Cantonese cuisine
| Cantonese cuisine | |||||||||||
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| Siu mei platter, including BBQ pork (bottom), roasted goose (top), smoked ham hock (left), soy sauce chicken (right), and jellyfish (center) | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 廣東菜 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 广东菜 | ||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Guǎngdōngcài | ||||||||||
| Cantonese Jyutping | Gwong2 dung1 coi3 | ||||||||||
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| Yuet cuisine | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 粵菜 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 粤菜 | ||||||||||
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Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China[1] and is one of 8 subdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country.[2] Cantonese food is best known in western world; when people in the West speak of Chinese food, they usually mean Cantonese food.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
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| This article is part of the series |
| Chinese cuisine |
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Regional cuisines
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Overseas cuisine
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Ingredients and types of food
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Canton has long been a trading port and many imported foods and ingredients are used in Cantonese cuisine. Besides pork, beef, and chicken, Cantonese cuisine incorporates almost all edible meats, including organ meats, chicken feet, duck tongue, snakes, and snails. However, lamb and goat is rarely eaten, unlike in cuisines of Northern or Western China. Many cooking methods are used, steaming and stir-frying being the most favored due to their convenience and rapidity. Other techniques include shallow frying, double boiling, braising, and deep frying.
For many traditional Cantonese cooks, the flavors of a finished dish should be well balanced, and never greasy. Also, spices should be used in modest amounts to avoid overwhelming the flavors of the primary ingredients, and these primary ingredients in turn should be at the peak of their freshness and quality. There is no widespread use of fresh herbs in Cantonese cooking and most other regional Chinese cuisines, contrasting with the liberal usage seen in European and other Asian cuisines such as Thai or Vietnamese. Garlic chives and coriander leaves are notable exceptions, although the latter tends to be mere garnish in most dishes.
[edit] Foods
[edit] Sauces and condiments
In Cantonese cuisine a number of ingredients such as Spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, vinegar, scallion oil, and sesame oil suffice to enhance flavor, though garlic is used heavily in some dishes, especially those in which internal organs, such as entrails, may emit unpleasant odors. Ginger, chili peppers, five-spice powder, powdered white pepper, star anise and a few other spices are used, but often sparingly.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Hoisin sauce | 海鮮醬 | hǎixiānjiàng |
| Oyster sauce | 蠔油 | háoyóu |
| Plum sauce | 蘇梅醬 | sūméijiàng |
| Sweet and sour sauce | 糖醋醬 | tángcùjiàng |
| Black bean paste | 蒜蓉豆豉醬 | suànróng dòuchǐjiàng |
| Shrimp paste | 鹹蝦醬 | xiánxiājiàng |
| Red vinegar | 浙醋 | zhécù |
| Master stock | 滷水 | lǔshuǐ |
| Char siu sauce | 叉燒醬 | chāshāojiàng |
| Chu hau paste | 柱侯醬 | zhùhóujiàng |
[edit] Dried and preserved ingredients
Though Cantonese cooks pay much attention to the freshness of their primary cooking ingredients, Cantonese cuisine also uses a long list of preserved food items to add flavour to a dish. This may be an influence from Hakka cuisine, since the Hakkas were once a dominant group occupying Imperial Hong Kong and other southern territories.[3]
