Rural Kitchen｜Taipei×Yangmingshan Plum House Secret Vegetarian Kitchen

Upon entering this secret kitchen in Yangmingshan, a delicate aroma greets you. Flowers and herbs line the path, and up close, you can even smell the sweet fragrance of passion fruit. Further down, a vast vegetable garden boasts over 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables. This is like a chef's magical wonderland, where a diverse array of ingredients, like treasures from a rural kitchen, are transformed into vibrant and flavorful vegetarian dishes through the chef's explanations and your skillful hands.

- Farm Overview | Yangmingshan Secret Vegetarian Cuisine -
Yangmingshan's new secret spot, Meiju Leisure Farm, offers a breathtaking mountain retreat where you can experience the essence of nature. Utilizing a natural ecological setting, Meiju Leisure Farm invites visitors to experience a life of food and agriculture, striving for "all-round environmental protection of mind, body, and the earth." Overlooking the Taipei Basin, the farm features plum blossoms and wisteria trails, nectar plants, herbs, bamboo, mountain cherry blossoms, weeping cherry blossoms, and other fruits, enriching the food and agriculture educational experience.

- Cooking Class | Yangmingshan Secret Vegetarian Cuisine -

1. Vegetarian Braised Pork Rice: Utilizing soybeans, wheat, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, and daylily, this dish creates a rich and fragrant vegetarian dish, offering a more refreshing flavor than typical braised pork rice.

2. Pineapple and Bitter Melon: A delicious combination of pineapple, bitter melon, longan, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and fermented black beans.

3. Orange Scrambled Egg: Orange, tomato, onion, and tofu and egg gravy create a deliciously sweet and sour flavor.

- Specialty Ingredients | Yangmingshan Secret Vegetarian Cuisine -
▲ Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots, commonly eaten in winter, are often called winter bamboo shoots. These are the young shoots of the species, which are shorter, stockier, and thicker, growing in higher mountainous areas. In spring, bamboo shoots are still available. The bamboo shoots grown on the farm are spring bamboo shoots, in season from February to March. At this time, the shoots are darker in color. Slicing them into slices and cutting through the fibers creates a crisp, chewy texture.

▲ Daylily

Daily blossoms are perennials in the lily family. They have a subtle stem, a thick, juicy root, and slender leaves that grow in clusters. The daylilies grown on the farm are edible, in season from September to October. They must be harvested before the flowers bloom to preserve their beautiful color.