The British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has thrown himself into teaching people about food ingredients in the hope that more people will prepare healthy food themselves. A great lover of nature, he has also produced a series of picnicking recipes. In all he has designed more than 70 dishes, bringing an impressive range to the foods in his picnic baskets, including such dishes as grilled ribs and pocket pizzas.
That Western cooking has long represented picnicking’s mainstream is rooted in various characteristics of Western gustatory culture, including the use of personal plates and a fondness for eating light. These factors simply make it easier to picnic with Western food. And no food of the Occident is as popular at picnics as the sandwich—in all its glorious variations.
Broadly speaking, a sandwich consists of pieces of bread around some kind of filling. Because it’s easy to assemble, doesn’t require utensils to eat, and is tidy and easy to carry, the sandwich has become a favorite of picnickers.
A typical sandwich consists of two slices of bread with ham and vegetables stuffed in between. But with creativity, picnic sandwiches can become a lot more interesting.
Getting creative
Many office workers in Taiwan eat bacon-and-egg sandwiches on the way to work in the morning. Bringing one to a picnic might remind people of their workday pressures, but a few small changes can yield unexpected results.
So how do you create something new with bacon and eggs? In fact, all you need to do is to stir fry bacon and scallions and sprinkle in some shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Spread on the bread, add some well-washed lettuce, and you’ve got a completely different kind of sandwich. For the bread, you can use a baguette sliced lengthwise and spread with your favorite sauce before putting in the rest of the filling. The result is a bacon-and-egg sandwich unlike any you’ve had before.
The blogger Catty, who enjoys cooking and picnicking, has come up with a creative sandwich recipe of her own. She uses thick slices of bread which she cuts into long strips three to four centimeters wide. After she spreads a sauce, she arranges food atop the bread strips. She uses savory fillings, such as ham, eggs, or tuna, as well as sweet ones, such as blueberries, bananas or chocolate. With their great variety of flavors and presentations, these “strip sandwiches” are extremely appealing.
Salads are another essential for the picnic basket. Chef Wang Chen-ting, who designed the menu for the popular restaurant Afternoon Tea, recommends a course of yoghurt and fruit salad. It’s both convenient and nutritious.
Ingredients include lettuce, orange pulp, strawberry jam, and sugar-free yoghurt. Then you add banana cubes and apple slices, and you’re good to go.
You can prevent browning of the banana and apple slices by coating them with lemon juice and then putting them in a glass jar with the vegetables. Wait until you get to the site of the picnic to sprinkle on the dressing.
Wang notes that with acidic foods, such as fruit, vinegar and so forth, it’s best to use acid-resistant materials such enamel and glass so that you needn’t worry about the acid attacking the container and so contaminating the food.
Asian-style picnics
Although Western cuisine is easier to turn into picnic fare, Asian cuisines do have some dishes suited to picnicking. What’s more, they’re very easy to prepare.
“Japanese onigiri rice balls are often seen at picnics,” says picnic guru Lulu Ye. “They are easy to carry and to divide into individual portions.” Chinese has similar foods, namely zongzi (filled glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) and runbing, a kind of spring roll filled with meat and vegetables that is popular in Taiwan, Fujian and Southeast Asia.
The zongzi that are traditional on the Dragon Boat Festival can be found in Taiwan all year round, and there is rich variation in the fillings. There are even sweet and chilled zongzi. They make convenient foods for picnics. One traditionally eats runbing on Tomb Sweeping Day. Nevertheless, it’s very easy to make your own runbing. You’ve just got to buy some premade wrappers and stuff them with thinly fried egg, dried tofu, shrimp, and vegetables. They make for a tasty treat on a picnic. You can also change the filling to include bacon, cheese, salami, and lettuce. Add a little honey mustard sauce and you’ve got a dish that bridges East and West.
And don’t forget Vietnamese spring rolls, Thai papaya salad, Japanese sushi, and so forth: all are examples of Asian cuisine well suited to picnicking. If you get tired of Western cuisine on picnics, why not mix things up?
Great picnic spots
Apart from selecting picnic dishes that suit your taste buds, you can also vary your menu based on the location of the picnic.
Taiwan boasts numerous picnic locations. There are easily accessible urban parks, secluded and pristine mountain forests, and sun-drenched beaches. All make for good picnic spots. During the current picnic craze, which places have become people’s favorites?
The best-known picnicking spot in Taipei City is Huashan 1914 Creative Park, which has served as the site of several “white picnics.” It’s easy to get to and also features expansive lawns, a rarity for Taipei. Consequently, it’s become the favorite for Taipei’s picnickers.
Meanwhile, Taichung’s Calligraphy Greenway and Tainan’s Chimei Museum have their own unique charms. Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Art Center and Museum of Fine Arts have wide lawns—delightful spots to sit out under the warm sun of southern Taiwan.
In recent years, surfing has been growing in popularity in Taiwan, and groups combining picnics with surfing or beach volleyball have become a growing presence along Taiwan’s coasts on weekends and holidays. Keelung’s Waimushan and Hualien’s Qixingtan are both beautiful beaches, and the west coast has Hsinchu’s Nanliao fishing harbor, which is a favorite picnicking spot for people in central and northern Taiwan.
The vast expanses of mountains in Taiwan’s interior hold numerous secluded locations. If you want to enjoy a picnic in pristine nature, consider heading for the hills. “An outing to the mountains will often reveal pleasant surprises.” Picnic maven Lulu says that in the mountains near Pinglin she happened upon a small waterfall. She rarely runs into other people there, and it has become one of her favorite places to picnic and escape the heat. Nantou’s Taomi EcoVillage and Taipei’s Yangmingshan are also excellent places for a serene picnic.
Still, no matter what kind of cuisine you prepare or what scenery you have as a backdrop, the people you are sharing the meal with—whether family or friends—are the most important ingredient of a picnic. The best kind of picnic is one where everyone takes pleasure in each other’s company.
Eating Japanese cold noodles and sushi while enjoying water views elevates one’s experience of both the food and the scenery. The photo shows a picnic spot on the banks of Yilan’s Longtan Lake. (courtesy of Lulu Ye)
When picnicking, nothing delights and dispels the pressures of modern living like some colorcoordinated drinks and sweets. Simple cookies and fruits are a good choice for lighter fare.
When picnicking, nothing delights and dispels the pressures of modern living like some colorcoordinated drinks and sweets. Simple cookies and fruits are a good choice for lighter fare.
Homemade sparkling fruit juice and desserts add some extra pizzazz to a picnic. If you put your mind to it, even a simple sandwich can be dressed up and made more alluring. (courtesy of Lulu Ye)
Homemade sparkling fruit juice and desserts add some extra pizzazz to a picnic. If you put your mind to it, even a simple sandwich can be dressed up and made more alluring.
Taiwan is surrounded by water, and its beaches have become favorite spots for picnics. They are well suited for consuming chilled fruit and delicious Southeast-Asian cuisine.
Taiwan is surrounded by water, and its beaches have become favorite spots for picnics. They are well suited for consuming chilled fruit and delicious Southeast-Asian cuisine. (courtesy of Yuan-Liou Publishing)
Taiwan is surrounded by water, and its beaches have become favorite spots for picnics. They are well suited for consuming chilled fruit and delicious Southeast-Asian cuisine. (courtesy of Yuan-Liou Publishing)
Huashan 1914 Creative Park is Taipei’s most popular picnicking spot. On weekend afternoons, you’re nearly sure to find it full of picnickers enjoying the fresh air on its wide lawns.