The recipes for all Hakka dishes are introduced in detail with pictures.
Yong Tau Foo is the No. 1 Hakka dish and the No. 1 dish. Mr. Sun Yat-sen is a Hakka. In 1918, he ate this dish at the home of a League member in Songkou, Meixian County, Guangdong and was full of praise.
In many places in southern Jiangxi, Yong Tofu is used as a banquet flavor and is associated with the "Beginning of Summer" festival. Xinfeng people treat guests by modestly saying that Xinfeng cuisine is "salty, spicy, numb, and spicy" when introducing local flavors. It means that the taste is mellow and thick, and the oil is rich. Xinfeng people enjoy the "Lixia" festival of steamed rice noodles and meat, steamed crystal head, and stuffed beans. They also make egg dumplings, boiled eggs, and fried snails. They say "the beginning of summer, and the snails are eaten at night", which is full of farmhouse joy and field flavor.
Hakka food can be divided into two categories: one is Hakka dishes and the other is Hakka snacks.
The most famous Hakka cuisine on the list refers to Dongjiang Hakka cuisine, which, together with Chaozhou cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, is known as the three major cuisines of Guangdong. Traditional Hakka signature dishes are: salt-baked chicken, Yong Tau Foo and braised pork. Compared with Chaozhou cuisine and Chaozhou cuisine, Hakka cuisine emphasizes "fat, salty and cooked", which is related to the Hakka people's past living standards and habits. First of all, because they farm and live in the mountains, the labor intensity is high and they eat less meat. Fatty food can effectively satisfy their hunger. Secondly, due to long-term food shortages among the Hakka people, even the richer households have to eat at least one meal of porridge a day. Most of them have to eat porridge for many years. Porridge is eaten every day, and there is more water than rice. The cooked porridge "blows away a layer of waves, and you can drink it all the way." The salty vegetables are not only suitable for serving porridge, but also increase the salt in the body; thirdly, there are many vegetation in the mountainous areas, which makes the Hakka culture They have the habit of not sparing any firewood, and they feel that the food becomes more fragrant the longer it is cooked. It is true that society is constantly changing, and Hakka cuisine is also constantly innovating; and the changes in Hakka cuisine in turn illustrate the civilization of society. Traditional Dongjiang cuisine has gradually formed its own local characteristics in the modern Heyuan Hakka pot heads. , has the reputation of "original flavor, delicious and delicious". Its original flavor mainly comes from three aspects: First, the selection of materials emphasizes wild domestic and coarse species of food, that is, "green food" without pollution. It is worth mentioning that the good quality and taste of these foods have a lot to do with the good ecological environment of the river source, especially the good water; secondly, the cooking methods are mostly boiling, boiling, steaming and stewing, which do not destroy the nutrition of the food. and fiber; third, add very little or even no overly heavy seasonings, and generally use raw onions and cooked garlic for seasoning. The so-called delicious food refers to the light taste, affordable price and harmonious effect. Its harmonizing effect is similar to the modern term "diet therapy". Many Hakka dishes have the effects of nourishing yin and reducing fire, clearing the liver and improving eyesight, strengthening the waist and kidneys, nourishing the skin and replenishing qi. At present, in addition to the traditional "three old" dishes such as salt-baked chicken, stuffed tofu and braised pork, the Hakka dishes in Heyuan City are also more distinctive:
Steamed chicken is either domestically raised or raised on the mountain. Chickens raised in groups with cordyceps grains are steamed whole in a pot with water, then torn or cut into six large pieces by hand and eaten hot. They are very sweet and tender. According to other information, chickens raised using local methods contain more than 10 times more amino acids than chickens raised using concentrated feed, which shows that the basic nutritional value is extremely high.
The whole pig set meal mainly includes meat burgers made from the eight most "essence" parts of the pig, made into whole pig soup, steamed pork reds, pork offal, braised pork, etc., with some green vegetables and home-pickled sauerkraut. This way of eating is similar to the taste that Hakka people had in the past when they killed pigs during the Spring Festival all year round.
The whole beef set meal mainly consists of beef tripe, beef cypress leaves, beef heart tops and beef plugs. Unlike other places, the black film on the beef cypress leaves eaten here is not removed. To strengthen the stomach.
