I
recently wrote a commissioned article for a leading culinary magazine in
Singapore, and in the course of my research I visited the office of the Nanyang Khek Community Guild at Peck Seah Street. One thing led to another, and before I realized
it, I found myself talking one afternoon to Mr. Lai Fak Nian, chef and owner of
Plum Village Restaurant.
During
the chat with the affable Mr. Lai, he gave me a quick lesson on the various
Hakka dishes found in Singapore, and how they had evolved from their origins in
China.
The Hakka were originally nomads from the northern regions of
China. In historical times, they were uprooted from their homelands, and forced
to move south in five major exoduses. The majority of Hakkas eventually settled
in the area around Guangzhou, in Canton province. Their famous settlements, with their unique architectural style,
can still be seen in Canton, Teochew, Shenzhen, and the New Territories (SAR).
The Hakka lived on challenging terrain, and had to work hard to support
themselves. They cooked whatever the land provided, thus developing a cuisine
that was versatile and down-to-earth. Their diet consisted mainly of
carbohydrates, salt and oil, to provide the necessary energy. As they also
needed to travel long distances, they would prepare rice cakes or other food to
sustain them for the journey. Meat was scarce during much of Hakka history, and
was eaten only on festive occasions.
I found
what he told me so interesting, that I asked Mr Lai to prepare a 10-course meal
of some of the seldom seen or near-disappearing Hakka dishes of Singapore.
Although he had less than 5 days to prepare the meal, Mr Lai and his kitchen
team managed to “wow” our table again and again…
HAKKA RADISH BALLS 梅洲箩卜丸
This
unique dish, a steamed mixture of shredded radish and meat, is served during
festive banquets. The radish was a crop that grew abundantly in Meizhou, the main
home territory of the Hakka; and this is one of the ways the Hakka would make
use of this vegetable in their cuisine.
When served,
it looked like plain fish balls with loose strands of radish sticking out of
them. The meat was minced, pounded and mixed so that the protein became ‘QQ’,
as the Taiwanese would call it, meaning the ball acquired a slight bouncy feel
when bitten into. The shredded radish gave a distinct sweetness to the balls; in
fact, this was one of the favourite dishes of the evening.
STEAMED EGG CUSTARD IN PIG’S INTESTINE
丰顺春灌肠
During
festive celebrations, animals would be slaughtered as offerings. Their offal
was not wasted, but instead prepared in various ways for human consumption.
Chicken intestines were originally used for this dish, but were subsequently
replaced by pig’s intestines. A whisked egg mixture is poured into the
intestine, which is then steamed, cut, and blanched. In the Hakka dialect,
“egg” sounds like chun; therefore
this dish is also known as chun guan
chang.
I
was amazed to learn that the last time this dish was prepared in Singapore was
more than 30 years ago! The dish looked so simple, even boring. The taste of
the egg was rich but light. How I wished that duck eggs had been used instead,
as it would have made the sausage more dense and robust. I would also think
chicken intestine, which was less chewy, would have tasted better than the
pig’s intestine; but unfortunately chicken intestine is banned in Singapore.
Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable dish.
MIXED PIG’S OFFAL IN WINE LEES 酒糟及第汤
As
the Hakka were a nomadic people, they practiced frugality by seldom wasting any
food. In this instance, wine lees is added to warm up the body during the
colder season, and pig’s offal is not gone to waste but put to good use.
At
first sip, the soup tasted sweet, almost dessert-like. The second spoonful seemed
more palatable, as the meat stock and rice wine slowly tickled the taste bud.
And before I realized it, I was reaching for the second bowl!
STUFFED MINCED
PORK BEANCURD 酿豆腐
While
most people are familiar with Hakka Yong
Tao Fu, not many are aware that this pocket of meat actually evolved from
the north of China.
The
Hakka were originally inhabitants of the Yellow River region, and after their
migrations they eventually settled in southern China. The northern type of siew mai was one of their early staple
foods; but in the south, the Hakka used bean curd and its related by-products
to replace the siew mai skin, giving
rise to the version that we are familiar with today.
