Why You Must Taste “The Hakka Abacus Seeds” Dish
Why You Must Taste “The Hakka Abacus Seeds” Dish
Know its origin, significance, recipe, secrets of the dish, cooking method, benefits, and taste.
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Origin;
The “Hakka Abacus Seeds” Dish is a delicious and healthy yam (taro) dish. It is a traditional dish of the Hakka tribe in Dapu County, Guangdong province, celebrated and cheered by those who have sampled it.
It can be traced back to the Song Dynasty in ancient China made by rubbing taro and flour into the shape of abacus seeds. The abacus is smooth with a chewy texture and is fried with minced meat, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and other favorite vegetables. The abacus can be used as a staple food or a delicious snack.
Why is it called the Hakka Abacus Seeds dish?
The abacus is a simple instrument that was used during the earlier days in China. It consists of a frame that has rows of beads that are slid during calculations.
This dish has a physical resemblance to the abacus seeds of this device, hence its name. The Hakka tribe is a subgroup of the Han Chinese that originated from the Northern part of China but through a series of migrations settled in Southern China as well as various parts of the world.
According to records, Dapu county had little arable land. To survive, the men of the house would travel out to seek work. The wives would prepare Abacus seeds for their husbands, which symbolize good luck and the rolling of money back home. Later, it became an auspicious and indispensable dish to be served during festive occasions like Lunar New Year and Weddings.
My late father, who was a Mandarin teacher in Singapore, hailed from Dapu county to settle in Singapore in the 1930s as a young adult. As a child in the late 50s, I used to watch with curiosity as he clicked away at the abacus to calculate his bills. I had played with the abacus, intrigued by its noise but had not known about its use.
