLOSSARY 154

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 160

INTRODUCTION
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Liv Wan

11
ONE- DISH MEALS
MINCED PORK RICE
Serves 7

This is one of my favourite Taiwanese dishes. It is available throughout Taiwan and it is also an
incredibly popular night market dish. You will see this sold in almost every night market. This dish is
easy to make and absolutely delicious. You can prepare a large batch and store it in the freezer for
heating up whenever you feel like eating it.

800 g (13/4 lb) pork belly
Cooking oil, as needed
15 g (1/2 oz) garlic, peeled
30 g (1 oz) rock sugar
60 g (21/4 oz) crisp-fried shallots
800 ml (26 fl oz) water
7 bowls cooked white rice
7 soy sauce eggs (page 76), halved
Seasoning
85 ml (21/2 fl oz) light soy sauce
4 Tbsp thick soy sauce
1
/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1. Clean the pork belly. Boil a large pot of water and blanch the
pork belly briefly to remove any impurities. Drain and rinse
immediately with cold water. Pat dry and cut into strips.
2. Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the pork
EHOO\VWULSVDQGJDUOLF6WLUIU\XQWLOWKHSRUNEHOO\LVMXVW
golden brown.
3. Add the rock sugar and stir-fry for 3–5 minutes until the
sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the crisp-fried shallots and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes.
Transfer everything to a stockpot.
5. Add the water and seasoning. Bring to a boil, then simmer
over low heat for 2 hours.
6. Dish out and serve with rice and soy sauce eggs, if desired.

14
NEW YEAR PORK FRIED RICE
Serves 4

My name for the waxed pork used in this dish is New Year pork as it is traditionally only available
for sale during the Chinese New Year. There is a shop in Taipei where my parents buy New Year
pork. As they sell so much of it during the Chinese New Year period, they only open during that
time and are closed for the rest of the year. Waxed pork can be considered the Taiwanese/Chinese
equivalent of pancetta and one of our traditional ways of preparing it is to steam cook it with rice.
7KLVDOORZVWKHMXLFHVIURPWKHSRUNWREHVRDNHGXSE\WKHULFHPDNLQJLWVXSHUGHOLFLRXV

80 g (24/5 oz) peas 1. Prepare the scrambled egg. Beat the eggs with the soy sauce
80 g (2 /5 oz) carrot, peeled and
4 and sugar. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and add
cut into pea-size cubes the beaten eggs. When the eggs are almost set, use a spatula
2 Tbsp cooking oil to scramble it. Dish out and set aside.
200 g (7 oz) waxed pork, cut into 2. Boil a small pot of water and cook the peas until tender.
small cubes
Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and set aside.
400 g (141/3 oz) cooked white rice, Cook the carrots in the same way.
chilled
30 g (1 oz) spring onion, finely
3. In a clean wok, heat the oil and add the waxed pork. Stir-fry
chopped for 3–5 minutes until fragrant.
15 g (1/2 oz) garlic, peeled and 4. Add the rice and stir-fry to mix. Press down on any lumps to
finely chopped break them up.
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
5. Add the scrambled egg, spring onion, garlic, peas and carrot.
1
/4 tsp ground white pepper
Stir-fry until heated through.
Scrambled Egg 6. Season with soy sauce and pepper and mix well.
3 large eggs 7. Dish out. Garnish as desired and serve.
1 tsp light soy sauce
1
/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp cooking oil Note: This recipe uses very little light soy sauce and salt as the
waxed pork is often quite salty and will provide most of the flavour
needed. If waxed pork is not available, pancetta or bacon lardons
can be used as a substitute.

Waxed pork

16
SAVOURY GLUTINOUS RICE
Serves 4

There are different ways of preparing this dish and this is my version. I tend to season the mixture
UDWKHUKHDYLO\EHIRUHPL[LQJLWLQWRWKHJOXWLQRXVULFH7DVWHDQGDGMXVWWKHVHDVRQLQJEHIRUHPL[LQJ
LWZLWKWKHULFHDVLWZLOOEHGLIILFXOWWRDGMXVWWKHIODYRXUDIWHUZDUGV

390 g (133/4 oz) glutinous rice
235 ml (7 /5 fl oz) water
4 DFFRUGLQJWRWKHPDQXIDFWXUHUèVLQVWUXFWLRQV
2 Tbsp dried prawns, soaked in
hot water to soften
20 g (2/3 oz) dried squid, soaked in
hot water to soften
5 dried shiitake mushrooms,
soaked in hot water to soften
1 Tbsp cooking oil
400 g (141/3 oz) pork belly,
thinly sliced
30 g (1 oz) crisp-fried shallots
90 ml (3 fl oz / 3/8 cup) light soy
sauce, or to taste
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
Seasoning
50 ml (12/3 fl oz) rice wine
1 Tbsp sugar
1
/4 tsp ground white pepper
1. Place the glutinous rice and water in a rice cooker and cook
2. Drain the dried prawns and set aside.
3. Drain the dried squid and slice it thinly. Set aside.
4. Squeeze the excess water from the shiitake mushrooms and
reserve the soaking liquid. Slice the mushrooms thinly and
set aside.
5. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the dried
prawns, squid and shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry for about
2 minutes.
6. Add the pork belly, crisp-fried shallots, soy sauce and five-
spice powder and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes.
7. Add the seasoning and the liquid from soaking the shiitake
mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for
PLQXWHV7DVWHDQGDGMXVWWKHVHDVRQLQJDVGHVLUHG
8. Add the contents of the wok to the cooked glutinous rice and
mix evenly. Place in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
9. Dish out. Garnish as desired and serve immediately.

18
BEEF NOODLES
Serves 5

This is often said to be the national dish of Taiwan as the Taiwanese simply love beef noodles.
There is even an International Beef Noodle Festival held in Taiwan every year. There are many
varieties of beef noodles in Taiwan and restaurants serving the dish will have their secret
ingredients and recipes for their signature beef noodles, but the three main types of beef noodles
are clear broth noodles, tomato broth beef noodles and red roasted or braised/stewed beef
noodles such as the recipe below. When preparing beef noodles, choose a cut of beef with some
fat as it will add to the flavour.

1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) beef flank or shin, 1. Boil a large pot of water and blanch the beef briefly to
with some fat remove any impurities. Remove and rinse immediately with
Cooking oil, as needed cold water. Cut into 1.5-cm (3/4-in) thick slices. Set aside.
30 g (1 oz) spring onion
2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the spring
30 g (1 oz) garlic onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, star anise and cinnamon and stir-
3 thin slices ginger fry until fragrant.
1 red chilli, or to taste 3. Add the chilli bean sauce and stir-fry for 10 seconds.
1 star anise
4. Add the beef and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
1
/2 cinnamon stick
5. Add the rice wine and soy sauces and cook for 1 minute.
2 Tbsp chilli bean sauce
Transfer everything to a stockpot.
150 ml (5 fl oz) rice wine
6. Add the water or stock, liquorice root and salt. Bring to a boil,
100 ml (31/2 fl oz) light soy sauce
then simmer over low heat for about 2 hours until the beef
1
/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce is tender.
1.25 litres (40 fl oz / 5 cups) water
or stock (page 153) 7. When the meat is almost ready, add the carrots and cook
until soft. Blanch the bok choy briefly in the hot stock.
2 slices licorice root (optional)
1
/2 tsp salt 8. Boil a fresh pot of water and cook the noodles until tender.
Divide the noodles among serving bowls and top with some
250 g (9 oz) carrots, peeled and
cut into 2.5-cm (1-in) cubes carrot and bok choy. Ladle the beef and stock over.
5 stalks bok choy or other green 9. Serve immediately.
leafy vegetables
500 g (1 lb 11/2 oz) dried wheat
noodles

20
STIR-FRIED SEAFOOD NOODLES

Serves 4

,IWKHUHèVRQHWKLQJ7DLZDQZLOOQHYHUODFNLWèVVHDIRRG7DLZDQLVDWURSLFDOLVODQGVXUURXQGHG
by the sea, providing access to some of the most delicious seafood imaginable. Prepared with
fresh local seafood, this noodle dish is popular in Taiwanese night markets and restaurants.
Traditionally, a type of noodle called alkaline noodle was used. This is similar to that used in home-
made noodle salad (page 24), but egg noodles can also be used to make the dish easier and faster
to cook at home.

