ESG News

Many people think of Hsinchu when they hear the words “rice noodles,” but did you know that the largest producer of rice noodles in Taiwan is actually in Changhua County’s Fenyuan Township? Novatek volunteers accompanied students from the Taichung School for the Visually Impaired to Fenyuan, Changhua for a one-day food and agricultural excursion. Under the arrangement of the Jiushe Community guide, the first stop for the students was a century-old rice noodle factory that’s been passed down for five generations, allowing the students to get to know more about Fenyuan, a township full of rice noodles.

Through the detailed introduction given by the owner of the rice noodle factory, the students learned that Hsinchu rice noodles are called “steamed noodles” because they are steamed, while Fenyuan rice noodles are called “boiled noodles” because they are boiled in water. The making of rice noodles begins with the grinding of rice into a paste. The rice paste is then press-dried to form rice balls, then extruded into shreds of noodles which are then boiled directly in hot water. The boiled noodles are then cooled in cold water and spread on a bamboo sieve for a final drying. As soon as the students entered the rice noodle factory, they felt the heat. By touching the iron sieve, they understood how the rice balls are pressed into thin noodles. They also tasted the boiled rice noodles and entered the drying room to experience how rice noodles are dried with hot air at a temperature of over 50 degrees Celsius.

For the second stop on the food and agriculture tour was to learn how to make the traditional “taro cake” rice snack under the guidance of the elders in the Jiushe Community. The elders, each around 70~80 years old, were the most enthusiastic volunteers in the community. They gathered at the community center early in the morning to prepare all the materials needed for the volunteers and the visually impaired students to make taro cakes. After making the cakes, the students ate their handmade snacks. They couldn’t help but say, “Wow, these taro cakes we made are so delicious!” The volunteers had to stop the students from eating more because they needed to save some room for lunch!

Many people have eaten bean curd, but how is it made? At the third stop along the food and agriculture tour, Novatek volunteers accompanied the students to the 60-year-old Yung-Ta Tofu Skin Factory where they got to experience the fun of making tofu skins. The students have eaten soy products such as tofu skin and tofu before, but they didn’t know where they come from and how they are made. Novatek volunteers accompanied the visually impaired students in the tofu skin factory to gather tofu skin from hot soy milk and learned the process for making tofu skin. Finally, they fried beancurd skin together and enjoyed their delicious handmade snack.

Whether rice noodles, tofu skins, or traditional taro cakes, through a one-day food and agricultural experience, not only did these students get to learn about several local foods, they also got to make and taste the foods themselves, becoming an unforgettable memory for the volunteers and students alike.