The large-scale southward migration of the Han nationality in the Central Plains has far-reaching influence on the history of the Chinese nation. The ancestors of Hakkas moved from the Central Plains to the south to settle down, bringing the Central Plains culture. After thousands of years of development and evolution, Hakka culture with unique style has formed in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. Meizhou, with the most concentrated Hakka population and the most developed culture, is the largest Hakka settlement center and cultural center in China, known as the "Hakka Capital of the World" and a regional representative of the vigorous development and prosperity of Hakka culture.
Meizhou is the hometown of Hakkas. After the Hakkas moved to Lingnan from the Central Plains to settle down, they spread the Han culture and customs in the Central Plains, absorbed and integrated the outstanding national customs and cultural and artistic essence of Lingnan, and experienced the evolution and development from generation to generation, forming a unique folk art and folk charm, creating a Hakka culture that stands tall in the cultural forest of China and even the world. Guo Moruo, a great litterateur, came to Meizhou in 1965 and praised Meizhou with the poem "the origin of cultural relics is the first".
A long history, excellent geographical environment, rich products, profound cultural heritage and the hard work of Hakka ancestors in past dynasties have given birth to the unique Hakka cuisine in Meizhou.
Meizhou Hakka cuisine originated from the Central Plains, but it is different from the Central Plains. Some dishes not only have the shadow of Central Plains cooking technology, but also have the characteristics of northern cuisine. Some dishes have the same formula, but the choice and application of raw materials are completely different. For example, the purple-covered meat in Meizhou Hakka cuisine and the fried fat-covered meat in Shandong cuisine, which represents the flavor characteristics of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, are exactly the same in main cooking techniques, but the meat used in Hakka cuisine is pork belly, and the meat used in Shandong cuisine is mutton flower; The crispy roast meat of Hakka cuisine is very similar to the glazed meat of Shandong cuisine, braised pork of Hakka cuisine and jar meat of Shandong cuisine, sweet and sour carp of Hakka cuisine, crispy chicken of Hakka glutinous rice, whole chicken of Babao cuisine and bagged chicken (duck) of Shandong cuisine in cooking techniques, but there are some differences in raw materials and methods. This is related to the Hakka people's absorption of cooking skills along the way in the long-term migration process, and the great differences between Lingnan area and Central Plains area in climate conditions, geographical environment and products. In order to meet the needs of survival, they used their wisdom, made full use of the rich local products, changed the original central plains diet customs and cooking methods, and created unique flavor foods.
Hakkas have been wandering in migration for a long time. Although they are not very particular about eating, they are deeply rooted and always continue the eating habits of the Central Plains. The famous Hakka dish "Stuffed Tofu" is a Hakka dish that Hakka people use wisdom to create spirit and taste enjoyment in a specific environment. According to relevant historical records: "In the North, when people are happy, they will leave together, such as eating flat food to keep their names and taking the meaning of making friends when they are young." Which is now "jiaozi". For thousands of years, jiaozi, as a New Year greeting food, has been deeply loved by people and has been passed down to this day. During the Spring Festival, people eat jiaozi, which means good luck, to show that they will bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. After the Hakkas moved from the Central Plains to Guangdong, it was very difficult to maintain this custom because Lingnan was mainly rice and lacked flour. So they adapted to local conditions, took local materials, ground soybeans planted in dry land to make tofu, mixed pork and vegetables to make stuffing, used tofu as dough, cut tofu into rectangular and diagonal pieces, dug a small hole in the middle of each piece of tofu with chopsticks, then embedded meat into the hole to form "fermented tofu", and then steamed it, instead of eating jiaozi. This custom spread slowly and became a famous Hakka dish through the interpretation of Hakka chefs.
