Diamond Exchange

Father's Day is set on August 8th every year (a homophone for 'Dad's Day'), originating in 1945 when Shanghai citizens initiated the holiday to commemorate fathers who were soldiers and died for the country in the Anti-Japanese War. Most countries worldwide (like the US and Japan) follow international custom and celebrate Father's Day on the third Sunday of June, which originated from Mrs. Dodd's gratitude for her father who served as both mother and father. The origin of Taiwan's August 8th Father's Day: War Commemoration: On August 8, 1945, as the Anti-Japanese War was nearing victory in World War II, patriotic individuals from all walks of life in Shanghai launched the holiday to express gratitude and remembrance for fathers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. Homophone Symbolism: After the victory of the war, local gentry jointly applied to the central government to designate the Mandarin pronunciation of 'Dad' and the repeated character 'Eight Eight' as the national Father's Day. Character Shape Ingenuity: When the two 'Eight' characters are viewed together, they also form the character 'Father' (父), making it both easy to remember and deeply meaningful. Classic Taiwanese Savory Rice Cake (Tung Tsai Mi Gao) is simple to make, primarily involving steaming glutinous rice until cooked, then assembling it with stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, shredded pork, and a rich braised sauce. You can refer to the detailed iCook Mi Gao recipe section for more inspiration. Ingredients: Glutinous rice: 3 cups Water: 2.4 cups (rice to water ratio approx. 1 : 0.8) Toppings: Pork belly (or pork neck slices) half a catty, 5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and shredded), 1 tbsp dried shrimp, fried shallots to taste Seasonings: Soy sauce: 3 tbsp Rice wine: 1 tbsp White pepper: a pinch Five-spice powder: a pinch Sugar: a pinch Instructions: This is one of Dad's favorite foods, so I'm introducing it for Father's Day.