Taiwanese First Food Traditions

Hi Abbie!
I quizzed my mother-in-law about Taiwanese first-food traditions. Thirty odd years have passed since she had young babies, so some of the suggested ages for things are her best estimates, but you get the gist. Here's what I found out:

Babies typically start around 6-7 months on rice soup (muay. Basically, rice in a water broth cooked to the point of being mushy) and the broth of pork, beef, or fish soups with the fat skimmed off. Also, maybe a little plain boiled fish (with bones carefully removed), tofu, shredded meat, and poached egg.

At 13-14 months, you can introduce a little more grease and a little salt. Small amounts of most table-food is OK (not too spicy, but some spice is fine), and also chicken soup, carrots, celery, spinach, daikon cake (shred daikon, boil in water until translucent, add rice flour, small pieces of meat, onion, and white pepper, mash into a flat cake and steam), and thin-noodle soup with eggs (mi-swa. Sort of a cross between egg-drop soup and chicken noodle soup.).

Taboo food before 12 months is too much grease, taro (causes gas), and sticky rice (causes upset stomach - probably heart burn, because that is what happens to me!).

Health-promoting foods are fish ("makes you smarter") and fish oil (imported from Japan and spoon fed, not in capsule form). Starting at 17-18 months, ginger tea or ginger ale is used for upset stomachs/diarrhea, and freshly squeezed fruit juice (orange and grape) for a healthy immune system. Babies are sometimes given honey-water to help with dry skin ("so they're head will smell better" ?) and to help get rid of jaundice. (I find this very interesting, because aren't we taught not to give infants honey for the first year?).

As for liquids, infants are often given fortified powdered milk in addition to breast milk, and then soy milk (not cows milk).

Mothers are typically the ones who feed babies. As soon as babies show interest in feeding themselves, they start to do it.

All-time baby favorites: Watermelon and fish.

I'll try to get some more ideas from her sisters and sister-in-laws as I see them.