Some items gain very intense flavors during the drying/preservation/oxidation process and some foods are preserved to increase their shelf life. Some chefs combine both dried and fresh varieties of the same items in a dish. Dried items are usually soaked in water to rehydrate before cooking. These ingredients are generally not served individually and go with vegetables or other Cantonese dishes.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Jyutping | Annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dried scallops | 江珧柱 | jiāngyáozhù | Gong1 jiu4 cyu5 | these are usually placed in clear soup |
| 江瑤柱 | ||||
| 江瑶柱 | ||||
| Fermented tofu | 腐乳 | fǔrǔ | Fu6 jyu5 | |
| Fermented black beans | 豆豉 | dòuchǐ | Dau6 si6 | used usually in pork and tofu dishes |
| Chinese sausage | 臘腸 | làcháng | Laap6 coeng2 | along with laap ngaap and laap yuk this is cooked along with rice for a flavorful meal |
| salt fish | 鹹魚 | xiányú | Haam4 jyu2 | paired with steamed pork or used with diced chicken meat for fried rice |
| Preserve-salted duck | 臘鴨 | làyā | laap6 aap2 | eaten with rice in a family style meal |
| Preserve-salted pork | 臘肉 | làròu | laap6 juk6 | eaten with rice in a family style meal |
| Salted duck egg | 鹹蛋 | xiándàn | Haam4 daan2 | can be eaten as it is or can be mixed with stir fried vegetables and steamed dishes or cooked with diced pork in congee |
| Century egg | 皮蛋 | pídàn | Pei4 daan2 | usually served with roasted dishes |
| Dried cabbage | 菜乾 | càigān | Coi3 gon1 | |
| Suan cai | 鹹酸菜 | xiānsuāncài | Haam4 syun1 coi3 | |
| Dried small shrimp | 蝦米 | xiāmǐ | Haa1 mai5 | usually mixed along stir fried vegetables |
| Tofu skin | 腐皮 | fǔpí | Fu6 pei4 | usually used in wrapping ground pork dishes and fried similar to spring rolls |
| Dried shrimp | 蝦乾 | xiāgān | Haa1 gon1 | usually deveined, shelled, and sliced in half and used in vegetable dishes |
| Pickled Chinese cabbage | 梅菜 | méicài | Mui4 coi3 | usually cooked along with pork or stir fried with rice |
| Pickled diced daikon | 菜脯 | càifǔ | Coi3 pou2 |
[edit] Traditional dishes
A number of dishes have been part of Cantonese cuisine since the earliest territorial establishments of Guangdong province. While many of these are on the menus of typical Cantonese restaurants, some of simpler ones are even more commonly found in Chinese homes. Home-made Cantonese dishes are usually served with plain white rice.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Jyutping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese steamed eggs | 蒸水蛋 | zhēngshuǐdàn | Zing seoi daan |
| Congee with lean pork and century egg | 皮蛋瘦肉粥 | pídàn shòuròuzhōu | Pei daan sau juk zuk |
| Cantonese fried rice | 炒飯 | chǎofàn | Cau faan |
| Sweet and sour pork | 咕噜肉 | gūlūròu | Gu lou juk |
| Stewed beef brisket | 柱侯牛腩 | zhùhóuniúnǎn | Cyu hau ngau naam |
| Steamed spare ribs with fermented black beans and chili pepper | 豉椒排骨 | chǐjiāo páigǔ | Si ziu paai gwat |
| Steamed frog legs on lotus leaf | 荷葉蒸田雞 | héyè zhēng tiánjī | Ho jip zing tin gai |
| Steamed ground pork with salted duck egg | 鹹蛋蒸肉餅 | xiándàn zhēng ròubǐng | Haam daan zing juk being |
| Blanched vegetables with oyster sauce | 油菜 | yóucài | Jau coi |
| Stir-fried hairy gourd with dried shrimp and cellophane noodles | 大姨妈嫁女 | dàyímā jiànǚ | Daai ji maa gaa neoi |
| Stir-fried water convolvulus with shredded chili and fermented doufu | 椒絲腐乳通菜 | jiāosī fǔrǔ tōngcài | Ziu si fu jyu tung coi |
[edit] Deep fried dishes
There are a small number of deep-fried dishes in Cantonese cuisine, and these can often be found as street food. They have been extensively documented throughout Colonial Hong Kong records in the 19th to 20th century. A few are synonymously associated with Cantonese breakfast and lunch,[4] though these are also part of other cuisines.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Zaa Leung | 炸兩 | zháliǎng |
| Yau Zaa Gwai | 油炸鬼 | yóuzháguǐ |
| Dace fish balls | 鯪魚球 | língyúqiú |
| Deep-fried marinated pigeon | 燒乳鴿 | shāo rǔgē |
[edit] Slow-cooked soup
Slow-cooked soup, or lou fo tong (老火湯, lǎohuǒ tāng) in the Cantonese dialect (literally meaning old fire-cooked soup) is usually a clear broth prepared by simmering meat and other ingredients over a low heat for several hours. Chinese herbs or medicine are often used as ingredients. Slow-cooked soup is a regular dish in Cantonese families as most believe in its ability to heal and strengthens one's health.
