What it is
Maqaw chicken soup (馬告雞湯) is a clear soup of chicken simmered with maqaw (馬告), the dried berries of the mountain litsea (Litsea cubeba, 山胡椒). The berries look like black peppercorns. They taste of ginger first, then lemon and lemongrass, with a mild peppery bite. The broth stays light and slightly sweet.
Where it came from
Maqaw is the Atayal name for the plant. The Michelin Guide counts the Atayal and Saisiyat among the first to cook with it, and the Truku of Hongye village in Hualien call it mqrig. The small tree grows wild in low mountain forests. Most of the crop is still gathered from the wild, though some growers have begun planting it. Salt was hard to come by in the mountains, so the seeds stood in for it as seasoning. Families also kept maqaw water at home and took it to the fields or on hunting trips, and older villagers remember it as a cure for tiredness and hangovers. Its earliest use in cooking is said to have been in fish soup. Today chicken soup and sausage are among the most common maqaw dishes in indigenous-style meals.
How it is made
The chicken is blanched first to clean it. It then simmers in fresh water with slices of ginger and maqaw berries, which are often crushed beforehand to release their scent. Salt and a splash of rice wine season the broth, and some cooks add vegetables to the pot. Less ginger gives a lighter version for summer.
How to eat it
Indigenous restaurants in the hills serve it as one dish in a shared meal, on menus that also list free-range chicken, river shrimp, wild greens and bamboo-tube rice. In Wulai, a hot-spring area, it makes a warming bowl after a soak.
Around Taiwan
- North
- Wulai (烏來), the Atayal district in the hills of New Taipei, is one of the main maqaw-growing areas, with the berries picked in June and July. Restaurants in Wulai serve maqaw chicken soup, and the Wulai Atayal Museum held a maqaw exhibition in 2019.
- Indigenous
- Maqaw belongs above all to the Atayal, though the Saisiyat and Truku use it too. Reported growing areas include Wulai, Jianshi in Hsinchu County, Nantou and the Hualien mountains. Chilan Mountain (棲蘭山) in Yilan is also called Maqaw Mountain for the trees growing there.
