In Taiwan, Q (Chinese: 𩚨; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khiū) is a culinary term for the ideal texture of many foods, such as noodles or boba,[1][2][3][4][5] and fish balls and fish cakes.[6] Sometimes translated as "chewy", the texture has been described as "The Asian version of al-dente [...] soft but not mushy."[7] Another translation is "springy and bouncy".[6]
The term originates from the Taiwanese Hokkien word khiū (Chinese: 𩚨), which has a sound similar to the letter "Q" in English, and has since been adopted by other forms of Chinese, such as Mandarin.[8]