什麼是「道地的台灣料理」？日本的台灣料理店如何詮釋與呈現「道地」的台灣菜？在日本，中華料理已是重要的飲食要素，中華料理與台灣料理的界線如何劃分？本文從這些問題出發，以東京的台灣料理店為研究案例，探究異國餐館中菜餚「道地性」（authenticity）此概念形構的歷史面向，包括生產者的歷史脈絡，以及「道地台灣料理」定義形塑的歷史過程與變遷。
本研究發現，自日本殖民時期至二次戰後，台灣料理與中華料理循不同路徑進入日本，但一直界線模糊，1980年代後逐漸發展出以家常、小盤、小吃類的「家庭料理、小皿料理」作為「道地台灣料理」的重要特色，「自家製」的常見語言策略則同時將「道地」與「傳統手作」連結。但隨著台日觀光與媒體報導的蓬勃，「道地」的定義正產生變遷，珍珠奶茶、牛肉麵、小籠包等在台灣台菜餐廳不會出現的品項成為近年來日本台灣料理餐廳與消費者共同認定的「道地台灣料理」。從店老闆（生產者）與消費者兩端來看「道地」定義的建構，一方面，生產者歷史脈絡是影響店家對於「道地」定義的主要因素，且與認同密切相關；另一方面，當代觀光的身體經驗與媒體符號也逐漸取得「道地」的定義權。

This article examines the production, representation, and transformation of the “Taiwanese cuisine” in restaurants at in Tokyo, analyzing how these restaurants interpret and represent “authentic Taiwanese cuisine.” Tracing the history of “Taiwanese cuisine restaurants” in Tokyo from the early 20th century, when Taiwan was under the colonial rule of Japan, this article aims to explore the historical construction of the notion of “authenticity” mainly in two aspects: the historical contexts of the producers (owners and chefs of Taiwanese restaurants in Tokyo), and the transformation of the identification and consumers’ consciousness of “authentic Taiwanese cuisine.”
This study shows that the boundary between Taiwanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine had has been vague since the notion of “Taiwanese cuisine” appeared in the early 20th century. Although it had developed diverse local or regional dishes had developed in Taiwan during the colonial period, such as sautéed fish wuliu (literally five willow branches) and flying fish stewed with pickled mango, these dishes were not textualized and provided served in restaurants. By contrast, those the “Taiwanese cuisine” enjoyed by the upper class in exclusive restaurants were was mainly of Chinese origins, which resulting in the vague boundary between Chinese cuisine and Taiwanese cuisine even in Taiwan.
The “Taiwanese restaurants” appeared in Tokyo during the colonial period, and the number grew mainly during the economic bubble of Japan since the second half of the late 1980s to late 1990s. Many Taiwanese migrated to Japan with the help from relatives who had studied or worked in Japan before the 1970s. As many Taiwanese restaurants were ran run by migrant families, the “authentic Taiwanese cuisine” was gradually came to be understood as family dishes or small-plate dishes since the 1980s. There were also restaurants run by Japanese businessmen or the descendants of those Japanese who grew up in Taiwan during the colonial period. In both cases, hand-making and the maintenance of key flavors of Taiwanese dishes are important strategies to identify the “authenticity” of Taiwanese dishes. However, with the increasing bodily experience as of tourists and media audiences particularly after the year 2000, the meaning of authentic Taiwanese food has been changed, referring to newly emerging label signature foods like beef noodles and bubble tea. As “authenticity” is a field of contest, the consciousness and expectations of consumers keeps changing the representation of Taiwanese cuisine in Tokyo. In this context, night market foods and famous Taiwanese enterprises provide a simple way to perform “Taiwanese cuisine” as the boundary between Taiwanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine is still vague.
Based on the exploration of Taiwanese restaurants at in Tokyo, this article further argues that the “authenticity” of cuisines in ethnic restaurants can be analyzed at three levels. The first level is the historical contexts and personal experiences of producers, which constitute construct their identification of “authentic ethnic cuisines.” The second is the core factors of the “authenticity” as identified by producers, such as the key flavors of food, which is are closely related to the producers’ cultural identity and can be hardly are not easily changed. The third level is the supplementary factors of the “authenticity”, which is changing change along with consumers’ expectations and new trends. The analysis of the above levels in this research shows that the identification of authenticity is not only a choice between business and culture, but also the historical construction of ethnic cuisine involving the negotiation between producers and consumers of different periods and backgrounds.