The
stuffed tao fu was slight braised in a light broth brewed from soy bean, meat
stock and dried cuttlefish. However, the mainland version would use soy bean
sprout instead of the soy bean used here, as it gives to the broth a sweeter
vegetable-like taste.
DEEP-FRIED STUFFED DRIED OYSTERS 酿蚝干
This
dish evolved during the exodus period, and eventually became one of the classic
representatives of Hakka cooking. Dried oyster, dried sole and pig’s membrane
were uniquely Guangzhou delicacies, which the Hakka co-opted into their cuisine
when they arrived in the south. This dish is cooked only for important
occasions.
Mr
Lai wrapped the dried oyster in minced pork; and instead of further enveloping
it in pig’s membrane as is traditionally done, he substituted bean curd
skin. I prefer the original version, as
pig’s membrane would actually moisturize the meat patty, as it was being deep-fried
and turning crispy.
RICE WINE CHICKEN WITH GINGER 姜酒鸡
Yellow
wine made from fermented glutinous rice is a classic ingredient of the Hakka
cuisine. Here, it is used in a dish specially cooked for women in confinement,
as it is believed to nourish and promote blood flow.
In
the past, mothers would prepare this dish for their daughters after childbirth;
hence it is also commonly known as “Mother’s Wine”.
It
was a pity this dish turned out tasting quite similar to the Mixed Pig’s Offal
in Wine Lees, for I thought it would be less soup-like and more like braised
chicken.
ABACUS BEADS 大埔算盘子
No
Hakka meal would be complete without Abacus Beads. The Hakka would grow yam and
sweet potato in the mountains, hence the bulk of their diet came from these
crops. One of the methods of cooking yam would be kneading yam dough into
abacus beads, which was believed to be an auspicious food, bringing prosperity
for the coming year like ‘counting money with their abacus’. For our dinner,
the abacus beads were fried with minced meat, mushroom and bean curd, but the
Hakka living around Xiamen would cook them in soup.
Most
places would use less yam in the beads to cut cost, but here I could taste the
strong yam flavor, which made the dish far more robust, and returned it to its
rustic, rural roots. The crust was slightly burnt, making the “wok hay” very obvious.
This was one of the best versions I had ever tasted.
SALT-BAKED CHICKEN 东江盐鸡
Salt-baked chicken was another dish created
during the Hakka’s ancestral exoduses. Meats were heavily preserved in salt, so
that they could be eaten on the move from place to place. This is one of the dishes
that evolved, where chicken is baked in salt. It is a dish normally served
during the festive season to remind the Hakka of their history.
In the past, the chicken would be seasoned,
wrapped in fresh lotus leaf, buried in coarse salt, and baked for an hour.
These days, the lotus leaf is scarce, so it has been replaced by baking paper.
Tonight’s version was superb. The skin was
slightly crispy and the chicken meat succulent, with a hint of saltiness on the
tip of the tongue.
YI ZI BAN 忆子粄
The
story goes that a mother greatly missed her son, who was serving Admiral Cheng
Ho in one of his expeditions to Taiwan. She would prepare her son’s favourite
snack during the Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping he would return to the family
soon. Eventually, the son returned after being away for 30 years, and this
snack became known as “Remembrance of her son”.
This
dish was much anticipated. In fact, a friend of mine from Hong Kong kept asking
me to look for it when I mentioned that I was researching heritage foods. The
skin of the cake was filled with the taste of yam; its bite was soft as
expected of tapioca flour. The minced meat stuffing was blended with Chinese
celery that actually perfumed the dish.
SWEET POTATO SOUP 甜薯汤
A
simple dessert made of sweet potato, water and sugar. It is the Hakka’s take on
the Cantonese “sweet potato dessert”, made typically without much frills.
Plum Village
Restaurant
16 Jalan Leban
Singapore 577554
Telephone: 6458 9005
