Hakka Food: Renewing the Tradition

Cultural worker Vivian Chang, author of Women of the Mountain and Visitors to Tai­pei, now in middle age, cherishes memories of her childhood celebrating Chinese New Year in Hakka communities in Tou­fen, ­Miaoli County. As New Year approached, every household got busy making rice noodles amid the aroma of salted vegetables drying in the sun. Chicken and pork dishes were special treats for the New Year’s Eve feast. Every day was full of surprises. People visited relatives and friends to express good wishes, often bringing gifts of home-made treats in a large floral-pattern cloth bundle: chicken legs, hong­lu­jiu (rice wine fermented with red yeast), dried radish, and deep-fried sweet rice cakes coated in flour or egg, common religious offerings for the New Year.

“In the old days when food was short, sweet or savory snacks were special treats only available once a year. Children loved them so much that they’d spend hours eating just a little,” says Chang.

Chang points out that Hakka women in general have a profound love-hate relationship with food. Traditionally hardworking, they cooked all the food for the family yet couldn’t eat until the men and older people finished their meals. So they rarely had the chance to enjoy the food. “A popular Hakka folk song, ‘The Song of Morning Sickness,’ portrays the discomfort of pregnant women and shows Hakka women’s desire for food and love.”

Salty, fragrant, and oily: the characteristics of Hakka cuisine reflect the harsh migration experiences and history of their ancestors. From left to right: Hakka stir-fry, pig’s large intestines with shredded ginger, steamed pork with pickled mustard greens, and rice noodles.

Since the 1990s when a revival of their mother tongue brought about something of a cultural renaissance, Hakka culture has become a mainstream area of study, and the cuisine has also become an important cultural symbol and a subject of exploration.

Researchers agree on the main features of the cuisine. The food is salty, fragrant, and oily; steaming, boiling and stir-frying are the preferred cooking methods, and the Hakka’s superb pickling skills mean a diverse range of preserved food, all results of their early migration history and demanding lifestyle.

The original Hakka people were Han Chinese who lived around the Yellow, Yangtze and Huai River basins in China. Because of the impact of various natural disasters and wars, large numbers of these people migrated to Southern China around Fu­jian, Guang­dong and ­Jiangxi provinces between the end of the Tang and throughout the Song Dynasty. As the relatively flat lands were already inhabited by other ethnic groups, the Hakka were forced into the mountains and hill regions.

Due to the harsh environment and barren lands of their new home, they had to reclaim and cultivate new fields with their labor, thereby developing a diet full of salt and fatty foods necessary to maintain physical strength and replenish the salt lost after a day of hard farm work. Working-class Hakka people often describe someone who lacks energy as “not eating salt”—showing that Hakka people have enjoyed salty food since early times.

And because of the lack of contact with outsiders and the shortage of food in their mountain home, Hakka people developed superb pickling skills to preserve food. This usually involved extracting the juice from vegetables before drying them in the sun and salting for preservation. Mustard greens, for example, were made into three different pickled products: xian­cai, fu­cai and mei­gan­cai. The drier and older they were, the richer the flavor became. And in order to save time and resources, their cooking methods were simple: mainly steaming, boiling and stir-frying, and less often smoking and deep-frying. Excess meat was stewed or cooked with red yeast and eaten sliced or added to soups. It was hearty convenience food that also helped meet their body’s need for salt.

Yang Chao-ching, associate professor in the Department of Chinese Culinary Arts, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, says that in the Hakka classic “four stewed and four stir-fried” dishes, such as xian­cai wen ­zhudu (鹹菜炆豬肚/hog maw in pickled mustard greens), dried bamboo shoots stewed in rich broth, or pig’s lung stir-fried with pineapple and wood-ear mushrooms, pig’s organs and blood are used as ingredients for delicious gourmet meals. Dried bamboo shoots added to the broth absorb some of the greasiness, at the same time reducing the acidity of the bamboo shoots, gaining the best of both worlds. Ethnology expert Chuang Ying-chang regards Hakka pickling skills as “an adaptation strategy for a relatively unstable ecological environment.”

