臺灣的飲食本屬于閩南系列，善烹海鮮，多羹湯，但是，臺灣有近600萬客家人，是福佬(閩南、臺灣)人之外的最大族群，所以客家飲食也是臺灣飲食文化的重要組成部分。

講究食補

客家人是中原遺民，思想上、文化上、習俗上更多受著中國道教的影響。道教醫(yī)學強調(diào)醫(yī)食同源、崇尚自然，以食物來防病、療傷、祛病。其飲食實踐對客家人的影響可謂深遠，認為藥補不如食補，養(yǎng)生保健意識特別鮮明。

大體說，客家菜用料講究鮮嫩、野生、家養(yǎng)、粗種;加工以粗刀大塊的煮、煲、燉為主，不破壞食物營養(yǎng)與纖維;烹調(diào)講究原汁原味，不用濃厚的佐料，口味偏清淡;膳食多用中藥材搭配。所有這些，都反映出客家人勤于探索養(yǎng)生之道，善于總結(jié)保健經(jīng)驗，注重利用自然規(guī)律。

酒娘是客家飲食文化中最具特色的精品之一?？图胰讼灿镁颇镏箅u蛋，燉豬蹄、童子雞、鯽魚，燉桂圓、蓮子、紅棗、雞蛋，作為營養(yǎng)滋補品?？图胰擞邢难a、冬補的習俗。冬至，客家人蒸糯米飯、打麻糍，配溫熱的酒娘吃，有補虛養(yǎng)血、健脾暖胃等作用。夏至，最宜食狗肉以滋補、健身、強體，所謂“夏至狗，吃了滿山走”。舊時，山間的做紙師傅用野物配以香菇冬筍及一些草藥，兌上陳年老酒和泉水，做九成烳罐吃?？图胰艘沧鲐i肺百合吃。這些都是極好的藥膳。

在臺灣的客家人飲食一樣講究食補，其養(yǎng)生防老，陰陽互補、五行調(diào)和等觀念非常深厚，并得到推廣流行。目前，臺灣的食物養(yǎng)生方式主要有素食、生食、有機飲食、斷食療法及傳統(tǒng)的中醫(yī)食療。

臺灣民間常用“四神湯”(淮山、芡實、蓮子和茯苓)作滋補品。這是著名的小吃。民間食補習俗中最獨特的是所謂“半年補”，即在每年的農(nóng)歷六月初一，家家戶戶用米粉搓丸子，做成甜糍丸，吃后可以除炎夏百病。另外，臺灣還有“補冬”或“養(yǎng)冬”之說，即在立冬日進補。

風行擂茶

中華茶飲其實也是飲食文化的一部分。

客家的形成在唐宋時期?？图胰孙L行擂茶，傳承了唐代以前中國茶文化的古樸遺風，有厚重的歷史積淀。

客家制作擂茶，用一把好茶葉、適量芝麻、幾片甘草等，置入擂缽，手握擂棍沿缽內(nèi)壁順溝紋走向有規(guī)律旋磨，間或擂擊。待茶葉等研成碎泥，即用撈子濾出渣，缽內(nèi)留下的糊狀物叫“茶泥”，或稱“擂茶腳子”，沖入沸水，適當攪拌，再輔以炒米、花生米、豆瓣、米果、燙皮等，就是一缸集香、甜、苦、辣于一體的擂茶了。

客家祖地石壁，擂茶有葷、素之分，為特色品種。葷的，用冬季腌藏的生豬大油，拌佐料，加炒好的肉絲或小腸、煎豆腐、粉干、香蔥等，泡入擂茶中;素的，則用凈茶油拌佐料，然后加熟花生米、綠豆、糯米飯、地瓜粉條、粉干等，泡入擂茶中。

與客家人一樣，臺灣有濃厚的飲茶習慣。新竹、苗栗等地的客家人也愛喝擂茶，不流行膏茶、芽茶。這主要是因為他們生活在較為艱苦的山區(qū)，和居住于富庶的平原地帶的福佬人相比，經(jīng)濟相對落后，文化相對保守，不敢奢用制作考究、價格昂貴的膏茶、芽茶，只有擂茶自采自制，價廉物美。此外，山區(qū)瘴癘橫行，自然條件惡劣，客家人要生存，自然愛飲用能防病治病的擂茶。

臺灣小吃

臺灣菜可分為小吃、海鮮與正宗臺菜三大類。小吃是相對于正餐、盛宴佳肴而言，專指市井村野的飲食味道，它具有鄉(xiāng)土野趣與獨特風味。臺灣地分北、中、南、東，物產(chǎn)豐饒，各具特色，小吃也多彩多姿，是臺灣菜中的經(jīng)典、民間文化的結(jié)晶。臺灣小吃至少有百種，如果按食材分，可分禽肉類、畜肉類、海鮮類、米面類、豆制品素食類、冰水飲料類、醬料類;如果按地區(qū)分，可分為基隆小吃區(qū)、新竹小吃區(qū)、中部小吃區(qū)、臺南小吃區(qū)、高屏小吃區(qū)、宜花小吃區(qū)、澎湖小吃區(qū)。臺灣小吃多聚集在廟口、市場、街道與旅游景點。例如基隆廟口的夜市、艋舺華西街的夜市、嘉義市東市場、鹿港媽祖廟、臺南市中正路，等等。

