Hakka Cuisine

There used to be eight restaurants in Tsuen Wan, known as the “Big Eight Hakka Restaurants”, which were famed for their authentic Hakka dishes. However, only “Dongjiang Restaurant” (Tung Kong Restaurant) remains today. Cantonese cuisine, Hakka cuisine (also known as Dongjiang cuisine), together with Teochew (Chiuchow) cuisine, are known as the three major cuisines of Guangdong. While Cantonese cuisine mainly uses salt, sugar and MSG sparingly as seasoning, Hakka cuisine generally utilises a special thick seasoning created by many ingredients mixed together. Together with the usage of pickled vegetables in cooking, Hakka cuisines have a stronger taste compared to other cuisines. It was a suitable diet for farm workers, to replenish the body with more salt and oil, but the ingredients have been modified by now to meet with modern taste.

Hakka cuisine has a large and mixed variety, they have their own traditional recipes handed down from centuries ago, which are then mixed with the characteristics of the cuisines of the provinces they passed through, adapting to food availability and local life. Hakka people would only slaughter animals for food during special festivals, or for worship as offerings, or when serving guests. Due to their thrifty nature, Hakka people would utilise all parts of the animal for their cuisines. Some of the famous dishes are salt-baked chicken, Kiu nyuk (stewed pork using thick bacon slices) with pickled mustard leaves (“meigan cai”), as well as fried pig’s large intestines. Hakka cuisine has already become part of the diet of Hong Kong people.