300 g (11 oz) prawns, peeled and
deveined
400 g (141/3 oz) squid, cleaned,
scored and cut into small pieces
(page 82)
200 g (7 oz) cod fillet, cut into
2.5-cm (1-in) cubes
400 g (141/3 oz) egg noodles
Cooking oil, as needed
20 g (2/3 oz) spring onion,
cut into 3-cm (11/4-in) lengths
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
80 g (24/5 oz) onion, peeled and
thinly sliced
200 g (7 oz) cabbage, cut into
thin strips
100 g (31/2 oz) carrot, peeled and
cut into thin strips
1. Boil a pot of water and blanch the prawns, squid and fish.
Remove and plunge immediately into cold water. Drain and
set aside.
2. Boil a fresh pot of water and cook the egg noodles until
tender. Drain and toss with some oil to prevent the noodles
from sticking together. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the spring
onion, ginger and onion and stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the cabbage and carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add the prawns, squid, fish and noodles, and stir-fry for
another 2 minutes.
6. Add the seasoning and stir-fry for 2 minutes until the sauce
has been absorbed.
7. Dish out. Garnish as desired and serve immediately.

Seasoning
1 Tbsp black vinegar
1 Tbsp rice wine
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1
/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

23
HOME-MADE NOODLE SALAD
Serves 4–6

This noodle salad is a summer dish, but it is readily available throughout the year in Taiwan. Omit
the chicken breast to make this dish vegetarian.

Noodles 1. Prepare the noodles. Place the bread flour and salt in a large
425 g (15 oz) bread flour mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the water
1 tsp salt and lye water. Stir to combine, then knead into a soft dough.
Flatten the dough and cut it into 4 parts.
215 ml (71/6 fl oz) water
1
/2 Tbsp lye water 2. Using a rolling pin, flatten each piece of dough out until it is
thin enough to fit through a pasta maker, then pass it through
Cooking oil for coating the noodles
the roller several times, changing to a finer setting each time.
Salad (For the pasta maker I have, 1 is the thickest setting and 9 is
the thinnest. I started at setting number 1 and ended at 4.)
2 chicken breasts
A pinch of salt 3. Feed the dough through the cutting blades in the pasta maker.
Dust the noodles with flour to prevent them from sticking.
A pinch of ground white pepper
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin 4. Boil a pot of water and cook the noodles for 2–3 minutes until
strips the noodles are tender but still firm in the centre. Drain the
1 cucumber, cut into thin strips noodles, then place into cold water to cool. Drain.
5. Mix the noodles with a little bit of oil to prevent the noodles
Eggs
from sticking. Set aside.
2 large eggs
6. Prepare the salad. Season the chicken with salt and pepper,
A pinch of ground white pepper
then roll each piece up in plastic wrap. Place in a steamer and
1
/2 tsp light soy sauce steam for 15–20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Cooking oil, as needed Let the chicken cool slightly before peeling off the plastic wrap.
Cut into thin strips.
Sesame Dressing
7. Prepare the eggs. Beat the eggs and season with the soy sauce
140 g (5 oz) white sesame seeds
and pepper. Heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium
2 Tbsp vegetable oil or sunflower oil heat. Pour the beaten egg into the pan and tilt it around so the
1 tsp finely chopped garlic egg coats the base of the pan. Let it cook into a thin, crepe-like
100 ml (31/2 fl oz) water sheet. Remove the egg from the pan and let it cool slightly. Roll
up the egg and cut into thin strips.
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp light soy sauce 8. Prepare the sesame dressing. Heat a frying pan over
1 tsp salt
medium heat. Add the white sesame seeds and toast until
MXVWJROGHQEURZQ5HPRYHDQGSODFHLPPHGLDWHO\LQWRDIRRG
1 tsp sugar
processor with the oil. Process into a purée. Add the remaining
LQJUHGLHQWVIRUWKHGUHVVLQJDQGSURFHVVXQWLOVPRRWK$GMXVW
to taste with salt and soy sauce.
9. Divide the noodles into serving bowls and top with chicken, carrot,
cucumber and egg. Drizzle with sesame dressing. Mix and serve.

24
1a 1b 2 3a 3b
STIR-FRIED RICE NOODLES
Serves 4

This dish originates from Hsinchu County and it is the most popular rice noodle dish in Taiwan.
Hsinchu is known as the windy city and it was the ideal place for the production of rice noodles as
rice noodles were dried in the wind. In the olden days, almost every family living in Hsinchu was in
some way involved in making rice noodles.

375 g (131/4 oz) dried rice noodles, 1. Drain the rice noodles and use a pair of scissors to cut the
soaked in water to soften noodles into shorter lengths.
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked
in hot water to soften 2. Squeeze the excess water from the shiitake mushrooms and
reserve the soaking liquid. Slice the mushrooms thinly and
1 Tbsp dried prawns, soaked in
hot water to soften set aside.
2 Tbsp cooking oil 3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the dried
100 g (31/2 oz) carrot, peeled and prawns, mushrooms, carrot and onion and stir-fry for
cut into thin strips 2 minutes.
60 g (21/4 oz) onion, peeled and 4. Add the pork and crisp-fried shallots and stir-fry for another
thinly sliced
2 minutes.
350 g (12 oz) pork loin, cut into
thin strips 5. Add the cabbage and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes.
2 Tbsp crisp-fried shallots 6. Add the seasoning and the liquid from soaking the shiitake
150 g (5 /3 oz) cabbage, shredded
1
mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for
15–20 minutes.
Seasoning
7. Add the rice noodles and mix evenly. Stir-fry until the noodles
500 ml (16 fl oz / 2 cups) stock
(page 153)
are cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
100 ml (31/2 fl oz) light soy sauce 8. Dish out. Garnish as desired and serve.
1 Tbsp rice wine
1
/2 tsp black vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1
/4 tsp ground white pepper

26
SMOKED DUCK NOODLE SOUP
Serves 2

Smoked duck noodle soup is one of the most popular street foods in Hsinchu City, known as the
technology capital of Taiwan. The traditional cooking method for this dish is complicated and I have
used a simplified version which will allow you to make it easily at home. Whichever way you prepare
this dish, it is a thoroughly delicious dish.

