photo by our team
▪ Rice Noodles
The origin of Hsinchu rice noodles was introduced to Taiwan from Hui'an, Fujian, mainland China in 1858 by the Guo Qian brothers, the ancestors of Lao Guo Rice Noodles, and their four children including Guo Quan. At that time, the Guo brothers landed in Tamsui and moved to Hsinchu to work as farmers. They grew rice, and then discovered that the wind in Hsinchu was very strong, suitable for drying Rice Noodles, so they started making Rice Noodles in their spare time. Because of the excellent flavor of their rice noodles, their rice noodles became a fashionable delicacy for banquets at that time. The market demand increased greatly, attracting competition from nearby farmers, and motivated nearby farmers to learn the technique of making rice noodles. Under the circumstance, 8 pounds of white rice could be made into 7 pounds of rice noodles, and 5 pounds of rice noodles could be exchanged for 8 pounds of white rice. In an era when cultivated land production was limited, it was a good trading deal so that rice noodles making became an important sideline for farmers in Hsinchu at that time.
▪ Check
Due to the strong winds in the Hsinchu area, the unique climate environment is very suitable for making Rice Noodles, so it has gradually developed into a local specialty. In The Early Agriculture Era in Taiwan, if the family could have extra rice made into rice products at home, it meant the family had a wealthy standard of living, and extra rice products could be sent to other households.
photo by our team
photo by our team
▪ Hsinchu Gong Wong (Pork Balls)
The reason why Hsinchu Gong Wong (Pork Balls)are so delicious is that they are made from fresh warm-bodied black pork that has just been slaughtered, and they use pig hind legs where the meat is strong and the muscle fibers are tender. The Gong Wong (Pork Balls) has been made from pork since ancient times. People add salt into the pork to "get out the glue", beat it into a pulp, use the bonding properties of protein to form a network structure, knead it into a round shape [the pork balls are round because the round shape represents perfection], and then boil Gong Wong (Pork Balls).
The name Gong Wong (Pork Balls) comes from the fact that when it was hit with a stick in the past, it produced the sound of gong gong gong, so its name is Gong Wong.
photo by our team
photo by our team
photo by our team
▪Practice
-
1
Mince the pork and smash the minced pork into pulp.
-
2
Take appropriate amount of meat pulp.
-
3
Press out the ground meat between the thumb and the index finger into little balls
-
4
Scrape it off from the arc.
-
5
Put it into warm water.
-
Finish
Gong Wong!
photo by here
▪ Shui Run Bing
The appearance of the Shui Run Bing is like a flat cake, an irregular round shape about 10 centimeters in diameter. The irregular round shape is because they are all made by hand, not by machine. The texture when biting into it is like Manfubao's bread, but it is softer and also, it blends with a sweet and five-spice flavor. After chewing, the starch of the flour spreads in the mouth, and the sweetness of the flour is developing different levels of flavor. About 40 years ago, a group of volunteer grandmothers who served in the Chenghuang Temple would make Shui Run Bing as offerings to the City God during the Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month every year because Shui Run Bing represented peace.
photo by our team
photo by our team
photo by our team
photo by here
▪Chu Chien Cake (Hsinchu Cakes)
"Xin Fuzhen" was founded in 1898 by Ms. Wu Zhanghuan. It has a history of more than 120 years since its establishment in Hsinchu. It has been passed down to the fourth generation. It specializes in cake making, with "Chuchien cake" as its signature product, and it is one of Hsinchu’s famous souvenirs.
In the early days, Wu Zhanghuan set up a stall at the entrance of Hsinchu City God (Chenghuang) Temple, selling meat rice dumplings, sesame cakes, lard cakes and other snacks. Later, he developed lard cakes with a special texture and developed them into Chuchien cake. In the early days, most cakes could only be enjoyed by the rich, and ordinary people could only eat them during festivals or during worship. Therefore, there is a saying that "only those who are really lucky can eat Chuchien cake." The ingenious creation of "Chuchien cake" transforms the aroma of meat dumplings - green onion, spices and lard into the aroma of the pancake to create the mouth-watering Hsinchu Meat Pancake. The characteristics of "Chuchien cake" are crispy skin, soft filling, appropriate sweetness, strong fragrance, and not greasy. When enjoying it, it is great to be accompanied by a cup of tea, which is suitable for both light and strong taste.
photo by here
photo by our team
photo by our team
photo by our team
