Hakka Savory Rice Ball Soup 客家咸汤圆

Hakka Savory Rice Ball Soup (客家咸汤圆) is small glutinous rice balls served in a savoury broth of pork, dried shiitake, dried shrimp and garland chrysanthemum greens, a Hakka dish that the Taoyuan (桃園) City Government features on its Meet Hakka (尋客) food site. Depending on the dialect, Hakka speakers call the balls xiyuan (惜圓), xueyuanzai (雪圓仔) or banyuan (粄圓), names the city explains as meaning completeness and good relations.

How it is made

In the Taoyuan recipe, fried shallot crisps go into the pot first; shredded soaked shiitake, dried shrimp and young spring onion are fried in them until fragrant, then shredded pork is added and stir-fried until almost cooked. Water or stock is poured in and brought to the boil, seasoned with salt, white pepper and oyster sauce, and the garland chrysanthemum is cooked in it. The rice balls are boiled separately in plain water until they float, placed in the bowl, and the broth is ladled over them. Garlic chives are also on the ingredient list.

Where it comes from

The city's recipe page says Hakka families used to cook a pot of rice balls to share at the rice harvest, at festivals and celebrations, and when relatives and friends gathered, and presents the dish as an expression of Hakka hospitality. In Taiwanese Hakka ancestral halls, according to Chinese Wikipedia, banyuan are offered to the ancestors at the Lantern Festival (元宵), and a few families also bring them at the winter solstice.