Dining with Ginger Flowers:

A meal after water fun

Huaquan, located in Yilan’s Yuanshan Township, is richly endowed by nature, boasting a spring with water that stays at about 21°C year-round. When Yang Liuke and Li Liqiu first established the farm, it was only after asking local elders that they learned that in the past the area had been prone to flooding from the Lanyang River. However, the river banks were covered with butterfly ginger flowers, and the two decided to make this plant the farm’s central theme. Combining this with water-based activities around the natural spring, they created Huaquan, which means “flower spring.”

In their early days, when visitors grew tired they would ask: “Is there anything to eat?” These requests inspired Li to start developing a meal menu.

Huaquan Leisure Farm is serene and tranquil. Water flowing from a spring runs across the farm against a backdrop of bald cypress trees and organically cultivated butterfly ginger flowers.

Dishes passed down from Mom

“My mother used to be a banquet chef’s assistant, and was an excellent cook herself,” says Li. From a young age she listened and observed, and inherited her mother’s skillset.

She began with seemingly simple braised pork on rice. For this dish she dices dried tofu, carrots, and onions and stir-fries them with minced pork. But in place of store-bought braising spice pouches, she uses the wrinkled marshweed found right on the farm, which has a fragrance like star anise and a light sweetness.

Li also mentions the influence of traditional Yilan outdoor banquets. When guests arrive, the host must be able to rapidly serve them food. Li therefore usually keeps ready several preprepared dishes that can be served at any time, such as Yilan-style braised pork and cabbage stew, and chicken stewed in fermented rice paste.

The former dish, made with the napa cabbage that is harvested in abundance each winter, is always made in large pots, and when guests arrive the cook can simply scoop out a ladleful and serve it. Moreover, the longer it is simmered, the richer the flavor. “We Yilan folks love a lavish spread, so we even add in crispy egg floss,” she says with a laugh. As for the chicken dish, this is made by taking boiled chicken—the kind traditionally prepared for religious offerings—and preserving it in a fermented rice paste.

Li says: “We feature these kinds of easy-to-preserve and easy-to-serve dishes on our Tian Mama menu.”

Zongzi rice dumpling made with butterfly ginger flowers

Crystal zongzi (a translucent sweet dumpling wrapped in a leaf) made with butterfly ginger flowers and candied kumquat.

Butterfly ginger flowers

Gazing out at the butterfly ginger flowers that bloom all over the farm, Yang and Li thought: How can we highlight them as a defining feature of Huaquan? Li decided to focus on culinary uses. She began developing Huaquan’s own version of the famous butterfly ginger zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings) of Neiwan in Hsinchu County. These are usually wrapped in bamboo leaves, but Li instead wraps them in the leaves of the butterfly ginger plant, picked at the farm, while the rice inside comes from organic farms in neighboring Sanxing Township that use the “rice–duck” farming method, whereby ducks help control pests in the paddies. For the dumplings’ fillings she uses all-natural unprocessed ingredients without adding complex flavorings. “Eating healthy provides peace of mind, and that is also part of the Tian Mama ethos,” she concludes.

All parts of the butterfly ginger plant can be eaten. Li minces the rhizomes and adds them to sausage filling or boils them down to make butterfly ginger cubes as a seasoning. The braised pork, dried tofu, and stewed foods made right at the farm are also flavored with butterfly ginger rhizome. Meanwhile, flower petals are mixed into the filling for shuijiao boiled dumplings or are combined with local Yilan dolphinfish or swordfish meat to make fish balls.

Besides savory foods, Huaquan has developed numerous sweet treats, such as sweet zongzi with a kumquat filling, wrapped in butterfly ginger leaves. For the Tian Mama Top 12 Culinary Mentorship Program, Li accepted a suggestion from French cuisine chef Thomas Chien to blend sweet and savory layers, making a mini-zongzi that combines savory, sweet, sour, and umami tastes.

Yang Liuke steps out of the kitchen to pick wrinkled marshweed for use in cooking. In fact, many of the ingredients served on Huaquan’s dining tables come right from the farm.

A field of butterfly ginger flowers

Butterfly ginger flowers bloom in summer, mostly in the evening. The individual blossoms last only one day, but new flowers appear each day.

Yang and Li personally guide visitors on tours to introduce the flowers and their environment. Li explains that the broad, butterfly-­wing-­shaped part of the flowers is an example of “petalody”—the flower’s stamens have metamorphosed into petals. Meanwhile the long, narrow nectar tube is difficult for bees to penetrate, so there is no butterfly ginger honey for sale. Huaquan is certified as an organic farm, so visitors can pick the sweet flowers and eat them raw.

Huaquan’s foods capture the flavors of the land. Here, the dining tables are not just a place for eating, but a window through which one can experience the terroir and lifestyles of the area. 

Husband and wife Yang Liuke and Li Liqiu have together developed numerous products made with butterfly ginger, including tea, vinegar, fish balls, seasoning cubes, and sausages. Sold in Taipei markets, these enable a wider public to taste the downhome flavors of Yilan County.

The scenery at Huaquan provides material for guided tours offered by Yang and Li, who have a story for every spot.