4 duck legs 1. Marinate the duck legs with the ingredients for the marinade.
Cooking oil, as needed Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Sesame oil, as needed 2. Prepare the soup. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium
200 g (7 oz) egg noodles heat. Add the spring onion, ginger, cinnamon and star anise
100 g (31/2 oz) green vegetables and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the water, soy sauce, sugar
of choice and tangerine peel and bring to a boil.
A handful of coriander leaves 3. Add the marinated duck legs and return to a boil. Lower the
heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the duck legs and
Marinade
set the soup aside.
1 Tbsp ground Sichuan pepper
4. Line a roasting pan with a sheet of aluminium foil and spread
1 Tbsp salt
the ingredients for smoking the duck in the pan. Place a wire
2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine rack in the pan and place the duck legs on the rack, skin side
down. Cover the pan with another sheet of aluminium foil.
Soup
5. Place the covered pan on the stove and turn the heat to
30 g (1 oz) spring onion
medium. After 2–3 minutes, the ingredients should start
3 slices ginger
smoking. Leave to smoke for 10 minutes.
1
/2 cinnamon stick
6. Remove the duck legs from the pan and brush with some
1 star anise
sesame oil.
1 litre (32 fl oz / 4 cups) water
7. Debone 2 duck legs and place the duck meat in the saucepan
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
with the soup. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
1 Tbsp demerara sugar
8. Boil a pot of water and blanch the noodles and green
1 piece dried tangerine peel
vegetables. Divide into two bowls. Ladle some soup over and
For Smoking the Duck
top with the duck legs and duck meat. Garnish with coriander
leaves and serve.
150 g (51/3 oz) demerara sugar
2 Tbsp plain flour
30 g (1 oz) tea leaves
2 star anise

28
SWORDFISH RICE NOODLE SOUP

Serves 2

,Q7DLSHLWKHUHLVD7DLZDQHVHULFHQRRGOHVRXSVWDOOWKDW,UHDOO\HQMR\HDWLQJDWDQGLWLVFDOOHG
Swordfish Rice Noodle Soup. When I was living in Taipei, whenever my parents and I went out for a
weekend brunch, I would almost always have a bowl of swordfish rice noodle soup from the stall.

250 g (9 oz) swordfish fillet, skinned 1. Prepare the stock. Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium
and cut into 2.5-cm (1-in) cubes heat. Add the ginger, spring onion and shallots and stir-fry
200 g (7 oz) dried rice vermicelli, until fragrant.
soaked in water to soften
2. Add the water and bonito flakes. Bring to a boil, then simmer
1 Tbsp crisp-fried shallots
over low heat for 1 hour.
1 spring onion, cut into short lengths
A handful of coriander leaves
3. Strain the stock back into the stockpot and bring to a boil.
4. Poach the swordfish in the stock and drain. Set aside.
Stock
5. Drain the rice vermicelli and add to the stock to cook.
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 slices ginger 6. Add some sesame oil, salt, crisp-fried shallots and pepper
to each serving bowl. Ladle some rice vermicelli and stock
30 g (1 oz) spring onion, cut into
3-cm (11/4-in) lengths over, the top with swordfish. Garnish with spring onion and
coriander. Serve immediately.
30 g (1 oz) shallots, peeled and sliced
2 litres (64 fl oz / 8 cups) water
50 g (13/4 oz) bonito flakes

Seasoning
Sesame oil, to taste
Salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste

30
TAN TSAI NOODLES
Serves 4

Tan Tsai Noodles is also known as Danzai Noodles. The story of these noodles began in 1895, with a
fisherman named Hong. During the typhoon season or slack season, when it would be dangerous for
fishermen to go out to sea, Hong had to find another way to make a living. He recalled a recipe he
had learnt previously and made some changes to it with the ingredients he had on hand, coming up
with this noodle dish. It became so popular, he decided to sell noodles full-time. He sold the noodles
from street to street, carrying his cooking equipment and ingredients on shoulder poles. He then
called the noodles “tu hsian yueh tan tsai mian”, meaning slack season, shoulder pole noodles.

400 g (141/3 oz) tan tsai noodles,
Taiwan oil noodles or flat rice
noodles
A handful of coriander leaves
Stock
6 prawns
2 Tbsp cooking oil
150 g (51/3 oz) chicken bones
1.5 litres (48 fl oz / 6 cups) water
2 Tbsp bonito flakes
30 g (1 oz) spring onion, cut into
3-cm (11/4-in) lengths
2 slices ginger
Meat Sauce
2 Tbsp cooking oil
400 g (141/3 oz) minced fatty pork
or pork belly, cut into strips
125 ml (4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) light soy
sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine
1
/2 Tbsp rock sugar
2 Tbsp crisp-fried shallots
1
/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
625 ml (20 fl oz / 21/2 cups) water
1. Prepare the stock. Peel the prawns and set them aside. Heat
the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the prawn shells and
stir-fry until fragrant. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and roast the chicken
bones until nicely browned.
3. Place the prawn shells and chicken bones in a stockpot and
add the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for
2 hours.
4. Prepare the meat sauce. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a wok over
medium heat. Add the pork and stir-fry until golden brown.
5. Add the light soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar, crisp-fried
shallots, pepper, five-spice powder and water. Bring to a boil,
then simmer over low heat for about 1 hour until the sauce is
reduced by half.
6. Boil a pot of water and poach the prawns. Drain and set
aside. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until
tender. Drain and place into 4 serving bowls.
7. Ladle some stock over the noodles, then top with the meat
sauce and prawns. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve
immediately.

33
TIGER BITES PIG
Serves 8–10

7KLVGLVKLVNQRZQDVWLJHUELWHSLJEHFDXVHLWORRNVDVLIWKHEUHDGLVFKHZLQJRQDELJSLHFHRIMXLF\
pork. Besides this, it also looks like a wallet, and is taken to mean “rich” or “having a lot of money”.
6ROHWèVPDNHLWDWKRPHHDWDORWRILWDQGKRSHIRUDSURVSHURXV\HDUDKHDG,QUHFHQW\HDUVWKHUH
have been many different fillings created for this dish, including deep-fried chicken fillets, cod fish
fillets and even beef to replace the original stewed pork belly. You can almost consider this dish the
equivalent of a Taiwanese hamburger and the recipe below is the classic way to make this dish.

Braised Pork Belly 1. Prepare the braised pork belly. Marinate the pork with 1 Tbsp
700 g (1 /2 lb) pork belly, cut into
1 soy sauce and brown sugar. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
1.5-cm (3/4-in) thick slices
2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok over low heat. Add the pork and sear
4 Tbsp light soy sauce
until golden brown on both sides. Remove and let cool.
1 tsp brown sugar
3. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a stockpot over medium
2 Tbsp cooking oil
heat. Add the spring onions, garlic and chilli and stir-fry until
2 spring onions, sliced fragrant. Add the pork and the rest of the ingredients for the
40 g (11/3 oz) garlic, peeled braised pork. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over
1
/2 red chilli, sliced low heat for about 11/2 hours until the pork is tender.
625 ml (20 fl oz / 21/2 cups) water 4. Meanwhile, prepare the steamed buns. Mix the yeast and
50 ml (12/3 fl oz) rice wine sugar with the water until dissolved. Add both types of flour
and knead into a smooth dough. Cover the dough with a
1 tsp dark soy sauce
clean damp cloth or a sheet of plastic wrap and set aside for
10 g (1/3 oz) rock sugar
30–40 minutes for the dough to rise.
1 Tbsp thick soy sauce
5. When the dough has risen, cut it into 70 g (21/2 oz) portions.
A pinch of ground white pepper
Form each portion into a ball. On a lightly floured work
surface, flatten each ball into an oval using a rolling pin.
Steamed Buns
5 g (1/6 oz) dried yeast 6. Brush some oil over the flattened dough and drape each
1 tsp sugar
piece over the rolling pin to set the shape of the dough.

180 ml (6 fl oz / 3/4 cup) water
100 g (3 1/2 oz) plain flour
150 g (51/3 oz) bread flour
Cooking oil, as needed
Garnish
1 Tbsp peanut powder
Castor sugar, to taste
A handful of coriander leaves
7. Place the dough into a large steamer and steam over high
heat for 8–10 minutes. When done, the buns should spring
back when lightly pressed with a finger.
8. Mix the peanut powder with some sugar. To assemble the
buns, place 1–2 slices of braised pork into each bun. Garnish
with the sweetened peanut powder and coriander leaves.
Serve immediately.
Note: For the garnishing, the traditional ratio of peanut powder to
sugar is 4:1. For example, 100 g (31/2 oz) peanut powder is usually
mixed with 25 g (4/5R] VXJDU+RZHYHU\RXFDQDGMXVWWKHSURSRUWLRQ
according to your taste.

