Dietary characteristics in various parts of Guangdong

Hakka cuisine, also known as Dongjiang cuisine, is one of the four major cuisines in Guangdong Province ("Dongjiang cuisine" in a broad sense also includes "Chaozhou cuisine", and then the two schools have their own characteristics). The so-called Hakkas are the Han people in the Central Plains who migrated from the whole clan or village in ancient times, not ethnic minorities. "Jiaying County Records" records: "The ancestors of Hakkas were originally from Qijin, but they were forced to move to Henan and Anhui during the Qin Dynasty." The so-called forced, because the ancient Central Plains was a place for hegemony in the world, so the war was on the verge, resulting in a large number of residents being displaced and fleeing south in droves to avoid the war. According to the route, they first settled in Han Xi, Fujian, An Wei and other places. After the Jin Dynasty, they gradually moved south to the mountainous areas of eastern Guangdong. Because most of them are a group of disciples, they still inherit ancient customs in their lives or customs, and gradually merge with local customs, or even replace them. In order to distinguish them from the local aborigines, they are called "Hakkas". Later, it became the name that these people claimed. Later, they moved to Guangxi, Taiwan Province Province and overseas. According to the list of Hakkas written by Chen Yundong of Hong Kong Yalian Publishing House in 1980, there are 5 million Hakkas overseas, most of whom live in Southeast Asia. Their language still retains the charm of Zhongzhou in ancient times, so it is commonly known as "Hakka dialect". Their living habits and dietary flavor also retain the traditional characteristics of ancient Zhongzhou, which is called Hakka cuisine.

It is said that Hakka dialect is one of the eight major dialects of Chinese in China. Today, Hakka people living abroad often speak Hakka dialect abroad. Not to mention those who live in China. Strangely, however, only Hakka cuisine in Guangdong can retain the characteristics of Zhongzhou and form its own school. Why is this?

The author believes that this has its historical reasons and geographical conditions. Among the four major schools of Cantonese cuisine, Guangzhou cuisine, Shunde cuisine and Chaozhou cuisine all experienced the stage of "Sino-Vietnamese integration" after Qin Dynasty, while Hakka cuisine did not. This is because in the process of immigration, Hakka people have gone through difficulties and obstacles, many groups have moved in an organized way, and the whole village or clan has moved. After moving to Dongjiang, Guangdong, he lived in a large area. Its scope includes Zijin, Wuhua, Tai Po, Fengshun, Heyuan, Meixian, Xingning, Longchuan, Huiyang, Huidong, Huizhou and other counties and cities, as well as some nearby counties and cities such as Dongguan, Qingyuan, Yingde and Qujiang. In this vast area, Hakkas are not guests, but hosts, so they are called "Hakkas occupy land". Therefore, their living habits are not easily assimilated. On the contrary, it assimilated many locals or foreigners. Therefore, the characteristics of their Lai cuisine have been preserved. As far as geographical conditions and products are concerned, Dongjiang area is close to the Hakka's ancestral home in the Central Plains, and both of them belong to the inland hinterland, far from the sea. Non-staple food varieties used for cooking are livestock and game, and seafood is rare. There is a saying that "no chicken is not clear, no meat is not fresh, no duck is not fragrant, no elbow is not thick". Therefore, the long-standing characteristics of dishes can be preserved and continued. Moreover, because of the traffic jam, it was less influenced by the outside world, and it became a family over time, which also formed the true color of Dongjiang.

The basic feature of Hakka cuisine is that meat is the main ingredient and there are few aquatic products. Highlight the main ingredients, original flavor, and stress softness and fragrance. Pay attention to the heat, famous for stewing, roasting, stewing and roasting, especially for casserole dishes. Simple shape and obvious local style. Some ingenious cooking techniques are still preserved today. Very old Zhongzhou style.