1. The origin of beef balls

originated from the Hakka people in Meizhou, who live in mountainous areas. Generally, every household raises cattle. When the commodity economy was not very developed, the surplus raw beef could not be preserved for a long time, so they chopped the beef, added salt, squeezed it into balls and cooked it for preservation, and gradually evolved into a local snack.

By the end of the 19th century, with the opening of Shantou Port, Shantou Port flourished rapidly, and many Hakkas gathered in Shantou to engage in business activities. According to the memories of the old people, most of the hawkers selling beef balls in the early days were Hakkas, who carried small burdens and peddled them from street to street in Shantou city.

Especially at night, there are often shuttle boats from the Bajiaoting of Handi Road to the Hanjiang River behind the park, and a small lamp is hung at the bow, which is specially designed for Hakka cargo ships parked there to sell supper and specialize in beef ball soup. Slowly, they settled down in Shantou, and beef balls gradually became the local food in Shantou.

The transformation and innovation of Chaoshan people made beef balls a delicacy until they were named as "Chinese famous snacks" at home and abroad. By the beginning of the 2th century, the commercial prosperity of Shantou Port had driven all kinds of restaurants and restaurants to gather in Shantou's most prosperous small park, and beef balls had already become a household name in local snacks, with a wide variety of beef ball restaurants.

2. Legends about beef balls

There are folk legends about the spread of beef balls from Hakka to Chaoshan. Legend has it that at the beginning of the Republic of China, there was a Chaoshan man whose native name was monk, whose real name was Ye Yanqing, who often helped the Hakkas, and the Hakkas passed on the recipe of this beef ball to Ye Yanqing. Ye Yanqing constantly improved the preparation method of this beef ball, so the beef ball soup he sold was particularly famous in Chaoshan. After that, Ye Yanqing has been working in Hu Rongquan, a famous shop in Chaoshan.

Extended information

Beef balls, also known as hand-pounded beef balls, are one of the famous traditional snacks in Shantou City, Guangdong Province, which originated from Chaozhou cuisine. Beef balls, as the most famous and popular traditional snacks in Shantou City and even the whole Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province, can be used as a snack and a feast soup. The beef balls are carefully made, ruddy in color, soft and elastic, delicious and fragrant, and tender in taste.

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 to make it more fragrant, more elastic, crisp and tender, with soup in the pills and delicious juice splashing.

In the early 199s, Stephen Chow, a master of Hong Kong Wulitou, introduced beef balls into his film and television creation. As soon as "The God of Food" was broadcast, it became popular all over the country. Many tourists came here to try it, but many people didn't know that its prototype was Shantou Niuqi beef balls (beef tendon balls).

In Hong Kong, a gourmet city, it has greatly promoted the spread of the reputation of beef balls, thus making Chaoshan Niuqi beef balls popular at home and abroad. Although beef balls are imitated in many places, the local products in Chaoshan are still authentic in the food industry.

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