Hai Rui Meatballs

Hai Rui Meatballs

　　Meatballs were originally created by people from Fuzhou on the mainland of China, then passed on to people in Hsinchu. During the Japanese colonial period, they gained fame throughout the province after being unanimously praised as a delicacy in a chefs' competition. According to oral accounts from veteran cooks, meatballs were first made because an elderly man loved eating pork but, due to his advanced age and loose teeth, had difficulty chewing it. His daughter-in-law, out of filial piety, minced the pork herself, mashed it into a paste, seasoned and shaped it into small balls before cooking. As a result, the meatballs turned out to be bouncy and full of rich pork flavor. However, since the elderly man couldn’t chew them properly, he complained to the villagers that his daughter-in-law was not filial. When neighbors came to investigate and tasted the meatballs themselves, they were surprised by how delicious they were—thus clearing the daughter-in-law’s name. The goodness of meatballs only became widely known afterward.

　　The reason Hai Rui Meatballs are so well-known lies in their use of “100% fresh pork” and “entirely handmade production,” with absolutely no chemical additives. This commitment has helped elevate the reputation of Hai Rui Meatballs to great heights. Because the meatballs must be entirely handmade, demand often exceeds supply, leading to long customer queues—and sometimes, customers can't even get their hands on them. That’s why, starting in 1984 (the 73rd year of the Republic of China), the production method transitioned to a semi-handmade, semi-machine process, which continues to this day.