As Hakka communities move into the tourism and leisure industry, restaurants with a sense of the Hakka tradition are mushrooming. The photo shows Beipu Shitang.

Hakka people migrated to Taiwan about 400 years ago, settling mainly in hilly areas, including Tao­yuan, Hsin­chu, ­Miaoli, Tai­chung, Kao­hsiung, Ping­tung, Hua­lien and Tai­tung. Living conditions in Taiwan’s various Hakka communities are each quite different due to their geography, climate and agriculture—so they have each gradually developed their own individual style of food.

Woodcarving artist Xu Heyi, who grew up in ­Xinwu, Tao­yuan, had always longed for the mountain life, so he moved to live in ­Beipu, Hsin­chu about 10 years ago. He was surprised to find that although the two places were both Hakka communities, their food cultures were to some extent different. ­Beipu has its own way of making rice-based cakes, and ­Beipu people use glutinous rice, zai­lai rice, and peng­lai rice to their best advantage, creating stunning rice-based cakes of great variety and exquisite flavor.

Xu has actively participated in the work of community empowering. Through historical research and interviews, he finds that the difference between ­Beipu and ­Xinwu food stems from a couple of historical facts. First, around the end of the Ming Dynasty the ­Beipu community settled new land by driving out the local Aboriginals, creating a relatively rich society with some tendency toward ostentation and heavy drinking. The second factor was that the ­Beipu group were hill dwellers, while the ­Xinwu people lived on the plains.

In the early years, ­Beipu provided a buffer for the people of Hsin­chu City against the Aborigines. Hakka migrants brought tea cultivars from the mainland to grow in ­Beipu, and through many seasons, Oriental Beauty Tea was developed and flourishes today. Farmers working on the tea plantations had to travel long distances to the mountain every day, so various forms of rice-based cakes became filling snack foods for the workers.

Ah Duan displays her skills at crafting Hakka delicacies at a class that she teaches in Taipei. She has created a wide range of rice-based cakes that are both delicious and healthy.

Xinpu, Hsin­chu is renowned for Hakka cuisine, especially traditional dishes such as ban­tiao (broad rice noodles), hong­cao­rou (pork cooked with red yeast), dried persimmon, and kumquat jam.

Cultural and historical commentator ­Huang ­Youfu, a retired geography teacher from ­Xinpu Junior High School, says that ban­tiao originated in mainland China and were traditionally known as mian­pa­ban. Making them was time-consuming, so they are only produced for major festivals.

Xinpu was an important trade center, second only to Hsin­chu City in the Qing Dynasty. Because of the strong demand from businessmen and travelers, ban­tiao soup, shui­yan sausages and hong­cao­rou were popular items at numerous small vendors.

Huang still remembers that ­Xinpu’s ban­tiao were hand made until 10 years ago when production became mechanized. In order to meet the demands of tourists, some changes have been made to the flavor, reducing the strong flavor of the broth and adding more sweet-potato flour to gain a chewy texture. “Although not every­one agrees that the changes have made ban­tiao more tasty, one thing is certain—our ban­tiao are made of ground pure rice, and they’re the real thing. The secret of their delicious flavor lies in the broth which is made from spareribs slow-cooked for a long period, and with the unique home-made chive oil.”

Vivian Chang says that famous Hakka dishes from northern and southern Taiwan are similar, but often use slightly different ingredients. In particular, feng dishes (braised pork stewed with vegetables) from south Taiwan are unique. The well-known Mei­nong Pig Knuckles, for example, are slow-stewed with wax gourds, cabbages, and shredded bamboo shoots.

The Mai family, which has lived in Beipu for many generations, cultivates verdant native mustard greens every year for pickling. The recipes are from their 80-year-old mother. The Mais are also dab hands at tying bundles of mei­gan­cai (right).

