Authentic Hakka cuisine in Miaoli – super savory red-braised q" meat and perilla stir-fried duck

Text and photos bySan Gao Eats Chinese

Previously, inShanshihuan Vegetarian RestaurantAfter finishing the meal and chatting with Boss Xu, I mentioned that I wanted to try authentic Hakka food in Miaoli again. Being from Sanyi, he recommended this place called Xiangyuan. He wasn’t just saying it – he had actually planned to take me there on this trip to Miaoli. (Voiceover: “Didn’t I come?”)

The storefront looked renovated, and we got lucky that day. When we arrived during mealtime, it seemed like there were plenty of empty tables, but upon entering, we saw they were all marked with reservation signs. Just as one table was about to finish, we waited about 10 minutes and finally got a seat.

We started off with a plate of p? shrimp-flavored q" meat. Although I really love the r pork rice from Changhua (which is top-tier in Taiwan), this flavor is what I grew up eating. p?? braised with rice wine and garlic, the lean meat isn’t overly tough, and there were also some tender, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of pork skin in the mix – I finished a whole bowl of rice right away.r pork rice(rated the best in Taiwan), but this flavor is what I grew up eating. p?? with its rich aroma, usually goes really well with rice.

The q" meat at Xiangyuan was pretty good – you could clearly taste the rice wine and garlic. The lean meat wasn’t particularly dry or tough, and there were a few soft and delicious pieces of braised pork skin. I immediately polished off a bowl of rice.

After getting burned so many times trying this dish elsewhere, I finally had pork intestine that lived up to my expectations again – crispy yet tender, with a slight chewiness. The flavors of ginger and vinegar were perfectly infused into the intestine – absolutely delicious.

This version of Hakka stir-fry didn’t include tofu, but the fatty streaks of pork belly were sliced into strips and pan-fried to render out the oil – giving a nice Q-crunch texture. Then came the lean meat, properly dried squid that had been rehydrated just right, and plump sections of white and green scallions. Salty, savory, with a touch of sweetness – this dish was great.

The sour cabbage was stir-fried along with napa cabbage and squid. The sweetness of the napa cabbage balanced out some of the sourness, and the squid was fresh and had a nice texture.

The clams were small, but full of flavor. Paired with basil and soy sauce, they were incredibly moreish. The broth at the bottom was great for mixing into rice – another whole bowl disappeared before I knew it.

The version I grew up with at home was perilla stir-fried pork slices (from the pork collar), which I’ve always loved for the aroma of the perilla. This dish used thinly sliced, tender duck with the skin on – the sauce really penetrated the meat after stir-frying, and it was insanely good with rice.

Just some greens to balance out the heavy flavors – haha.

The impression people often have of authentic Hakka cuisine is that it’s salty and greasy, and Xiangyuan Small Restaurant is no exception – especially when it comes to the oiliness, which might be a bit much for those not used to it. As for the taste, in my opinion, good Hakka food shouldn’t be unbearably salty. It should have a rich aroma and a savory umami that lingers, making it incredibly moreish with rice (assuming you’re okay with the oiliness). Xiangyuan is just like that – authentic and highly recommended. And this whole meal of seven dishes plus a can of oolong tea only cost just over 1,200 NT.