The Great Cartilage Debate: A Taiwanese-Western Food Culture Clash

Chewing on chicken cartilage is a common act in Taiwan—and one of my greatest delights. But I’ll never forget the look on my husband’s face the first time he saw me eat it.

There we were, happily munching on some fried chicken, when I noticed his expression shift. His brow furrowed, and he suddenly looked very concerned.

“What... what is that sound? Are you chewing bones?” he asked, eyes wide like he had just witnessed a crime.

“Yeah, the best part of the chicken!” I said.

Apparently, in his Western universe, chewing cartilage is not exactly standard behavior. And that’s when it hit me—not everyone is blessed with the Taiwanese gift of eating every single part of an animal.

Growing up in Taiwan, I was taught that nothing goes to waste. Chicken feet, pig’s blood, intestines, fish eyes - even cow penis. You name it, we eat it. We make use of everything from top to bottom, inside to outside, and sometimes, quite literally, from the rooter to the tooter.

Why? Well, the main reason is practicality - we make sure nothing goes to waste. But I also think it's driven by a myth passed down through generations - at least from my grandma to my mom, and then to me - that eating a specific animal part strengthens the corresponding part of your own body. You could call it ancient wisdom, somewhere between early nutritional science and a healthy dose of folk medicine:

“Pig brains make you smarter!”
“Fish eyes improve your vision!”
"Bone marrow makes your bones strong"
“Pig hearts give you a strong heart!”
“Cow penis… well, you know why.”

Whether or not these claims have any scientific backing is beside the point - they reflect a culture that respects food and believes in its transformative power. I truly believed it as a kid. That’s why I ate so many fish eyes - and once you try them, they’re actually not bad. My husband gave me an unbelievable look, like I was from another planet, when I confessed my love for them.

Back to cartilage: my husband still can’t get behind it. He always says, “Cartilage is hard to chew!” And I’m like, “Excuse me? You guys eat bread so tough it could break a tooth! Those baguettes and sourdough loaves might as well be rocks!” (My sister agrees, by the way.)

To this day, I still proudly chew on cartilage in front of him - even if he looks like he’s about to call a priest. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll convince him to try fish eyes. After all, his vision could use a little improvement - he still can’t see how delicious cartilage is!