At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, most of the vendors selling beef balls were Hakkas, who carried small burdens and peddled along the streets in the old city of Shantou and Chaoshan area. Especially at night, from the Bajiaoting of Handi Road to the Hanjiang River behind Zhongshan Park, there are often shuttle boats with a small light hanging from the bow, which sell supper for Chaoshan cargo ships parked there and specialize in beef balls.

In the 1940s, there were many food stalls on Xinxing Street. Since the reform and opening up, beef balls have become a famous food in Shanwei and even Chaoshan, especially beef balls with excellent ingredients and authentic taste.

In the past, most farmers raised cattle. When the commodity economy was not very developed, the surplus raw beef could not be preserved for a long time, so they chopped up the beef, added salt, squeezed it into balls and cooked it, and gradually became a local snack. What really made beef balls a well-known Chaoshan snack was attributed to Chaoshan chefs until they were rated as "Chinese famous snacks" and became famous at home and abroad.

As early as the 1920s, in the area of the most prosperous small park in Shantou Port, the clever Chaoshan master found beef balls very popular and distinctive, so he introduced "transplantation". And from the selection of materials, ingredients to production methods have been innovated and transformed, so as to create a unique Chaoshan beef ball.

Extended data:

Ninghai Beef Ball: It is said that Ninghai County had the custom of making beef balls on holidays in the early years of Qing Dynasty. The earliest evidence that can be tested is recorded in the Records of Ninghai County, which was written to commemorate Fang Xiaoru, a famous Ming Dynasty official, and "Cooking rice in the morning is a rice cake, and cooking beef balls at night" has been passed down to this day.

Yulin beef balls: Yulin beef balls have a history of more than 200 years. Its beauty lies in the word "crisp". Foreign guests who have just arrived in Yulin City, if they taste beef balls that are crisp, smooth and fragrant, chewed without residue, and the soup is clear and fresh, they are definitely good goods.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-beef balls