34
SALAD BOAT SANDWICHES
Makes 14–15 sandwiches
This sandwich originates from Keelung Night Market but it has become so popular, it can be found
in almost any night market in Taiwan. This dish got its name from its shape as it resembles a boat.
Salad boat sandwiches are typically served with Taiwanese-style sweet mayonnaise, cucumber,
tomato, ham and soy eggs, but you can fill the bread rolls with other ingredients as desired.
Bread Rolls
350 g (12 oz) bread flour
60 g (21/4 oz) plain flour
1 Tbsp milk powder
50 g (13/4 oz) castor sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
14 g (1/2 oz) dried yeast
180 ml (6 fl oz / 3/4 cup) water
50 g (13/4 oz) unsalted butter,
softened at room temperature
200 g (7 oz) breadcrumbs
1 litre (32 fl oz / 4 cups) vegetable oil
or sunflower oil
Taiwanese-style Sweet Mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
90 g (31/4 oz) castor sugar
50 ml (13/4 fl oz) water
30 g (1 oz) potato starch or cornflour
4 tsp rice vinegar
2 eggs
400 ml (131/2 fl oz) vegetable oil or
sunflower oil
Filling (Optional)
1 cucumber, sliced
4–5 tomatoes, cut into wedges
or sliced
14–15 slices of ham
Soy sauce eggs, sliced (page 76)
36
1. Prepare the bread rolls. Place both types of flour, milk powder,
sugar, salt, and egg into a mixing bowl. Stir the yeast into the
water until dissolved, then add to the mixing bowl. Knead the
mixture for 5–10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Add the
butter and mix evenly.
2. Cover the dough with a clean damp cloth or a sheet of plastic
wrap. Set aside for 1–11/2 hours for the dough to rise. The dough
should double in size.
3. Divide the dough into 14–15 portions, each weighing about
60 g (21/4 oz). Roll each portion of dough into a ball. Press a
rolling pin into a ball of dough and flatten the centre portion
of the dough.
4. Using your fingers, roll up the flattened dough so it is slightly
tapered at either end.
5. Dip the dough into some cold water, then coat it with
breadcrumbs. Place on a tray. Repeat with the remaining balls
of dough. Cover the coated dough with plastic wrap and set
aside for 30–40 minutes for the dough to rise.
6. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Lower 2–3 rolls into the oil
and deep-fry for 3–5 minutes until the rolls are golden brown.
Remove and drain well. Repeat until all the rolls are done.
7. Prepare the mayonnaise. Place the salt, sugar, water, potato
starch or cornflour and rice vinegar into a small saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns
into a sticky, translucent paste. Remove from heat.
8. Lightly beat the eggs and gradually add the cooked mixture
to the eggs, whisking until it takes on a creamy, buttery colour.
Gradually add the oil, whisking all the time. (The oil will alter
WKHYLVFRVLW\RIWKHPD\RQQDLVHDQG\RXFDQDGMXVWWKHDPRXQW
of oil added to your preference. I typically use about 400 ml /
131/2 fl oz oil.)
9. Slit the rolls and spread with some mayonnaise. Fill with
cucumber, tomato, ham and soy eggs or as desired.
3a 3b 4 5a 5b
MEAT
STEAMED MINCED PORK WITH
SALTED EGG
Serves 3

This is another dish that I just have to eat when I am back in Taipei. Use fatty minced pork (at least
40% pork fat) or the texture of the final dish will be dry and tough. One either loves or hates salted
eggs, but these preserved duck eggs with their salty aroma, really add to the flavour of this dish.

370 g (13 oz) fatty minced pork
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1
/4 tsp finely chopped ginger
55 g (2 oz) pickled melon,
roughly chopped
1 Tbsp juices from pickled melon
3 salted eggs
Seasoning
1 tsp rice wine
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1. Line a loaf tin measuring 20 x 9 x 6 cm (73/4 x 3½ x 21/4 in) with
a sheet of baking paper.
2. Place all the ingredients, except the salted eggs, and
seasoning in a bowl and mix evenly.
3. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and use a spoon to compact
it and flatten the top of the mixture.
4. Pour the egg whites from the salted eggs over the top of the
mixture, then gently press the egg yolks into the mixture.
5. Steam over medium heat for 20–30 minutes until the meat is
well done.
6. Unmould and serve immediately.

40
BOILED PORK BELLY WITH
GARLIC SAUCE
Serves 4

This dish originates from Sichuan in China, but it has become really popular in Taiwan where it
is served cold during the hot summer months. There are many different ways to make the garlic
sauce and this recipe belongs to my grandfather. He is originally from Sichuan and he used to
cook this dish often when I was young. You can adjust the seasoning for this dish to suit your
personal preference.

1.25 litres (40 fl oz / 5 cups) water
1 Tbsp rice wine
1 tsp salt
1 star anise
2 cardamom pods
30 g (1 oz) spring onion
2 knobs ginger, each about
2.5 cm (1 in)
1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) pork belly
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp roasted crushed peanuts
(optional)
1. Place the water, rice wine, salt, star anise, cardamom pods,
spring onion and ginger into a stockpot. Bring to a boil over
high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Add the pork belly and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and
simmer for about 1 hour until the pork is done. Test by
piercing the pork with chopsticks. The chopsticks should go
through the meat easily. Set aside to cool.
3. Place all the ingredients for the garlic sauce in a bowl. Add
2 Tbsp of stock from the stockpot and mix well. Set aside for
at least 30 minutes.
4. Using a sharp knife, slice the cooled pork into 3-mm (1/8-in)
thick slices.

Garlic Sauce
5. Arrange the pork on a serving plate with the cucumbers.
Garnish with crushed peanuts if desired. Serve with the
4 Tbsp light soy sauce
garlic sauce.
1 tsp sugar
1
/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp black vinegar
30 g (1 oz) garlic, peeled and
finely chopped

42
BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH
DRIED BAMBOO SHOOT
Serves 4

This is a classic Taiwanese dish. It takes a long time to cook, but if you have the patience, you will be
rewarded with an extremely delicious dish.

1.5 kg (3 lb 41/2 oz) pork belly,
cut into 2-cm (3/4-in) thick slices
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
250 g (9 oz) dried bamboo shoot,
soaked in warm water for
15 minutes
500 ml (16 fl oz / 2 cups) stock
(page 153)
1
/2 tsp salt
1
/4 tsp ground white pepper
Cooking oil, as needed
2 spring onions, sliced
70 g (21/2 oz) garlic, peeled
1 red chilli, sliced
900 ml (30 fl oz) water
A handful of coriander leaves
1. Marinate the pork belly with the light soy sauce and brown
sugar. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the dried bamboo shoot. Place into a small pot with the
stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low
heat for 1 hour.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the pork belly
and stir-fry until golden brown. Dish out and set aside.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a stockpot. Add the spring onions, garlic and
chilli and stir-fry until fragrant.
5. Add the browned pork belly and water, followed by the
seasoning. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for
2 hours.
6. Arrange the bamboo shoot on a serving plate. Top with the
pork belly and drizzle with sauce. Garnish with coriander
and serve.

