Hakka Beef Balls

Hakka Beef Balls

　　The well-known beef balls are often mistaken by many as a Chaoshan dish. In fact, they are an authentic Hakka dish. In the early days, most of the vendors selling beef balls in Shantou were Hakka people, who carried small shoulder poles and sold their wares from street to street. Especially at night, along the Han River between Bajiaoting on Handi Road and the back of the park, there were often small boats shuttling back and forth, with a small lamp hanging from the bow, specifically serving late-night snacks—beef ball soup—to Hakka cargo boats moored there. In the 1940s, the Xinxing Street area was filled with food stalls, among which the beef balls made by Luo Jinzhang stood out for their unique flavor and became famous.

　　The beef balls of Xiayang in Yongding, Fujian, are also said to have been introduced by people from Xingning, Guangdong, and have a history of over 300 years.

　　Hakka beef balls, called “niuroubopowan” in Hakka, are made through a process referred to as “daorouban” (pounding meat into balls). Their history can be traced back more than 2,000 years. The *Annotations to the Book of Rites* lists the “Eight Delicacies,” the fifth of which is called “Dao Zhen” (Pounded Delicacy). Its method is described as: “Take the meat of cattle, sheep, elk, deer, or roe deer, preferably the gǔ (read méi, meaning the meat along the spine). For each type, treat it like beef, pound it and turn it over to remove the sinews (tendons), then cook it, remove the scum, and knead the meat.” This method is referred to as “tiao wan zhi” (jumping meatballs) in Jia Sixie’s *Qimin Yaoshu* from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, named for their springy, jumping texture. All this shows that the “Dao Zhen” technique in Hakka cuisine originates from ancient times and from the Central Plains. All these facts demonstrate that Hakka cooking, as part of the culinary culture within folk traditions, is deeply rooted in antiquity, representing the crystallization of wisdom refined by the Hakka people over centuries of life.