Due to long preparation hours of slow-cooked soup, soup chain stores or delivery outlets became popular in Cantonese-dominated cities such as Hong Kong.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snow fungus soup | 銀耳湯 | yín'ěr tāng | |
| Spare rib soup with watercress and apricot kernels | 南北杏西洋菜豬骨湯 | nán-běixìng xīyángcài zhūgǔ tāng | |
| Cantonese seafood soup | 海皇羹 | hǎihuánggēng | not formally considered "slow cooked" |
| Winter melon soup | 冬瓜湯 | dōngguā tāng |
[edit] Seafood
Due to Guangdong's location on the southern coast of China, fresh live seafood is prominent in Cantonese cuisine. Many authentic restaurants maintain live seafood tanks. According to Cantonese cuisine, seafood has a repugnant odor so strong spices are added. The freshest seafood is odorless and, in Cantonese culinary arts, it is best cooked by steaming. For instance, in some recipes, only a small amount of soy sauce, ginger, and spring onion is added to steamed fish. According to Cantonese cuisine, the light seasoning is used only to bring out the natural sweetness of the seafood. However, most restaurants would gladly get rid of their older seafood inventory by offering dishes loaded with garlic and spices. As a rule of thumb in Cantonese dining, the spiciness of a dish is usually inversely proportional to the freshness of the ingredients.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Steamed fish | 蒸魚 | zhēngyú |
| Steamed scallops with ginger and garlic | 蒜茸蒸扇貝 | suànróng zhēng shànbèi |
| White boiled shrimp | 白灼蝦 | báizhuóxiā |
| Lobster with ginger and scallions | 薑蔥龍蝦 | jiāngcōng lóngxiā |
| Mantis shrimp | 攋尿蝦 | làniàoxiā |
[edit] Noodle dishes
Noodles are either in soup broth or fried. Some noodle dishes are Cantonized. These are available as home-cooked meals, on dim sum side menus, or as street food at dai pai dong, where they can be served with a variety of toppings such as fish balls, beef balls, or fish slices.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wonton noodle | 雲吞麵 | yúntūnmiàn | |
| húntunmiàn | |||
| Beef chow fun | 乾炒牛河 | gānshāo niúhé | |
| Chow mein | 炒麵 | chǎomiàn | a generic term for various stir fried noodle dishes |
| Jook-sing noodles | 竹昇麵 | zhúshēngmiàn | bamboo log pressed noodles |
| Lo mein | 撈麵 | lāomiàn | |
| Noodle soup with beef brisket | 牛腩麵 | niúnǎnmiàn | |
| Rice noodle roll | 豬腸粉 | zhūgǔfěn | |
| Rice noodles | 河粉 | héfěn | |
| Silver needle noodles | 銀針粉 | yínzhēnfěn | |
| Yi mein | 伊麵 | yīmiàn |
Hong-Kong-style chow mein is made from pan-fried thin crispy noodles
[edit] Siu mei
Siu mei (燒味, shāowèi) is essentially the Chinese rotisserie style of cooking. Unlike most other Cantonese dishes, Siu mei consists only of meat, with no vegetables. It creates a unique barbecue flavor that a sauce is usually added but a different sauce is used for each meat.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Jyutping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Char siu | 叉燒 | chāshāo | Caa siu |
| Roast duck | 燒鴨 | shāoyā | Siu ngaap |
| Roast goose | 燒鵝 | shāo'é | Siu ngo |
| Roasted pig | 燒肉 | shāoròu | Siu juk |
[edit] Lou mei
Lou mei is the name given to dishes made from the internal organs, entrails and left-over parts of animals. It is widely available in Southern Chinese regions.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Beef entrails | 牛雜 | niúzá |
| Beef stew | 牛腩 | niúnǎn |
| Chicken scraps | 雞雜 | jīzá |
| Duck gizzard | 鴨腎 | yāshèn |
| Pig tongue | 豬脷 | zhūlì |
[edit] Siu laap
Just about all the Cantonese-style cooked meat including siu mei, lou mei and preserved meat can be mixed together under the generic name (燒臘, Siu laap). Siu laap also includes foods such as:
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Cantonese pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| White cut chicken | 白切雞 | báiqiējī | pak cham gai |
| Orange cuttlefish | 鹵水墨魚 | lǔshuǐ mòyú | |
| Poached duck in master stock | 滷水鴨 | lǔshuǐyā | |
| Soy sauce chicken | 豉油雞 | chǐyóujī | si yau gai |