Seasoning
100 ml (31/2 fl oz) rice wine
150 ml (5 fl oz) light soy sauce
2 Tbsp thick soy sauce
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
30 g (1 oz) rock sugar
A pinch of ground white pepper

44
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 “Trevor has a good deal on his hands,” she reminded herself
however, “and of course he will know it does not matter if he misses
one dance with me. We have two still—one other waltz.”
So the face was still sweet and unruffled, the eyes guiltless of
reproach, when, at the very end of the waltz—when the last notes of
the inviting Zuleika were dying away—the laggard partner made his
appearance. He looked flushed and discomposed, and evidently
conscious that he deserved a scolding.
“I am so sorry, so very sorry,” he began. “I was coming here to
look for you, but I hadn’t got rid of my last partner, and the music
began before I expected, and we found ourselves regularly hemmed
in. We took a turn to get clear, and then I had to get Ge—, my
partner, an ice, and now it is too late!”
“Never mind,” said Cicely brightly. “What does it matter? I have
kept two others for you.”
Trevor looked at her with a curious mixture of expressions in his
face. “My dear old Cit,” he said, reverting to a pet name of long ago,
“you are awfully sweet-tempered.” Then a frown gathered over his
face. Whose soft voice had whispered in his ear a minute before?
—“Do not please tell my cousin you were just now dancing with me.
It might—it might vex her. She thinks sometimes I forget too much I
am but a stranger. I would not that she should think I knew this was
the waltz you should dance with her.”
Cicely did not see the frown. She only heard the pleasant words.
“Am I?” she said. “I don’t know that it is true, but any way I like you to
think so. By the bye, how is Geneviève getting on? I have not seen
her for ever so long.”
“Oh! she’s all right. She’s had any number of partners,” replied Mr.
Fawcett hastily, as he ran off to fulfil his next engagement—this time
probably with some less long-suffering damsel than Miss Methvyn. In
the doorway he almost knocked over a small man, quietly making his
way in. “I beg your pardon,” he exclaimed. “Ah! Hayle, is it you? Why
are you so late?”
 “I could not come earlier,” replied Mr. Hayle. “Is Miss Methvyn
here?”
“Yes, in the little drawing-room,” said Trevor, as he disappeared.
Mr. Hayle peered about till he caught sight of Cicely.
“How late you are, Mr. Hayle!” she exclaimed. “I suppose you
don’t care about balls though.”
“Not much. I have hardly any experience of them. But I could not
come earlier to-night. I have been at Notcotts till half an hour ago,”
he answered.
“Is anything wrong there?”
“No,—this is the evening I have fixed for my class there. That is
what I wanted to ask you about. We are rather at a loss for some
books. Would you mind letting me look over again some of those you
offered me before?”
“Certainly,” said Cicely, “you can have any of them you like.”
Then Mr. Hayle proceeded to relate to her, as he had got into the
habit of doing, the small chronicle of his difficulties, hopes, and fears.
Cicely listened with interest—she had found it quite possible to like
and respect the boy-faced clergyman, and there was plenty of
common ground on which they could meet without jarring. But half
an hour before, she could not have listened without impatience to the
history of the Notcott’s night-school, the shortcomings of the choir,
the ever-increasing necessity for the renovation of Lingthurst church.
Whence had the sunshine come again? Trevor had called her his
“dear old Cit; it was all nonsense and fancy” about his being
changed.
Mr. Hayle did not dance, but he escorted Miss Methvyn in to
supper instead. Then he had to resign his charge to the partner to
whom she was engaged for the next dance.
It happened to be Mr. Dangerfield. The poor young man could talk
of nothing but Geneviève.
 “She’s so awfully pretty,” he said. “What a pity she can’t speak
English. I didn’t know she was your cousin till just now, when one of
the officers from Haverstock asked me if I couldn’t get him an
introduction to Miss Methvyn; and being such old friends, of course I
said yes. And we were steering away towards you, you know, when
he holla’ed out to me to stop, and I found out it was your cousin he
meant. He said the Miss Methvyn who was engaged to Fawcett, so
of course I thought it was all right. She—your cousin I mean—was
dancing with Fawcett at the time, so Captain Burnett had made the
mistake. Fawcett put it all right, but I couldn’t catch your cousin’s
name—Castle, isn’t it? only that doesn’t sound like a French name.”
“Casalis,” corrected Cicely, smiling. She had known young
Dangerfield all her life, and had rather liked him for his unaffected
good nature, and been tolerant of his matter of-fact prosiness. This
evening however, long before her dance with him was over, she
began to think he must surely have grown heavier and more stupid
than of old. Could he find nothing else to talk about than Geneviève
and that absurd mistake of Captain Burnett’s?
But even the slowest of dances “wears through” at last. Cicely’s
next engagement was to one of the aforesaid officers from
Haverstock—a quiet man—who danced little but talked sensibly, and
did not seem, like every one else this evening, to have had his head
turned by Miss Casalis. And when his dance was over, Cicely began
to feel tired in earnest. She sat down in the corner where she had
been before, resolving not to dance any more—“at least,” she said to
herself, “not unless Trevor very much wants to make up for the waltz
we missed. I wonder what has become of him? I did not see him
dancing the last at all. And Geneviève? She is engaged to Fred
Dangerfield again for this one, I think he told me. No, there he is,
talking to Miss Falconer. Where can Geneviève be?”
Her speculations were interrupted by Mr. Hayle, who, with great
satisfaction, had spied her out again in her retreat.
“I don’t think I remembered to ask you how Colonel Methvyn is,”
he began, as he came up to her.
 “Not very well, thank you,” said Cicely, “indeed, I was not much
inclined to leave him to come here to-night—but—I hardly liked to
stay away. My cousin has had very little amusement since she has
been with us. I came greatly on her account.”
“Then you yourself don’t care for balls and dancing?” said Mr.
Hayle eagerly.
Cicely smiled. “Oh! yes I do,” she answered. “When I am light-
hearted about other things, I enjoy them very much.”
Mr. Hayle made no reply.
“Have you seen my cousin lately?” Cicely went on, “I can’t think
what has become of her.”
“If you mean Miss Casalis, I saw her just now with Mr. Fawcett. I
think they were going to dance,” said Mr. Hayle.
“Oh!” said Cicely, and then relapsed into silence.
“Don’t you think it is rather too hot here,” said Mr. Hayle, “would
you not like to find a seat where there is a little more air?”
“It is hot,” said Cicely, rising as she spoke; “yes, I think I should
like to go into one of the other rooms. I want to find Geneviève—it
must be getting late. Will you take me, Mr. Hayle?” she added with a
smile.
They made a little tour of the rooms; dancing in the ball-room was
still going on vigorously, but no Geneviève, no Trevor, were to be
seen.
“I dare say they are in the supper-room,” said Mr. Hayle. “I saw
several people there still, a few minutes ago. Suppose we look for a
nice cool place in the conservatory, Miss Methvyn; this way—ah!
