Hakka dishes are mainly poultry and game, not "no feast without seafood", but "no feast without meat" There is a saying that "no chicken is not clear, no meat is not fresh, no duck is not fragrant, and no goose is not strong", emphasizing the main ingredients rather than the ingredients, emphasizing the original flavor. Inheriting the cooking methods of northern cuisine, stew, roast, stew and pot are the main cooking methods, and casserole is the most famous.
Hakka food tastes different from Guangzhou food and Chaozhou food. Rich and crisp, but not light, because the climate in Hakka area is colder than that in other areas of Lingnan, and the human body needs to absorb more energy and protein. However, drinking water contains a variety of trace elements, which helps the human body to absorb energy and protein. What Lingnan people call "cold water and soil" determines the taste of Hakka cuisine.
The famous dish "Dongjiang brine chicken" evolved from folk brine chicken is a traditional dish of Hakka cuisine, which embodies the characteristics of Hakka cuisine. Lingnan people are used to preserving food with salt, chaozhou people likes pickled vegetables, and Hakka people like salted meat and chicken. Chefs learn from the method of covering the whole chicken with salt, and cover the chicken in a casserole that can be kept warm with fried salt until the chicken is cooked. Compared with pickled chicken, salted chicken has better natural taste, rich flavor, crispy and tender meat. Although with the passage of time, the practice of salted chicken is different, but it is consistent, and the pursuit of flavor is consistent.
The famous dish "Dongjiang Tofu" is said to have originated in jiaozi in the north. Because there is little wheat in Lingnan, homesick Central Plains immigrants use tofu instead of flour, and tofu stuffed with meat is like flour wrapped in meat. Whether this statement is true or not cannot be verified, but the inheritance and development of Hakka cuisine to northern cuisine is indeed the reason why it is different from Cantonese cuisine, and it is also the concentrated embodiment of the integration of Lingnan cuisine culture and Central Plains cuisine culture.
Basic characteristics of Hakka cuisine
The basic characteristics of Hakka cuisine are mainly meat and few aquatic products; Highlight the main ingredients, original flavor, and stress softness and fragrance; Pay attention to firepower, be good at stewing, roasting, stewing and cooking, especially casserole dishes; Simple shape and obvious local style. Nowadays, there are still many wonderful manual practices in Hakka cooking skills preserved in farmhouses or restaurants. For example, wine method: the typical dish is rose wine pigeon. The method is to slaughter the pigeons, dry them and spread them in a earthen pot. Two bamboo chopsticks are placed horizontally under the pigeon, so that there is a little distance between the pigeon body and the bottom of the bowl. In order to reduce the heat, take a glass of rose wine and put it between two cups. Then put the whole bowl in an iron pot, cover it with a tile bowl and put it in a pot with medium fire. Pigeons are ripe, and there is still half a glass of sake in the cup, but the smell of wine is gone, only the smell of pigeon meat. This method is only available in Hakka recipes. At present, farmers are more time-saving and simple. On this basis, the method of creating "three cups of chicken" is even simpler and more wonderful: take a cup of wine, a cup of soy sauce and a cup of water, mix them in the pot, support a slaughtered whole chicken with a few bamboo chopsticks in the middle of the pot, cover it with strong fire for half an hour, and then open the pot to eat its sweet, smooth and delicious chicken. In addition, there are many practices in Hakka cooking skills today, which are extremely ancient and unique in modern recipes. For example, the history of Dongjiang meatballs can be traced back to more than 2,000 years ago. Eight treasures are listed in the Notes to the Book of Rites, and the fifth treasure is called "Daozhen". The method is: "To take the meat of cattle, sheep, elk, deer and ostrich, you must arm it (read a paragraph, the side of the spine). If everything is like a cow, hit it opposite, remove its bait (tendon), cook it, remove its trembling and rub its meat. " Because of its flexibility, this method was called "Jumping Pills" in Jia Sixie's Book of Qi Yaomin in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It can be seen that the "authentic" technique of Hakka cuisine comes from the ancients and from the Central Plains. All these show that Hakka cooking, as a kind of food culture in folk culture, has a strong ancient meaning and is the crystallization of wisdom condensed in the life of Hakka people for thousands of years.
Nowadays, the catering industry has a trend of returning to the basics. It is undoubtedly of great practical significance to carry forward the essence of Hakka food culture and inherit its exquisite and magical cooking skills.
The Cultural Connotation of Hakka Diet
1, Hakka cuisine has a strong folk flavor. Exploring Hakka cuisine and Hakka food customs, we will find that both the inheritance and evolution of ancient cooking techniques such as "Daozhen" and "Liquor" and many etiquette rules in daily customs prove that Hakka people have passed down the ancient Central Plains civilization from generation to generation with a long history. It confirms the vicissitudes of Hakka people and the history of many changes.
Kiki's cooking is the crystallization of Hakka's hard work and wisdom. The turbulence of life and the constant change of environment have enabled Hakkas to hone their tenacious will to survive and the spirit of creating a better life in their struggle with nature. Hakka cuisine pays attention to skill, seeking novelty with skill, seeking novelty with skill, and seeking the delicacy of its dishes in wonder. "Food is the most important thing for the people", and Hakka people pay attention to cooking, which is the embodiment of their survival concept.
3. Hakka food customs reflect strong traditional cultural concepts. One is frugality and hospitality. Hakka people usually eat frugally and don't care about luxury, but they are generous in hospitality, paying attention to "six bowls, eight pots and ten kinds" and the dishes are affordable and sufficient. Containers are multi-purpose pots, bowls and large bowls, which have the legacy of the ancients; The second is to respect the elderly and know manners. Hakka people set up a banquet at the square table of the Eight Immortals, and arranged seats according to seniority. There are many rules and regulations at the banquet. You should use the head of a chicken to show respect for the elderly. The seats of the deceased ancestors were left blank to show their respect. During the dinner, the younger generation offered dishes and toasts to their elders. The third is to pursue auspiciousness. For example, the first course of Hakka banquet is chicken. There is a saying that "no chicken is a feast", which is homophonic with "chicken and good luck", meaning that chicken is the lucky bird in charge of the world. Eating "reunion dinner" on New Year's Day and taking soup and medicine on Lantern Festival are good omen for "reunion".
4. The consciousness of health care in Hakka food folklore is particularly distinct. Hakka dishes are fresh, tender, wild, home and coarse; Processing pays attention to boiling, stewing and stewing, paying attention to thick knives and chunks, and not destroying food nutrition and fiber; Cooking pays attention to the original flavor, not too strong seasoning, light and delicious, which is conducive to digestion; The diet should be balanced and practical, and more medicinal materials should be used to regulate yin and yang, eliminate evil and tonify diarrhea, and the variety of food should increase or decrease with the season. All these reflect that in thousands of years' life practice, Hakkas are diligent in exploring ways of keeping in good health, good at summing up health care experience and paying attention to using scientific truths hidden in nature.