Baked chicken with salt is the most distinctive cooking skill of major cuisines in China, and its formation is closely related to the migration life of Hakka people. In the process of moving south, Hakkas moved to one place and were often harassed by foreigners and forced to move to another place. In the course of life, every household keeps poultry and livestock. In the process of "escape" and migration, live birds are inconvenient to carry, so they are slaughtered and stored and carried in salt bags. After moving to the relocation site, these stored and carried raw materials can alleviate the shortage of raw materials and nourish the body. Baked chicken with salt is a world-famous dish made by Hakkas with wisdom during their migration. At first, the chickens slaughtered by Hakka people were salted and sealed with salt piles, and they could be steamed directly when they wanted to eat, which is now "Hakka brine chicken". It is said that there is a Hakka woman with her children in droves, and one of her children is sickly. Because of the lack of nutritious food at that time, she wrapped the salted chicken in paper, put it in fried salt and cooked it in a casserole. After eating, the child gradually recovered and became strong. He also took part in the imperial examination and won the first place. Later, this dish became a household name and became a special dish that every Hakka woman would cook. In order to facilitate cooking and adapt to mass production, Hakka chefs constantly improve and innovate to create another flavor of Dongjiang brine chicken. Salt-baked method has become a special cooking method of Hakka cuisine, and has produced a series of "salt-baked foods" with unique flavor, such as salt-baked chicken (duck) claws, salt-baked dog meat (feet), salt-baked pork tripe, salt-baked water fish and so on.
Hakka cuisine is one of the three major local cuisines in Guangdong, and its taste and style are different from those of Guangzhou cuisine and Chaozhou cuisine. Judging from the flavor characteristics of Meizhou Hakka cuisine, Hakka cuisine not only retains the food culture characteristics of the Central Plains, but also absorbs local excellent eating habits according to its own living environment and product characteristics, and gradually forms four flavor characteristics: prominent main ingredients, heavy fat and salty flavor.
First of all, after the Hakkas moved to Meizhou, the farming industry was underdeveloped due to the shortage of cultivated land. It is rare to eat meat at ordinary times, and only during the Chinese New Year can there be big fish and big meat, so it has gradually formed that the cooking raw materials are mainly animal meat, especially good at cooking meat dishes such as chickens, ducks, geese and pigs. In addition, there are not enough ingredients for cooking, so other ingredients are rarely used when making poultry dishes, forming a flavor feature of "prominent main ingredients".
Secondly, the Hakkas who moved south to Meizhou live in remote places, and their situation is not good, so they reduce the consumption of non-staple food by adding a lot of salt, which is the wisdom to adapt to the living environment; Moreover, Hakkas live in the depths of mountains, and most of them are engaged in heavy manual labor. In order to supplement salt and restore physical strength, the amount of salt is also a little more when cooking, thus forming the Hakka flavor of "heavy salt".
Thirdly, Meizhou is located in eastern Guangdong with low temperature and cold water quality. Eating foods rich in fat can supplement the body's calories and achieve the purpose of keeping out the cold. In order to alleviate the feeling of fasting caused by heavy physical labor, we should also eat foods rich in fat. Most of the water that Hakkas drink is mineral "cold benefit", which makes them "hungry" and needs fatty dishes to relieve them, thus forming the flavor characteristics of "heavy oil". In addition, in order to adapt to the life of "escape" and migration, Hakka people have produced many good pickled and dried foods that are easy to move and carry, such as vegetables and meat. When making these dry and easy-to-preserve foods, spicy seasonings are indispensable. This has formed the characteristic reason of Hakka cuisine "fragrance". Cooking Hakka special dried pickles (dried plum vegetables), dried radish and dried bamboo shoots with pork can make a wonderful taste, because the tastes of meat and dried vegetables penetrate each other (such as braised pork with plum vegetables). From the common condiments of Hakka cuisine, such as salt, ginger, wine, aniseed and small spices, Hakka cuisine retains the characteristics of Zhongzhou ancient flavor. Hakka people live in a special social and geographical environment and form a way of paying attention to health care when eating. The concepts of diet and food supplement are deeply rooted in people's hearts. For example, the well-known "Nine Stories of Mother" is the product of Hakka wisdom.
Meizhou Hakka cuisine is the representative of China Hakka food culture. It is the crystallization of the wisdom of Hakka ancestors in the process of getting rid of poverty, and it is integrated with advanced central plains food culture, local resources and environment and local culture, forming a food culture with heavy historical accumulation and embodying profound cultural essence. As an organic part of Meizhou Hakka culture, Hakka cuisine is "rushing out of the dragon and going to the world" with its unique flavor; The unique cultural charm, ecological charm and unique Hakka cuisine of "Hakka Capital of the World" will attract more tourists from home and abroad to come to Mei to experience Hakka customs, taste Hakka cuisine and appreciate Hakka culture with the formation of a three-dimensional modern cultural transportation network. We must take this opportunity to actively do a good job in the study of Hakka food culture, constantly innovate the variety of dishes, and build Meizhou Hakka food into a brand of Meizhou food culture.