yes, over there among the ferns there is a charming corner. Now, if
you will stay here, I will get you an ice and look for Miss Casalis on
the way.”
The poor little man seemed quite pleased to find himself of use.
Cicely thanked him and established herself comfortably in the nook
he had discovered. It was at the further end of the fernery, into which
opened the great dining-room, to-night metamorphosed into a ball-
room. Cicely looked round her admiringly. She had always coveted
the Lingthurst fernery; in the hottest summer day it seemed cool and
fresh—there were greens of every shade to rest the eye, an
incessant, soothing murmur of trickling water to please the ear; and
to-night the soft lights of the many-coloured lamps, hung here and
there among the climbing plants which hid the walls, made the whole
into a veritable fairy-land.
Cicely leant her head back and shut her eyes. “The music sounds
far nicer here than in the ball-room,” she said to herself; “it is almost
too loud in there. I shall go to sleep if Mr. Hayle doesn’t come soon. I
don’t want an ice in the least, but it would have been a shame to
refuse it; he was so pleased with the idea. Ah, there he is!”
Steps were approaching her, but they were not Mr. Hayle’s.
Where she sat, some great stands of tall tropical ferns concealed her
from the view of any one coming to wards her; but not realising this,
it never occurred to her to move when first the sound of voices fell
upon her ear. Well known, familiar voices they proved to be, but the
words they uttered deprived the girl for the moment of all power or
vitality.
“I tell you I will do anything—anything to make you believe me—
anything to free myself from this horrible hypocrisy. I can stand it no
longer. The words were spoken low, but with a sort of suppressed
fierceness; the voice was Trevor’s. Then came a sound of half-
smothered weeping, some broken reply of which Cicely could not
catch the meaning—then Trevor’s voice again.
“Not care for you? Good God! what will you say next? I wish I did
not care for you. I wish we had never seen each other. Not care for
you, you say, when I am breaking my word for you, trampling my
honour under foot! I only hope that is the worst of what I am doing,
Geneviève. I only hope what you tell me is true, that in her heart of
hearts Cicely does not care for me except as a brother. If I thought
otherwise! No, even for you, Geneviève, I could not do it.”
“But it is true—it is, it is,” broke in the girl’s voice. “I know it is, I
have always known it. She does not care as I do—oh, no! Trevor, I
shall die if I have to lose you.”
“Hush,” said Trevor, “there is some one behind us. Come this
way.”
He led her close to where Cicely was sitting, then through a small
doorway in the wall leading into a passage used by the gardeners;
as the two passed her, the skirt of Geneviève’s dress almost brushed
against Cicely’s, but thanks to the subdued light and to their own
absorption, she remained unperceived.
She had sat perfectly still—motionless, as if suddenly turned into
stone. It had required no effort on her part to remain so, for now
even that they were gone—out of sight and hearing—she moved not
so much as a muscle of her whole body; afterwards, on looking
back, it seemed to herself that she had almost for a time ceased to
breathe. She was stunned into a species of unconsciousness, and
how long she might have remained thus it would be impossible to
say, had not Mr. Hayle made his appearance with the ice he had
gone in search of.
“Here is the ice. I had to wait some time—” he was beginning, but
broke off in alarm. “What is the matter?” he exclaimed, “you look so
dreadfully pale, Miss Methvyn.”
“I have got a chill, I think,” said Cicely shivering, and attempting to
smile. She was surprised to find that she could speak; for the last
few minutes a sort of dreamy, almost pleasant feeling of death, or
dying, had been stealing over her. Now she awoke to a faint
consciousness of pain; like the unfortunate traveller in the Alps, who
beseeches to be allowed to sleep, even though the sleep should be
unto death, she shrank from coming to life again. “I have got a little
chill, I think,” she repeated. “I should just like to stay here quietly.”
She leant her head back again among the graceful nestling ferns
—their delicate fronds caressing her colourless cheeks and brushing
the coils of her bright fair hair; she closed her eyes, and for a
moment Mr. Hayle thought she had fainted. Perhaps in a sense she
had—at least she was conscious of nothing more till he was again
beside her, this time with a glass of wine.
 “Drink this, Miss Methvyn,” he said.
“No, thank you,” she replied, turning her head away.
“But you really must,” he insisted. “The sort of chill you have had
may make you ill if you don’t take this. Think how frightened Mrs.
Methvyn will be if you go home looking like a ghost.”
Mr. Hayle was not wanting in discrimination and common sense.
He had met Mr. Fawcett and Miss Casalis on his way to fetch the ice;
he was not without a shrewd suspicion as to the nature of the “chill”
which the girl beside him had received. His mention of her mother
roused Cicely a little. She took the glass and drank some of the
wine.
“Thank you very much,” she said to her companion. “I am all right
again now. Must we go back to the drawing-room? Oh! I do so want
to go home,” she exclaimed wearily. “It is late now, is it not? I wonder
if Geneviève—”
“Would you like me to find out if Miss Casalis is ready to go now?”
interrupted Mr. Hayle.
“Yes please, I wish you would,” said Cicely. The mention of her
cousin’s name had driven back from her cheeks such faint colour as
had begun to return to them. Mr. Hayle’s suspicions were confirmed.
“Do I look very dilapidated?” continued Cicely, smiling and
smoothing back the ruffled hair from her temples. “I should not like
Lady Frederica to think I was ill. I have felt very dull and tired all the
evening. You know my father has not been well; we have been
anxious about him, and anxiety is very tiring.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Hayle, “nothing more so. You need not go back to
the drawing room, Miss Methvyn. We can go round by the passage
behind the dining-room, and you can wait in the study while I find
your cousin.”
He was turning towards the door through which Trevor and
Geneviève had disappeared.
“Not that way,” exclaimed Cicely sharply.
 Mr. Hayle glanced at her. “It is much better than having to go
through the ball room,” he said composedly. Cicely made no further
objections.
The next quarter of an hour was a dream to her. She sat in Sir
Thomas’s little study waiting for Geneviève for about ten minutes,
clearly conscious of one sensation only an unspeakable horror of
meeting Trevor Fawcett face to face and alone. But this she was
spared. How Mr. Hayle managed it she never knew; but in a few
minutes he reappeared with Geneviève alone.
Then Cicely remembered a vision of Parker and wraps, a hasty
progress across the hall, still escorted by the young clergyman, a
glimpse through open doors of the still crowded drawing-rooms, a
sound of music in the distance—then she seemed to awake to find
herself in the carriage, with Parker’s anxious face opposite, dimly
discernible in the uncertain light of the flickering lamps, with some
one else beside her; some one whose face she dreaded to see,
whose voice she shrank from hearing.
But all the way home Geneviève never spoke.
CHAPTER II.
 AFTER THE BALL.

“Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon,

How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair;
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu’ o’ care!
Ye’ll break my heart, ye warbling birds
That wanton through the flow’ry thorn;
Ye mind me o’ departed joys,
Departed never to return.”

IT was a very dark night. The full moon, whose services had been
reckoned upon to light the guests to and from the Lingthurst ball,
was not in an obliging humour. She had gone to bed again in the
clouds so early, and the curtains behind which she had hidden
herself were so thick, that, for all the use she had been of, she might
as well not have risen at all. It was so dark that the cautious old
Greystone coachman thought it necessary to drive extra slowly; it
seemed to Cicely that hours, if not whole days, or nights rather, had
passed, when at last they turned in at the Abbey gates.
 Not that she cared. She was not eager to be home now—what
comfort could meet her there?—anywhere? What was anything in
life to her now? What was life itself? A horrible mockery, a delusion,
a sham from beginning to end. There was no goodness, no loyalty,
no truth. All these things she had once—long ago it seemed already
—believed in so firmly, that till now she had never realised how
largely such faith had formed a part of her existence, or how frightful
could be the results of its destruction. Already she had tasted the
bitterest drop of the bitter cup; she had been deceived by her
nearest and dearest—by the one of all the world who should have
been true to her.
“If even he had trusted me,” she moaned, “if he had come and
told me all, I could have borne it. I am not beautiful as she is, I could
have forgiven him; I could have believed that this new love had come
upon him unawares, and that he had fought against it. If he had
trusted me!”
To Geneviève, to her share in the whole, Cicely, in this first chaos
of misery and indignation somehow hardly gave a thought. She
shrank from her, it is true. She was thankful that Geneviève’s silence
prevented the necessity of addressing her, but whatever Geneviève
had done, however great her portion of responsibility, she was only
Geneviève—a new-comer, a comparative stranger. False-hearted,
scheming, unscrupulous she might be—in a sense it did not seem to
matter; for her conduct there was at least the possibility of the
excuse of ignorance and inexperience,—there was not the
aggravation of a broken vow, of life-long affection trampled under
foot.
Over and over again during the three quarters of an hour’s drive
from Lingthurst these bitter thoughts chased each other round
Cicely’s excited brain. The practical results of her discovery, the
explanation she must come to with Trevor, what she must say to her
parents, how they would look upon Geneviève—all these points she
as yet forgot to consider. Extreme misery makes even the best of us
selfish for the time. In Cicely’s nature there was no lack of
magnanimity, but the first instinct of the victim is not to heap coals of
fire upon the head of him whose hand has dealt the cruel blow.
Forgiveness, sincere and generous, would come in due time; but not
yet. It was no small injury which Cicely Methvyn had received; that it
would leave a life-long scar there could be no doubt: would the
wound ever heal? was the question at present. Could the faith, once
shattered so cruelly, ever again be made whole?
“If I live to be a hundred I can never endure greater suffering than
that of this evening,” thought Cicely, as the carriage stopped at last
and the cousins got out. That her present suffering could be
increased—even, in a sense, overwhelmed by an anguish of a totally
different nature—she would have maintained to be all but
impossible. At twenty we are apt to be over hasty in declaring that
we have already drunk of misery to the very dregs.
The hall-door was opened quickly. The light streaming out into the
darkness dazzled Cicely’s eyes for the instant; she did not notice
who it was that was standing just inside, evidently awaiting her. She
was passing on, followed by Geneviève and the maid, when a slight
exclamation from the latter startled her, and almost at the same
moment the sound of her own name caused her to stop short.
“Miss Methvyn,” said a voice, which at first in her bewilderment
she failed to recognise, “Miss Methvyn, will you wait a moment.”
Cicely turned; there before her stood the man from whom but a
few hours before she had parted, as he said, for ever. What was he
doing here again? What had brought him to Greystone in the middle
of the night? Once, only once before had he been there at so
unseasonable an hour. Cicely shuddered as she recalled that once
before. He saw the shudder, even then, through the great unselfish
pity which was softening his voice and shining out of his grave eyes;
he caught the involuntary movement and groaned in his heart.
“It is hard, very hard upon me to have to break it to her,” he said
to himself. “I, that am already repulsive to her. What can I say to
soothe or comfort? Why did they not send for Mr. Fawcett?”
Cicely stood still. Her pale face had little colour to lose; but what
there was faded out of it utterly as she gazed, in but half-conscious
terror, at Mr. Guildford. Quick as lightning the thought flashed
through her mind, “I had forgotten about papa—I had actually
forgotten about papa!” Aloud she only said, in a voice that even to
herself sounded unnaturally hard and cold, “What is it, Mr. Guildford?
What is it you have to tell me. If it is—any thing wrong, why did you
not send for me before?”
“I have not been here very long,” began Mr. Guildford with a sort
of apology in his manner very new to him. “It was by Mrs. Methvyn’s
wish I waited here to see you when you first came in. We should
have sent for you at once, an hour ago that is to say, if—if it had
been any use.”
“What do you mean?” said Cicely fiercely.
Mr. Guildford glanced round him with a silent appeal. “Will no one
help me?” his look seemed to say. Parker had disappeared, but
Geneviève was still standing close behind Cicely, and to her his eyes
travelled. She understood him, but instead of responding to his
unspoken request, she covered her face with her hands, uttered a
smothered cry, and rushed away.
“Little fool,” muttered Mr. Guildford, between his teeth.
But Cicely did not seem to have observed her cousin’s
defalcation. She stood there, still in the same attitude, before Mr.
Guildford, and still there was an approach to fierceness in her tone,
as she repeated her inquiry. “What do you mean? Tell me what you
mean.”
Then the young man gathered up his courage.
“I mean,” he said slowly, speaking with an effort which he did not
attempt to conceal, “I mean that even if you had been sent for the
very moment Colonel Methvyn was taken ill, it would have been no
use. He was utterly unconscious from the first he never spoke again
—from the very commencement of the attack there was nothing
whatever to be done; not all the doctors in Europe could have
restored him to consciousness, or prolonged his life, for five minutes.
And, I think,” he added, speaking still more slowly and reluctantly, “I
think it was better so.”
 Cicely had kept her eyes fixed upon him while he spoke; they
seemed to drag the unwilling words out of him by the intensity of
their gaze, something in their expression made him instinctively
conscious that any attempt at softening what he had to tell, any
common-place expressions of sympathy and regret would have been
utterly futile; the girl could not have taken in their meaning. Now,
when he left off speaking, the strain seemed to slacken; the terrible
stony stare left her eyes; she threw out her hands like a child in
terror—as if for protection and support. “You mean,” she said, “oh! I
know what you mean—but you mustn’t say it. Why didn’t you do
anything? Why didn’t you come sooner? I can’t, indeed I can’t bear
it.”
What could he do—what could he say? The relentless summons
had gone forth—Cicely Methvyn was fatherless. It was very hard
upon him!
“I would have given ten years of my life to save him for you, if he
could have been saved. I would have cut off my right hand rather
than have been the one to tell you. I cannot bear to see you suffer,”
he broke out passionately. Then he turned away from her, in despair,
ashamed of his want of self-control, heart-broken that he could say
nothing to comfort her.
The sight of his distress awoke the unselfishness that seldom
slumbered long in Cicely’s heart.
“Forgive me,” she exclaimed, “forgive me. I didn’t know what I
was saying. I will try to bear it, indeed I will. I know nothing could
have been done, if you say so. Tell me about it—tell me how it was—
but must I not go to mamma?”
Mr. Guildford shook his head. “No, not yet,” he said, “she was
very much excited. I was a little alarmed about her, and gave her
something to soothe her. I think she has fallen asleep. I promised to
wait here to meet you, and that seemed to satisfy her.”
Then he told her all he knew. He had been sent for about ten
o’clock, but, by the time he reached Greystone, even Mrs. Methvyn
had seen that his coming would be of no avail; the life had all but
flickered out already. “It was as I always feared it would be,” said Mr.
Guildford, hesitating again. “I always dreaded the effect of any great
shock.”
He looked at Cicely inquiringly. Had she anticipated anything of
the kind; was she in the least acquainted with the nature of the
shock, which for some time must have been impending?
“A great shock,” she repeated, “what great shock? He did not
know—”
She stopped short. With lightning-like rapidity her mind flew back
to the events of that evening—could her father have come to the
knowledge of what she had discovered? But almost before she had
time to dismiss the idea as wild and improbable in the last degree,
Mr. Guildford’s next words put it altogether to flight.
“It was some news that came in a telegram this evening, that—
that brought on this attack,” he said reluctantly, not feeling sure of his
ground with Cicely, but judging it wisest to put her in possession at
once of all that there was to tell. By the expression of her face, he
saw at once that she did not in the least know to what he referred.
“What was the telegram about? Did you see it?” she demanded.
He hesitated again. “You had better tell me,” said Cicely, “that is,
unless mamma did not want me to know.”
“Oh! no; Mrs. Methvyn wished me to tell you everything. The
