In partnership with the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Taiwan’s
representative offices, the Hakka Tsung Tsin Association of Tokyo (東京崇正公會), Tsung Tsin Association of Kansai (日本關西崇正會), Penang
Hakka Association of Malaysia (馬來西亞檳州客家公會), and Hakka
Taiwanese Association of Thailand (泰國臺灣客家同鄉會), the Hakka
Affairs Council (HAC) brought the Hakka Cuisine Touring Workshop (海外客家行動灶下) to Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand from Sept. 10
through 24.
With the assistance of the Tsung Tsin Association of Tokyo and Kansai,
chefs Chang Ya-li (張亞莉) and Lee Chieh-kuei (李杰奎) led the
culinary delegation to Tokyo and Osaka from Sept. 10 through 14, presenting
Hakka delicacies such as seafood and vegetable tempura (什錦海鮮炸婆菜), fish stew
with pickled vegetables (客家酸菜水煮魚), and chicken paired with bitter
gourd and perilla plum (紫蘇梅苦瓜雞).
The activity was attended by many enthusiastic participants who
experienced making the Hakka traditional drink Lei Cha (擂茶) and
signature snack Mi Qi Ba (粢粑). The two chefs also explained how mustard greens
evolve from suan cai (酸菜, pickled
vegetables) to fu cai (福菜, preserved
vegetables) and then to mei gan cai (梅乾菜, dry pickled vegetables). It was an intricate process that impressed the
Japanese audience.
On Sept. 16 and 17, the delegates traveled to Malaysia’s Penang and brought
several creative Hakka dishes — including bitter gourd salad dressed with pepper salt
and preserved duck yolk (椒鹽金沙拌苦瓜), steamed pepper duck with
preserved vegetables (客家福菜胡椒鴨), and shrimp balls with kumquat
sauce (桔醬涼拌鮮蝦球) — to those taking part in the workshop.
Collaborating with the Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Bangkok, the delegation
performed Hakka cuisine live shows and held cooking sessions at the hotel from
Sept. 19 to 24. Many Hakka dishes were cooked during the event, including chicken
stewed with persimmon and red dates (紅棗金柿燉雞腿), Hakka Lei
Chazuke (客家擂茶湯泡飯), taro rice cakes (客家鹹香芋頭粄), and fern
salad with fermented tofu and almonds (杏片腐乳拌過貓), not only
satisfying Hakka expatriates’ desire for flavors from the homeland, but also
captivating non-Hakka taste buds.
