Hakka
people are migratory tribes of ethnic Han people originated
from central China. Their ancestors exiled themselves
from foreign rulers such as the Mongols during the Yuan
Dynasty. Due to their late migration to the southern areas
of China, they found that all of the best land had been
settled long before. The Hakkas then were forced to settle
in the sparsely settled hill country.
As
a result, fresh produce was at a premium, forcing the
Hakkas to heavily utilize dried and preserved ingredients,
such as various kinds of fermented beancurd and much use
of onion. Due to the hill country being far inland seafood
is a rarity. Pork is by far the most favored meat of the
Hakkas, with belly bacon being the preferred cut as it
has alternating layers of fat and lean meat, providing
an excellent texture.
Famous
dishes in Hakka restaurants in Hong Kong include:
Salt
baked chicken - supposed to be baked inside a heap of
hot salt, but many restaurants simply cook in brine nowadays.
Duck stuffed with rice - a whole duck is de-boned while
maintaining the shape of the bird, the cavities are filled
with seasoned sticky rice.
Tofu soup in pot - the stuffed tofu cubes.
Beef ball soup - very simple clear broth with lettuce
and beef balls.
Other traditional Hakka dishes include:
Fried
pork with fermented beancurd: this is a popular Chinese
New Year offering which involves two stages of cooking.
As previously mentioned, fresh food was at a premium in
Hakka areas, so the marinated pork was deep fried to remove
the moisture in order to preserve it. When a meal of pork
was desired, the fried pork was then stewed with water
and wood's ear fungus. Think of it as a Hakka equivalent
to canned soup.
Ngiong Tew Foo (stuffed tofu cube): various oddments including
eggplants, chillies and bitter melon stuffed with fish
paste, beancurd, beancurd skin, fish and meat balls among
other ingredients, served in clear soup.
Kiu nyuk (sliced pork with preserved mustard green): Alternate
pieces of pork and yam served in a dark sauce whose principal
component is, of course, fermented beancurd.
Lui Cha or Pounded Tea : A consortment of tea leaves (usually
green tea), peanuts, mint leaves, sesame seeds, mung beans
and other herbs, which are pounded or ground into a fine
powder which is mixed as a drink, or as a dietary brew
to be taken with rice and other vegetarian side dishes
such as greens, beancurds and pickled radish.
Hakka food also includes takes on other traditional Chinese
dishes, just as other Chinese dialects do.
|