telegram was about the failure of some company in which Colonel
Methvyn had largely invested. It told him of a great loss of property.”
“And was that all?” said Cicely. “As if that would have mattered!
Oh! Mr. Guildford, why should he have taken that to heart so?”
“It was only natural that he should do so,” said Mr. Guildford.
There was no necessity at present for telling her how great he
suspected the extent of the calamity to be, and indeed just now the
loss of a few hundred pounds or of a quarter of a million would have
been looked upon by Cicely as matters of equal indifference. “It was
only natural he should have felt it as he did,” he repeated. “That is
why I think, perhaps, it is best his consciousness never returned. He
would only have awakened to distress and anxiety, and at the very
best his life could only have been prolonged for a few hours.”
“But he would have known us, he could have said good-bye; we
could have told him how little we cared about the loss of the money,”
cried Cicely. “Oh! I cannot think it is better never to have seen him
again—I cannot.”
For the first time the tears came into her eyes. She sat down and
cried unrestrainedly, refusing to be comforted.
Mr. Guildford left her. He was anxious to know if Mrs. Methvyn
was asleep. On the staircase he met the housekeeper.
“Miss Cicely is in the hall—alone,” he said. “She knows. I have
told her. Do you think you can get her to go to bed?”
Poor Mrs. Moore’s eyes were streaming. She could not speak, but
she nodded her head and set off in the direction of the hall, so Mr.
Guildford felt that his task was accomplished.
Cicely went to bed, and, strange as it may seem, to sleep. She
was only twenty; she had never been really ill in her life, and sorrow
was unfamiliar to her; there were vigour and vitality enough in her to
stand a much more prolonged attack from adversity, though, as she
laid her head on her pillow, she said to herself that but for her mother
she would pray never to wake again.
“It could not be wrong,” she thought. “Except mother nobody
wants me. Amiel has her husband, but poor mamma has only me
now.” And the thought seemed a something to cling to; it made the
idea of living on, notwithstanding the wreck of her future, endurable,
if nothing more. So Cicely slept.
Who does not know the awful agony of the first waking after some
overwhelming sorrow has befallen us? The shuddering glimmer of
recollection that something has happened, the frantic clutch at the
blessed unconsciousness of the sleep that is leaving us, the wild
refusal to recall the truth! And, oh! the unutterable loathing at life, at
existence even when at last we realize the whole and find that
another day has dawned, that the heartless sunshine is over the
world again, that we ourselves must eat and drink and clothe
ourselves, and live! If we could see that our individual misery made
its mark, if the birds would only leave off singing, if the flowers would
all wither, if a veil could be drawn over the sun, would it seem quite
so bad?
“No,” thought Cicely, “if the trees and the flowers and all the living
things seemed to care, I think I could endure it. But they don’t—they
don’t! The world is brighter than ever this morning, though the
brightness has died out of my life for ever.”
She was standing by the open window in her room. She had
forgotten that the blinds should be drawn down, and was gazing with
reproachful appreciation at the beauty of the autumn morning.
Yesterday it would have filled her with delight, to-day its very
perfection repelled and wounded her. Even Nature, with whose
varying moods she had been ever so ready to sympathize, whose
face she had learnt to know so well, had played her false. “Why is it
so fine to-day?” she said to herself; “why is it not cloudy and raining?
Why should it ever be anything else, there must always have been,
there always must be, thousands of people to whom the sunshine is
as dreadful as it is to-day to me.”
She turned wearily away, and began to think what she had to do.
She had been with her mother already this morning, and poor Mrs.
Methvyn had clung to her in a way that was pitiful to see.
“You won’t leave me just yet, my darling,” her mother had
whispered, and Cicely felt thankful that she could give her the
assurance she asked for, without at present adding to her sorrows by
explaining the real state of the case. And this reflection led to
another. Her father had at least been spared the knowledge of
Trevor’s faithlessness.
“Yes,” thought Cicely, “I can be thankful for that.”
Then suddenly she recollected what Mr. Guildford had told her of
the news contained in the fatal telegram. Her mother had not alluded
to it. “We will talk about everything afterwards. Not yet,” she had said
to Cicely. What could “everything” mean? Could it be that the loss of
property, the tidings of which had, she reflected with a shudder,
actually killed her father; could it be that this loss was something
very great? For herself she did not care; but when she thought of her
delicate mother, a vague apprehension for the first time made itself
felt. She wished that she had asked Mr. Guildford to tell her more;
from his manner she fancied he was in possession of fuller details
than he had mentioned to her; but for this it was now too late. Mr.
Guildford had gone back to Sothernbay; the chances were that she
would not see him again, as in all probability he would now hasten
his departure from the neighbourhood.
“He need not have asked me to release him from his promise,”
she said to herself with a sort of sorrowful bitterness.
There came a knock at the door. It was Parker.
“If you please, Miss Cicely,” she began timidly, “Miss Casalis has
been asking how you are. She would be so pleased if you would let
her come and sit with you, or do anythink; anythink she says she
would be so pleased to do.”
“Tell her there is nothing whatever she can do to help me, or my
mother. And for to-day, at least, Parker, I wish to be left quite alone.”
The cold tone was discouraging, but the pale wan face and poor
swollen eyes, moved Parker to another effort.
“Miss Casalis do seem very miserable,” she said insinuatingly. “I
should not have thought she was a young lady as would have taken
it to heart so. I don’t think she closed a eye last night. I do wish, Miss
Cicely, my dear, you would let her come and sit with you. She’s
wandering about like a ghost. She seems as if she could settle to
nothing.”
Parker’s conscience was pricked by the sight of Geneviève’s
distress. She felt that she had done her injustice. Only the evening
before, she had been far from amiably disposed to the girl, whose
fresh loveliness had won the universal admiration which, according
to the old servant’s way of thinking, belonged of right to “her own
young lady,” and any appearance of indifference or carelessness
would have confirmed her prejudice. But that Geneviève was in real
distress, no one could doubt. “She must have a tender heart, for all
her flighty, foreign ways,” thought Parker, and she waited with some
anxiety for the result of her second appeal.
“I am sorry for her,” said Cicely slowly. The thought of the
miserable little figure wandering about alone in the desolate rooms
downstairs, the remembrance of Geneviève’s great brown, velvety
eyes with the tears in them, moved her in spite of herself. “I am very
sorry for her,” she repeated with a quiver in her voice. “I dare say she
is very unhappy, but, Parker, I really cannot see her. I don’t want to
see any one—not even, remember, Parker, not even Mr. Fawcett if
he calls to-day.”
Parker gazed at her young lady in astonishment. “Not Mr. Trevor!”
she exclaimed under her breath.
“No; I wish to seeno one,” repeated Cicely.
“There is never any telling how trouble will change people,”
thought the old servant philosophically. “Poor Miss Cicely doesn’t
hardly know how she feels yet; we must let her have her own way for
awhile.”
She was leaving the room when Cicely called her back. “On
second thoughts,” she said, speaking with an effort, “you may tell
Miss Casalis that if she likes to come up here in half an hour or so, I
will ask her to write some letters for me.”
Parker departed in triumph. Half an hour later Geneviève, pale,
worn-looking, with great black circles under her eyes, and dressed in
the plain black gown in which she had travelled from Hivèritz, crept
into the room; Cicely looked at her and her heart melted.
“Will you write these letters for me, Geneviève?” she said,
pointing to a slip of paper on which she had written down some
addresses. “I can easily tell you what to say. Mother asked me to see
about her mourning—and I think you had better write home to-day to
tell your mother what has happened.”
Her lips quivered, she turned her head away. Geneviève threw
her arms round her.
 “Oh! Cicely, dear Cicely, I do love you. I do. I am so sorry, oh! I am
so sorry. Oh, Cicely, I wish I had never come here!”
Cicely disengaged herself gently, very gently, from her cousin’s
embrace.
“I am glad you are sorry for our sorrow, Geneviève,” she said
quietly, “even though it is impossible you should understand all we—I
—am feeling.”
Geneviève looked up at her with a puzzled air. “I thought you
were colder than you are,” she said. “Perhaps I have mistaken you
altogether. I—I don’t know what to do. Shall I go home—to Hivèritz
to-day, this afternoon? You would never hear of me again. Would
you like me to go?”
“What do you mean, Geneviève?” asked Cicely sternly. “Why
should I wish you to go? Do you know any reason why I should?”
Geneviève grew scarlet. In her excitement and confusion of
thought, she had almost persuaded herself that Cicely must suspect
her secret, or that, if this were not so, that she must confess it. But
now that the opportunity offered, her natural cowardice returned and
tied her tongue. “I do not know what I mean,” she said. “I thought,
perhaps, now that you are sad, I should be a trouble to you.”
Cicely looked at her. “You have no reason to think so,” she said
coldly. But she did not press Geneviève to explain herself further. “I
shall say what I have to say to Trevor, and to him alone,” she
resolved.
Geneviève had begun to cry again. “I am so unhappy, so very
unhappy,” she said miserably.
“I am sorry for you,” said Cicely kindly.
“You would not be if you knew the whole, why I am so unhappy,”
sobbed Geneviève.
“Yes, I should be. If I thought even that your unhappiness was of
your own causing, that you deserved it,” said Cicely impressively,
“still I should be sorry for you—more sorry, perhaps.”