In the process of migrating and setting up their homes in Taiwan, Hakka migrants found it difficult to obtain and preserve fresh food. So they used the characteristic substance of rice and ground it into rice syrup. They then added potato starch or sweet potato starch and water and poured the mixture into a square-shaped aluminum platter to steam, producing a more durable flat rice sheet (“ban” in Hakka language). As a result, these rice sheets were highly valued in the Hakka diet. After steaming the rice syrup, it is like a towel, so the Hakka people call it "face towel." Nowadays people cut the sheet into strips (“tiao” in Hakka language), so this food is now called “ban tiao (粄條).”

In the past, Hakka people ate these flat rice noodles or “ban tiao” as a snack in between the three main meals of the day when they were busy doing farm work, using it to supplement their physical strength. Therefore, in the past only those who worked in the fields could enjoy a bowl of flat rice noodles. When the economy was underdeveloped in the early days, only those who had a good life would eat ban tiao often, and children can only eat it when they are sick.

The Hakka diet has a lot to do with their living environment and material deficiency in the old days. The Hakka people cherished hard-to-get food. Therefore, the Hakka food ingredients are delicious, easy to preserve, and easy to match with other ingredients. This reflects the essence of the image of Hakka people as being frugal, hardworking, industrious, and persevering.

Flat Rice Noodle Clay Pot Soup with Seafood and Beef

Ingredients:

25 grams of white shrimp, 150 grams of boneless beef, 150 grams of fresh oysters, 30 grams of clams, seasonings, an appropriate amount of beef bone soup, 10 grams of chopped green onion, 80 grams of Hakka rice noodles

Cooking method:

1. Wash the ingredients and add seasonings.

2. Put the ingredients in a pot and boil them until they are cooked. Sprinkle with chopped green onion.