Tofu set meal Hakka Yong Tau Foo originated from the habit of making dumplings in the Central Plains. When they migrated to Lingnan and there was no wheat to make dumplings, they came up with the way to eat Yong Tau Fu. Hakkas eat tofu in various ways. The so-called tofu set includes tofu pudding for pre-meal, fried tofu for the main course, tofu pot, tofu balls, glutinous rice tofu, fried tofu skin, etc., as well as snacks fermented bean curd and so on.
The wild mandarin fish, eel and catfish larvae from Xingang Lake and Wanlu Lake have firm and smooth meat, sweet taste and no muddy taste. They are delicious whether steamed, stewed or fried. You can almost taste these lake delicacies with different flavors in the restaurants in Xingang Town, Wanlu Lake Tourist Terminal.
Wuzhi Maotao Soup is a soup made from the roots of a wild tree with five-finger leaves and pork ribs found in the mountains. It has an attractive coconut milk aroma, has the effect of soothing the liver and improving eyesight, nourishing yin and reducing fire. effect.
Hakka snacks are another part of the Hakka diet. They are "good things" that the Hakka people can only eat during festivals and weddings. Almost every snack is related to the farming season, or reflects a custom .
Lantern Festival in the First Month During the Lantern Festival, Hakka people eat soup balls and hang flower lanterns. There are two kinds of soup balls: salty and sweet, which are a good sign of "reunion". It is the habit of the Hakka people to send their relatives back home for the New Year after having eaten soup balls during the Lantern Festival, expressing their wish that their relatives will be safe and have a safe year away and come back for reunion at the end of the year. During the Lantern Festival or three days earlier, families that had a baby in the previous year would hang large lanterns on the beams in the central hall of the ancestral house, and invite relatives and friends to come and celebrate. During this period, the head of the household would bring the baby boy who was born last year. First, they pay homage to the ancestral shrine, and then pay homage to the elders. The elders give "good luck" blessings. After everyone drinks and eats the lantern wine, the baby boy officially joins the family and injects his name into the genealogy.
Generally, one lantern is hung for each son. The more lanterns hung in any enclosed house, the more glorious it will be, indicating that the population is prosperous.
On February 2nd, take down the lanterns, burn the couplets and "profits" posted during the New Year, clean and eat the leftover food from the New Year, such as rice cakes, flowers, etc., and prepare for farm work in the spring.
During the Qingming Festival in March, wild mugwort is relatively fresh and tender during this period, so Hakka people pick it and make rice dumplings for eating. After the Qingming Festival, rice transplanting begins, so there is a saying: "If you eat wild mugwort, your shoulders will be worn out."
April 8th is also called the Water Festival and the Beginning of Summer, because it means the harvest of yellow. At that time, the food eaten during the festival was poor, and most of them ate glutinous rice dumplings made of rice flour and wheat hulls.
Dragon Boat Festival on May 5th During the Dragon Boat Festival, rice dumplings are eaten to commemorate Qu Yuan. They also eat stuffed bitter melon and stuffed tofu made from freshly harvested soybeans.
On July 14th, the harvest of crops in the first half of the year and the cultivation in the second half of the year have basically ended. There is an atmosphere of celebration and holiday rest. On this day, every household grinds tofu, eats duck, and eats various ways of cooking. Fresh peanuts.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, people eat moon cakes, fried snails, and fruits such as chestnuts, grapefruits, and berries. Moon cakes and snails both represent reunion. People who go out to work on this day must go home to celebrate the festival. In the past, there was a tradition of setting off Kongming lanterns for entertainment.
The Double Ninth Festival in September is also called the Ghost Festival. The second burial of Hakka ancestors is held on this day. The snack we had today was Jiuchengpi.
There is a saying in the Hakka area about the winter solstice in November called "Winter (Winter Solstice) New Year (Spring Festival)", which means it is more grand than the Spring Festival, because autumn harvesting and winter storage, farming has been completed, and crops have been cultivated for the whole year. , rich and gratifying. The snack eaten on this day is radish glutinous rice. Since the weather is cold and dry at this time, Hakka people prepare to celebrate the Spring Festival by curing pork and pickling vegetables. The cured pork on this day can be stored for a long time.
Spring Festival (New Year) Since December 25th, we have not traveled far, and we have been busy preparing New Year food and welcoming relatives who have returned from far away. During the Chinese New Year, we eat glutinous rice made from glutinous rice, glutinous rice cakes, and other Hakka dishes. Especially on New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve, Hakka people have to rush home no matter how far away they are to have a "reunion dinner" to reunite with their loved ones.