A typical dish may consist of some organs and half an order of multiple varieties of roasted meat. A large majority of siu laap consists strictly of white meat.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| White rice with Chinese sausage and char siu | 臘腸叉燒飯 | làcháng chāoshāo fàn |
| White rice with goose entrails and roasted goose | 燒鵝鵝腸飯 | shāo'é écháng fàn |
| Siu mei platter | 燒味拼盤 | shāowèi pīnpán |
| Siu lap platter | 燒臘拼盤 | shāowèi pīnpán |
[edit] Little pan rice
Little pan rice (煲仔飯, bou1 zai2 faan6, bāozǎifàn) are dishes that are cooked and served in a flat-bottomed pan (as opposed to a round-bottomed wok). Usually it is a saucepan or braising pan. Such dishes are cooked by covering and steaming, making the rice and ingredients very hot and soft. Usually the ingredients are layered on top of the rice with little to no mixing in between. Many standard combinations exist.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Layered egg and beef over rice | 窩蛋牛肉飯 | wōdàn niúròu fàn |
| Minced beef patty over rice | 肉餅煲仔飯 | ròubǐng bāozǎifàn |
| Pork spare ribs over rice | 排骨煲仔飯 | páigǔ bāozǎifàn |
| Steamed chicken over rice | 蒸雞肉煲仔飯 | zhēng jīròu bāozǎifàn |
| Meat and Preserved Chinese sausage over rice | 蠟味煲仔飯 | làwèi bāozǎifàn |
[edit] Banquet/night dishes
There are a number of dishes that are served in Cantonese restaurants traditionally only at dinner. Traditionally dim sum restaurants stop serving bamboo-basket dishes after yum cha hour and begin offering an entirely different menu in the evening. Some dishes are more standard while others are quite regional. Some are customized for special purposes such as Chinese marriages or banquets. Salt and pepper dishes are one of the few spicy dishes.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Crispy fried chicken | 炸子雞 | zházǐjī |
| Seafood birdsnest | 海鲜雀巢 | hǎixiān quècháo |
| Roasted suckling pig | 燒乳猪 | shāo rǔzhū |
| Fried tofu with shrimp | 蝦仁炒豆腐 | xiārén chǎo dòufu |
| Roast young pigeon | 乳鴿 | rǔgē |
| Roast squab | ||
| Salt and pepper rib | 椒鹽骨 | jiāoyángǔ |
| Salt and pepper squid | 椒鹽魷魚 | jiāoyán yóuyú |
| Salt and pepper shrimp | 椒鹽蝦 | jiāoyánxiā |
| Sour spare ribs | 生炒排骨 | shēngchǎo páigǔ |
| Taro duck | 陳皮芋頭鴨 | chénpí yùtouyā |
| Yeung Chow fried rice | 揚州炒飯 | Yángzhōu chǎofàn |
[edit] Dessert
After a night meal or dish, Cantonese restaurants usually offer tong sui, or sweet soups [literally meaning sugar water]. Many of the varieties are shared between Cantonese and other Chinese cuisines. Some desserts are more traditional, while others are more recent. Higher-end restaurants usually offer their own blend and customization of desserts.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Red bean soup | 紅豆沙 | hóngdòushā |
| Black sesame soup | 芝麻糊 | zhīmahú |
| Sai mai lo | 西米露 | xīmǐlù |
| Sweet potato soup | 番薯糖水 | fānshǔ tángshuǐ |
| Mung bean soup | 綠豆沙 | lǜdòushā |
| Dau fu fa | 豆腐花 | dòufuhuā |
| Guilinggao | 龜苓膏 | guīlínggāo |
| Sweet Chinese pastry | 糕點 | gāodiǎn |
| Coconut bar | 椰汁糕 | yēzhigāo |
| Shaved Ice | 刨冰 | páobīng |
| Steamed egg custard | 燉蛋 | dùndàn |
| Steamed milk custard | 燉奶 | dùnnǎi |
| Double skin milk | 雙皮奶 | shuāngpínǎi |
[edit] Delicacies
Most Cantonese delicacies are prized animals and have serious and controversial animal rights issues such as the finning of Shark cartilages.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Braised abalone | 燜鮑魚 | mèn bàoyú |
| Jellyfish | 海蜇 | hǎizhé |
| Shark fin soup | 魚翅湯 | yúchì tāng |
| Sea cucumber | 海參 | hǎishēn |
| Swallow's nest soup | 燕窩 | yànwō |
[edit] Controversy
[edit] Dog and cat consumption
