The most particular thing about Hakka food is the cooking techniques the Hakka use, including pressure-cooking, quick frying, stewing, and the sauces they use. Hakka food tends to be vinegary and salty, including a large variety of pickled vegetables. The pickled vegetables not only replenish the salt lost through sweating caused by hard work, it can be stored for long periods of time. This falls in line with frugality considered so important by the Hakka. The most frequently seen types of Hakka food are rice flower dishes, snacks, and main dishes.


Common Hakka Rice Flour Dishes Include

     The main ingredient of "bantiao" (wide noodles) is pure rice flour milled into paste. This mixture, the thickness of which is between 0.2~0.4 centimeters, is then steamed. Before cooking, it is cut into strips and boiled briefly. It is then placed in a mixture of broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, marinated meat, and bean sprouts. The result is a dish of tasty bantiao.

 

     "Caitougui" (turnip cake) is another popular Hakka fare. It differs from the Guangdong "luobogao" (turnip cake) in that it is made from nothing but "zailaimi" rice (a species of rice) and turnips. It is generally dipped first in soy sauce with scallions or kumquat sauce when being eaten.

 

     Bangui is a type of "zongzi" (filled glutinous steamed rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves) particular to the Hakka. It is made of glutonous rice and "zailaimi" rice. They make both regular and sweet versions. The regular, or "salty" in Chinese, version is filled with shredded turnips, ground meat, oil, scallions, and shortening. The most common filling for the sweetened zongzi is sweet bean paste. Both types of zongzi are delicious.

 

     The Hakka "caibao" (vegetable bun) is also known as the "Zhulonggui" () because it resembles the bamboo cage used to hold pigs. The delicious Hakka caibao is filled with shredded turnip and small shrimp wrapped in a rice flour bun.

food3.jpg (10406 bytes)

     The Hakka make a special type of maji called "qiba" for all special occasions. They dip these tasty treats in syrup or peanut powder.

 

     and are special Hakka rice dishes used when in ceremonies to venerate ancestors. The is filled with vegetables like turnip and is salty. The is filled with sweet bean paste and is delicious.


 



Common Hakka Treats Include

     Fried pork tripe with ginger, which is very much representative of Hakka snacks, is deliciously crispy. It has a delicate taste and is not oily. Served with finely shredded tender ginger and just the right amount of vinegar and spices, it is a wonderful treat.

     Sliced white pork-boiled in water to maintain tenderness and dipped in soy sauce, it is mouth-watering.

Common Hakka Dishes Include

     Sichuan Vegetable and Pork Soup, representative of Hakka cuisine, combines the saltiness of the Sichuan vegetable and the delicate flavor of the meat to create a simple and delicious dish.

     "Feng", means fatty pork, with white gourd and "feng" meat with cabbage with are very typical of Hakka fare. It is stewed in a broth made with oil, and scallions. If you happen to go to Meinong, you must try some!

     Fried "fucai", a kind of grass, is also characteristic of Hakka cuisine. In the past, Hakka let their ducks feed on weeds, including fucai, as well as tadpoles. Today, people from Meinong quick fry fucai like any other vegetable and mix it with thick broad bean sauce. It has become a unique Hakka dish.