In Taiwan, McDonald's McNuggets Are A Big Ticket Breakfast Item

McDonald's is one of the most popular fast-food restaurants around, with over 40,000 locations worldwide. While being a global sensation is lucrative, it also requires plenty of flexibility — because in order for this fast food giant to be so successful across different cultures, McDonald's sometimes has to change its menu to better suit local tastes. An example of this can be seen in Japan, where McDonald's released the prawn and macaroni burger and limited-time wasabi nugget dipping sauce. Just like in other international locations, interesting menu changes are also the norm for McDonald's Taiwan, where you can find not only creamy corn soup in a cup but also all-day chicken McNuggets.

As it turns out, Taiwanese people love chicken nuggets so much that they want them for both lunch and the most important meal of the day: breakfast. In fact, McDonald's Taiwan not only offers six and 10-piece McNuggets at breakfast, but it even has a McNugget breakfast combo that comes with scrambled eggs, a slice of ham, and three syrup-covered pancakes. This a-little-bit-of-everything meal has us wishing it was available in the U.S. and also wondering where Taiwan's love of chicken nuggets began.

A common fact about Taiwan is how influential the island nation has been in the world of fried chicken. In fact, it is widely believed that popcorn chicken was invented by street food vendors in Taiwan in the 1970s as a more local version of American fried chicken. Popcorn chicken was later developed for the U.S. market by a food scientist named Gene Gagliardi and popularized by another fast food giant, KFC. However, that doesn't change where this tasty bite-sized treat began.

Even today, popcorn chicken (known as yan su ji in Taiwan) is sold by street food vendors throughout the island in traditional local flavors such as Thai basil, salt and pepper, chili powder, and garlic. Because the love for little fried chicken pieces was already present in Taiwan, it makes sense that when McDonald's first opened on the island in 1984, the restaurant decided to capitalize on local tastes by emphasizing popcorn chicken's cousin, the chicken nugget. And so, Taiwan's love for chicken McNuggets officially began.

The chicken McNuggets sold at McDonald's Taiwan appear to be the same tasty breaded chicken bites that the restaurant sells all over the world. The main difference between Taiwanese nuggets and American nuggets seems to be in the sauce. According to a post on an ex-pats in Taiwan forum called Forumosa, the only sauce you can get with McNuggets in Taiwan is sweet and sour or ketchup. This is also backed up by the official description from McDonald's Taiwan, which states that McNuggets go well with classic sweet and sour and suspiciously doesn't mention any other possible sauce options.

So, if you are a barbecue sauce and nuggets person, you may be out of luck in Taiwan. However, chicken lovers won't be bored at Taiwanese McDonald's and will find plenty of interesting options to try, from the pan-fried chicken BLT sandwich to the large shareable boxes of fried chicken wings.