One subject of controversy is the raising of dogs and cats as food in the Cantonese-speaking regions. Eating dogs was common, even from some non-Cantonese parts of the country, in the first half of the 20th century. In Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan dog eating has been banned for a long time.[5] As of the early part of the 21st century, serving dogs as food is illegal and risks ostracism especially from those under the age of 50. This is the result of increasing awareness of animal welfare issues, and within mainland China a growing number of young people have called for its abolition as well.[6] Some Westerners have defended the practice of Chinese serving dogs as a survival tactic in times of famine.[7] Chinese historical records show serving dog as food does have a history dating as far back as the Shang Dynasty. Dogs were one of the nine varieties of animals that could be eaten. Dogs were raised as food as pigs and chickens were. One old-style dish found in mainland China that incorporates cat meat is the Dragon tiger phoenix.[8][9]
At the end of December 2008 a series of dogs and cats were being sold to meat markets in large numbers. In Beijing a protest was held to defend the cats. In South China, a rescue effort was carried out by the Animals Asia Foundation to rescue the dogs. About 149 dogs were saved in the operation.[10] Many of the dogs were deceptively sold to consumers as lamb meat, since lamb meat cost more than dog meat yielding higher profits.[11]
[edit] Characterization
In 1986, Prince Philip commented on Chinese eating habits to the World Wildlife Fund conference saying: "If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."[12] Despite having the quote presented to a notable organization, it has also appeared in books such as "The Most Stupid Words Ever Spoken" as it is deemed by some Westerners as a prime example of lack of understanding of foreign culinary traditions in the Western world.[12] Although, some sources point out that this is a modern Chinese saying used by the Chinese from other regions in reference to Cantonese culinary habits.[13]
[edit] Inflated pork
A 2009 trend in South China is the selling of pork illegally inflated with water during off hour operations using special techniques. The pork weight is then increased significantly and made to look much healthier than it really is. The meat is then transported in open air on the back of motorcycles and then sold to consumers the next morning.[14] The meat is dubbed by the mainland media as "bad intention pork meat" (黑心豬肉, hēixīn zhūròu).[14] This mirrors the legal modern practice of adding water to meats in countries such as UK and the US.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. [2005] (2005). The food of China: a journey for food lovers. Bay Books. ISBN 978-0681025844. p17.
- ^ a b Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People. p. 281. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CwRE0HIIyWkC&pg=PA281&dq=Cantonese+food+is+the+best&hl=en&ei=-_mnTv2iEYaw8gOWronLDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Cantonese%20food%20is%20the%20best&f=false.
- ^ Barber, Nicola. [2004] (2004) Hong Kong. Gareth Stevens Publishing. ISBN 0836851986
- ^ Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-2095631.
- ^ Animalasia.org. "Animalasia.org." Dog & Cat Eating in China. Retrieved on 2009-01-03.
- ^ 伴侣动物保护网络(CCAPN)-拒吃猫狗肉网络签名活动
- ^ Bonner, Arthur. [1997] (1997). Alas! What Brought Thee Hither: The Chinese in New York, 1800-1950. Fairleigh Dickinson University press. ISBN 0838637043
- ^ Big5.China.com. "China.com.cn." Cantonese cuisine. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
- ^ Newsweek.com. "Newsweek.com." Pet lovers protest cats on the menu in China. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
- ^ Animalasia.org. "Animalasia.org." New year brings hope for Chinese dogs. Retrieved on 2009-01-03.
- ^ PRC Guangdong TV (新闻在线) December 28, 2008.
- ^ a b Ward, Laura. [2003] (2003). Foolish Words: The Most Stupid Words Ever Spoken. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 1856486982
- ^ Olszewski, Wiesław. [2003] (2003). Chiny - zarys kultury. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. ISBN 83-232-1272-4. p.177 (in Polish)
- ^ a b PRC Guangdong TV (今日关注) January 2, 2009.
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