臺灣的風味小吃可以說是包羅萬象，囊括了臺灣本地和大陸各地的風味小吃，如臺北的湯圓、基隆廟口的天婦羅、彰化的肉圓、嘉義的雞肉飯、新竹的貢丸、花蓮的膽肝、臺南的擔仔面、士林的大餅包小餅、宜蘭與鹿港的牛舌餅、卑南豬血湯與牛雜湯、高雄的三河肉(山鼠肉)，還有清涼爽口、遍布臺灣夜市的甜品飲料—愛玉冰。

其實，許多臺灣小吃都來源于客家食俗。臺北的湯圓來源于客家人元宵節(jié)的湯丸，客家湯丸有咸與甜兩種，取“團圓”的好兆頭。彰化的肉圓與新竹的用豬腿肉、豬頸肉、雞脯肉做成的貢丸來源于贛州客家的豬牛肉圓?；ㄉ彽哪懜蝸碓从凇伴}西八大干”之一的武平豬膽肝。卑南的豬血湯與牛雜湯來源于客家人吃動物血液、內(nèi)臟的習俗。高雄的用山鼠肉做成的三河肉來源于客家人吃田鼠、山鼠的風俗。愛玉冰來源于贛州客家地區(qū)的仙草凍和木蓮凍。

臺灣的飲食習慣與大陸一脈相承，同時在歷史發(fā)展中融合了各種飲食文化基因，從而形成自己的特色。臺灣客家人根在河洛，情系中原，河洛文化在臺灣客家人心中根深蒂固?？图绎嬍尘哂袧h唐遺風，保留了大量的中州古味，是古代飲食文化的“活化石”，中原情結(jié)是客家飲食的根基源泉。臺灣繼承了中華美食的傳統(tǒng)，但又因為不同的歷史發(fā)展路徑，促成了民族大融合，也融合了更多的飲食文化，獨特的文化背景，造就出臺灣飲食的內(nèi)涵，形成了豐富多彩的特點，從中也體現(xiàn)了臺灣文化的開放、多元。

(本文照片由沈安娜提供)

Hakka and Taiwan Cuisine

By Lai ChenMinnan (south of Fujian) cuisine plays a big part in the regional cuisine of Taiwan， featuring seafood and soup. However， due to nearly 6 million Hakka people in the island province constituting the largest outcomer community in Taiwan， Hakka cuisine is an integral component of local people’s diet.

Food: Nutrition and Medicine

Migrants from the central part of China， Hakka people have carried Taoism in their lifestyle for centuries. Food is considered more than something you eat to get your stomach stuffed. In Hakka people’s everyday life philosophy， food keeps one healthy and keeps illness away. In this sense， food is regarded as nutrition and medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine therefore plays a big part in the way Hakka people choose and cook food. They prefer fresh food， food from the wild， or something they grow on their small family farm. They prefer their food in big chunks and they like to prepare food in large quantity of soup cooked slowly for a long while. They do not use heavy doses of seasoning. Food in their eye is supposed to keep a balance of Yin and Yang. Where they are， when they are， what they do， and who they are， how old they are， all play a part in their choice of food and its preparation. The theoretical system of Hakka cuisine is deeply rooted in Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine. A closer look at their daily meals can be an interesting lecture on Hakka people’s belief.

Pounded Tea

Hakka people drink tea made with tealeaves crushed in advance in a small bowl with a pestle. It is said the tradition goes back to a time prior to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In the early 1970s， Chinese archaeologists unearthed a royal tomb in Changsha in central China’s Hunan Province. Among the valuable things discovered there， there was remnants of a bitter soup made of tealeaves. The Hakka tea bears a reasonable resemblance to the tea about 2，000 years ago.

Hakka tea is usually prepared by Hakka women. It is known as pounded tea. Put a handful of tealeaves， some sesame seeds and a few slices of liquorice into a mortar. Pound or grind them into a tea mash. Remove the dregs and put the mash into a larger container. Pour boiled water， mix the mash and add puffed rice， peanuts， tangpi (sheet jelly made of rice， Hakka style)， rice cake and other side dishes. The tea is a brew of different tastes. Different places and different families make different tea in different seasons. Some prefer a vegetarian style and mung beans， glutinous rice， sweet potato noodle are common ingredients whereas some add sliced pork and other meat side dishes. Frequently， herbs go into Hakka tea. In the mountainous areas where life is lean and mean， Hakka people use heavy doses of herbs in their tea in order to keep ill-causing elements at bay.

Food Rituals and Taboos

Hakka food rituals and taboos reflect a lifestyle that goes back to centuries ago in the central China before they first moved southward. In a Hakka kitchen， there usually is a small shrine where a god is worshiped. The homemaker burns incense on every first day and fifteenth day in every lunar month. A ceremony is held in the kitchen before Spring Festival. There is a long list of dos and don’ts for activities in the kitchen and another list of taboos for the kitchen table. Generally， these dos and don’ts reflect a civilized behavior and appreciation of food.

Snack Food

Taiwan is famous for local snack food. A menu of the best snack food in Taiwan may list more than 100 items and they come in a great variety. Experts say that many snack foods in Taiwan are Hakka contributions or variations on Hakka recipes originally invented and cherished on the Hakka communities on the mainland. Many Hakka snack foods came into being largely because people treasured every bit of food and did not want to waste any edible things. That is why domestic animals’ entrails， blood， and even meat of field mice go into these snack foods.

The way Hakka cuisine has taken roots and evolved in Taiwan testifies to the fact that Taiwan cuisine is part of the greater Chinese cuisine. Many experts agree that Hakka cuisine is a living fossil of the ancient Chinese culture and Hakka people in Taiwan have retained their dietary culture in commemoration of their roots in central China. The cuisine adds to the diversity of Taiwan cuisine and contributes to the national fusion.