As Taiwan has gradually transformed from an agricultural society to an industrial one, traditional Hakka recipes and pickling skills that had been passed on from generation to generation have gradually been lost. Luckily, however, a group of people are adhering to their tradition and still carrying on the skills—and even some young people are willing to further develop their traditional food culture.

Li Feng­jiao, born in ­Beipu, was inspired 20 years ago by her mother-in-law’s Hakka cooking skills, and after discussions with her husband, they decided to open a traditional Hakka restaurant, Beipu­ Shi­tang. Today, they have expanded to two restaurants. Skylights, antique crafts, old tables and chairs, and floral-pattern cloth, designed and decorated in Hakka style, create a nostalgic atmosphere in the restaurants. With utensils of fine ceramic material and a large variety of teas and snacks on offer, a new style of Hakka aesthetic is exhibited.

Xinyou Eatery, located in the old section of Hu­kou, has been running for over half a century, surviving three generations. The restaurant’s master chef Lin Zhi­min was formerly a Taiwanese businessman working in mainland China. Around a decade ago, he decided that he couldn’t bear watching his old mother working so hard to keep the business going, so he decided to take up the challenge. Every morning he goes to the local market to buy fresh meat and vegetables, and has made contracts with local farmers for the supply of specific Hakka foodstuffs such as mei­gan­cai and dried bean curd. The restaurant is often packed as it maintains the traditional flavors and uses quality ingredients. “Regular customers passing through on the highway, or who have come back from overseas, always grab the opportunity to visit us.”

Salty, fragrant, and oily: the characteristics of Hakka cuisine reflect the harsh migration experiences and history of their ancestors. From left to right: Hakka stir-fry, pig’s large intestines with shredded ginger, steamed pork with pickled mustard greens, and rice noodles.

Vivian Chang says that there is still a strong demand from Hakka people for home-style food. This is clear from the fact that Hakka people like their food the way their mothers cooked it, which is shown in the way they organize their businesses—somewhere between a family enterprise and entrepreneurial management—and the fact that different Hakka communities specialize in different foods. Hakka people in Gong­guan, ­Miaoli, are good at making fu­cai (pickled mustard greens); ­Xinpu’s dried persimmons and kumquat jam are well known; ­Guanxi has xian­cao (grass jelly) which is still produced using the old method of cooking over a wood fire; and ­Dapi, Yun­lin is the major center for xian­cai. As Taiwanese have become more aware of the joys of discovering their own country in recent years, the Hakka food industry has grabbed the opportunity to attract customers with traditional Hakka cuisine, with Hakka delicacies winning hearts in even Taiwanese-style restaurants.

Xu ­Heyi, a consultant for many Hakka restaurants, loves the traditional flavors of Hakka cuisine. After tasting a variety of gourmet foods, he has finally returned to the excellence of Hakka food. Hakka cooking methods are simple and direct; the ingredients are fresh and natural, and most of them are healthy and environmentally friendly. Kumquat jam with its sour flavor, for example, can reduce the need for artificial seasoning and at the same time maintain a rich fruit aroma—and red yeast is reputed to help in lowering cholesterol. “Hakka food meets the needs of a modern diet, and is healthy and natural,” avers Xu.

Hakka dried radish and pickled mustard greens become tastier the longer they are kept. The Hakka food tradition has also matured in its old age. But its essence remains in its simplicity, perhaps reflecting the true nature of a good life!

Salty, fragrant, and oily: the characteristics of Hakka cuisine reflect the harsh migration experiences and history of their ancestors. From left to right: Hakka stir-fry, pig’s large intestines with shredded ginger, steamed pork with pickled mustard greens, and rice noodles.

Ah Duan displays her skills at crafting Hakka delicacies at a class that she teaches in Taipei. She has created a wide range of rice-based cakes that are both delicious and healthy.

Salty, fragrant, and oily: the characteristics of Hakka cuisine reflect the harsh migration experiences and history of their ancestors. From left to right: Hakka stir-fry, pig’s large intestines with shredded ginger, steamed pork with pickled mustard greens, and rice noodles.