Shantou beef balls, as the most famous and popular traditional snack of Han nationality in Shantou and even the whole Chaoshan area of Guangdong, can be used as both a snack and a feast soup. However, tracing back to the source, it originated in Hakka areas-Hakka people living in mountainous areas generally raise cattle. When the commodity economy was not very developed, the remaining raw beef could not be preserved for a long time, so they chopped up the beef, squeezed it into balls with salt and cooked it, and gradually became a local snack. However, the reason why beef balls can become a well-known Chaoshan snack until they are rated as "Chinese famous snacks" and enjoy a good reputation at home and abroad is really thanks to Chaoshan people. As early as the 1920s, in the most prosperous small park area of Shantou Port, there were often Hakka hawkers selling beef balls. They either carry the burden from street to street, or drive cargo ships along the Han River at night, and their business is booming. Smart Chaoshan people saw the popularity and characteristics of Hakka beef balls, so they introduced "transplantation". And from the selection of materials, ingredients to production methods have been innovated and transformed, so as to create a unique Chaoshan beef ball.
Shantou Niuqi beef balls have a history of nearly a hundred years. Generally, it can be divided into beef balls and beef tendon balls. Beef balls are made of pure fresh meat, with tender meat and crisp taste. Beef tendon pills are made by adding tender tendons to beef, which makes beef more fragrant, elastic and crisp. There is soup in the pills and delicious juice splashes. In the early 1990s, Stephen Chow, a master of Hong Kong Wulitou, introduced beef balls into film and television creation. "Gourmet" became popular all over the country as soon as it was broadcast. Many tourists come here to taste it, but many people don't know that its prototype is Shantou Niuqi Beef Pill (Jinniu Pill). In Hong Kong, the capital of food, it has also greatly promoted the spread of the reputation of beef balls, thus making Chaoshan beef balls delicious and popular at home and abroad. Today, although beef balls are imitated in many places, the local products of Chaoshan are still authentic in the food industry. In 2003, Shantou Niuqi Beef Ball was named "Chinese Famous Snack".
The original Shantou beef balls are very particular about the selection and production. First of all, the material must be large pieces of beef, such as hind legs and chest, and meat should be left after tendon removal; The traditional way is to put fresh meat on a big chopping block, then beat it with two special square iron bars (each weighing about 1.5 kg) until it looks like meat pulp, and then add the prepared seasonings (salt, monosodium glutamate, dried garlic oil, specially made dried sole, scallop powder, etc.). ); Continue to stir until the pulp sticks to your hands, then hold the pulp in one hand and the spoon in the other, squeeze it into balls with your hands, put it in warm water and cook it with slow fire. When eating, the original soup is cooked with beef balls. At this time, the beef balls are full of elasticity, and they can bounce more than one meter when thrown on the ground. They taste crisp and delicious (beef tendon pills), and their lips and teeth are fragrant; When eating, it is the most authentic and the best in the world if it is matched with the Chaoshan characteristic sand tea sauce.
Traditional production method of Shantou beef balls;
The traditional production method is to use fresh beef legs wrapped in meat as materials, remove tendons and cut into pieces, put them on a big case board, hammer beef and ham into paste with two special square hammer knives (weighing about 3kg), add a small amount of snow powder, refined salt, fine fish sauce and monosodium glutamate, hammer for 65,438+05min, then put them in a big bowl and add chopped square fish, white meat and monosodium glutamate.
Homemade beef balls:
Self-made beef balls: 500 grams of fresh beef, 40 grams of refined salt, 4 grams of seasoning powder, 0/00 grams of clear water/kloc, and 30 grams of flour. Slice fresh beef, beat it with a small round hammer, mix well with clear water, refined salt and water chestnut, beat it into beef glue, rub the beef glue into pills by hand, put it in a pot, add clear water, soak it with slow fire until the pills are smooth, then pick it up and stew it until it reaches Xian Yi. It should be noted that beef must be fresh, otherwise there will be no gum, and it will be easy to come out without rotting, and the beef balls made will not be smooth.
Self-made method of Shantou beef balls;
Ingredients: Guiguan Palace Pill
Accessories: Chinese cabbage and onion
Seasoning: cooking wine, chicken essence, vegetable oil, pepper and salt.
working methods
1, put a proper amount of water in the pot to boil, add beef balls and cooking wine to boil.
2. Add the washed vegetables.
3. When the fire is boiled and the vegetables are a little wilted, put some salt.
4. Put some chicken essence and pepper, pour some refined oil and sprinkle some chopped green onion.
skill
1. Because small vegetables are tender, they will be cooked after a little cooking.
It is also good to put some fresh soy sauce to improve the taste.