Chinese Soul Food The Global Distribution Of Hakka Cuisine

Authors: Huang Shiun-wey, Tao Chen-wei, Huang Wan-ling, and Liu Jung-kuei
Publication Date: First Edition, May 2024
Building upon the Chinese translation of The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food from around the World, this collaborative work Chinese Soul Food: The Global Distribution of Hakka Cuisine expands the inquiry into the global presence of Hakka food culture. Spanning regions from North and South America to Oceania, Africa, and Asia, and eventually returning its focus to Taiwan, the book offers a sweeping survey of how Hakka cuisine has adapted, transformed, and persisted across continents.
Combining big data analysis of North American online culinary records with firsthand fieldwork and interviews in Taiwan, as well as extensive secondary literature, the authors trace the historical evolution, regional variations, and cultural flows of Hakka food traditions. Through this multidisciplinary approach, the work sheds light on the dynamic interplay between mobility and rootedness, offering a nuanced understanding of localization, re-localization, and globalization in Hakka foodways.
This volume presents a significant contribution to studies of food, ethnicity, and identity, inviting readers to explore how culinary practices both shape and reflect the boundaries—and bridges—of Hakka culture around the world.