Council for Hakka Affairs, Kaohsiung City Government

The Hakka people immigrated in large scale to the south in order to fulfill their dream and seek better life. Most of the southern Hakka settled in mountainous areas. Due to the difficulty of acquiring and storing food in mountain area, southern Hakka invented methods to preserve food by sun-drying and pickling. These approaches allow them to keep food over a long period of time, and preserve extra physical energy for land cultivation. In addition, known for their hospitality, the availability of cook materials enable them to prepare dishes for visitor.

Rice, with its diverse recipes, has always been one of the Hakka's favorites. Rice can be made into noodle, rice cake, Ci Pa, bun, Hong Ban...etc, each represents a unique Hakka culture and is unquestionably delicious.

When the crop has ripen, the Hakka would preserve the vegetables using sun-drying or pickling approaches, especially the pickled cabbage and Fuk Choi, which are very tasty when cook in soup or with meat. Orange sauce is also another necessity that can be found in every Hakka household. The sour and sweet taste, coupled with its rich aroma, enriched the Hakka cuisine dramatically. Therefore, the seemingly simple Hakka dishes are in fact very diverse in a variety of ways.

The Hakka population in Kaohsiung is comprised of early immigrants from all over Taiwan, which in turn developed a unique culture combining the characteristics of the southern and northern Hakkas, and largely contributed to the cultural diversity in Kaohsiung. Not only does the Hakka food in Kaohsiung preserve the originality of the Hakka food culture, it has also developed distinctive Hakka delicacies through their creative use of spices and sauces. Nowadays, Hakka delicacies can be found in all administrative districts and neighborhoods throughout Kaohsiung.