客家菜 家鄉(xiāng)情

Hakka people often find excuses for the lack of presentation for their food， especially compared with their seafood-rich neighbors of Chaozhou and Shantou， where more attention is paid to how dishes are prepared and presented.

The Hakka idea of feasting is mostly meat. Its salt-roasted chicken has been incorporated into Cantonese cuisine as a standard. The origin of bean curd stuffed with a small meatball goes back to the time before the Hakka moved away from the Central Plains. Unlikely as it seems， this famous dish is a variation of jiaozi， but since wheat was hard to come by in South China， the Hakka had to make do with tofu.

Like its dialect， the Hakka cuisine has traces of their connection to the landlocked north. The emphasis on meat could be a testament to hard times when meat was a luxury and reserved for only the rarest of occasions. But dishes like pork with salted vegetables have gained popularity across the nation. It is， however， pork tripe stewed chicken， among the Hakka staples， proved to be delicious beyond description.

Vegetarians need not despair. Traditionally， much of the Hakka diet is sourced from the earth. It might have been out of necessity， but it has been honed into a culinary art. Tell your host that you prefer a healthy portion of vegetarian food and youll be surprised at the variety that will greet you and your palate.

Last but certainly not least is Mamas Red Wine. It is similar to many local Chinese brews but much sweeter. Distilled from sticky rice and well water， it is traditionally brewed by the matriarch of the household.

Nowadays there are plenty of brands and they vary slightly in taste. But invariably they remind people of red wine made from grapes. One sip and you will be transported to the land of hospitality where people may have endured much hardship but have retained their friendly nature.

跟海味十足的潮州菜和汕頭菜比起來，客家菜顯得有些默默無聞。前兩者食材講究，制作精良，上菜時(shí)擺盤也很精美，而客家菜卻不怎么講究這些，這樣說來，默默無聞也就情有可原了。

在客家人眼里，宴席主要就是要吃肉。客家菜里的鹽焗雞已經(jīng)被納入經(jīng)典粵菜之中。豆腐丸的起源可以追溯到客家人從中原遷離之前。讓人感到不可思議的是，這個(gè)著名的菜肴其實(shí)是餃子的變形，因?yàn)槟戏讲淮蠓N植小麥，客家不得不用豆腐來代替。

就像客家方言一樣，客家菜也處處體現(xiàn)著其與北方內(nèi)陸地區(qū)的密切關(guān)系。客家菜對(duì)于肉的重視，是困難時(shí)期肉作為奢侈品只在很重要場(chǎng)合才能吃到的證明。但是像咸菜燜豬肉這樣的菜肴在全國(guó)都很受歡迎。還有一道客家主食叫作豬肚燉雞，也是美味到無法形容。

素食者也不必失望。傳統(tǒng)上，大部分的客家菜食材都是直接從地里采的。這可能并無必要，但此舉已經(jīng)成為一門烹飪藝術(shù)。跟招待你的客家人說明你喜歡健康的素食，那么你就會(huì)驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)居然有非常多的吃法，它們會(huì)驚艷你的味蕾。

最后要說的是娘酒。它跟許多中國(guó)產(chǎn)的啤酒差不多但卻更甜。娘酒一般都是客家婦女將糯米和井水進(jìn)行蒸餾以后釀造出來的。

現(xiàn)在娘酒有很多個(gè)品牌，味道略有不同。但娘酒總讓人想起葡萄酒。輕抿一口，你就會(huì)被送到那片好客的土地上，那里的人們歷經(jīng)磨難，卻依然保持著淳樸的民風(fēng)。