Cantonese cuisine

Cantonese cuisine
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
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Guǎngdōngcài Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Gwong2 dung1 coi3
Yuet cuisine
Traditional Chinese	粵菜
Simplified Chinese	粤菜
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Yuècài Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Jyut6 coi3

Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China 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. Cantonese food is best known in western world; when people in the West speak of Chinese food, they usually mean Cantonese food.

Background

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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.

Foods

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.

Blanched kai-lan (芥蘭, gàilán) with oyster sauce

Sauces and condiments

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

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.

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.

Dried and preserved ingredients

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

Traditional dishes

Cantonese stir-fried vegetables. Often, vegetables are simply stir-fried plain or with minced garlic.

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

Deep fried dishes

Zaa Leung, a common Cantonese breakfast

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, 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

Slow-cooked soup

Winter melon 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

Seafood

Seafood tanks

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

Noodle dishes

Wonton noodles

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.

Noodle dishes

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

Siu mei

Main article: Siu mei

Siu mei and Lou mei charcuterie

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.

Siu mei

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

Lou mei

Main article: Lou mei

Street 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

Siu laap

Siu laap store front

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:

Meat

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.

Dishes

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

Little pan rice

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

Banquet/night dishes

Fried tofu with shrimp

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

Dessert

Hybrid red bean soup with taro

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

Delicacies

Cantonese baoyu

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

Controversy

Posters informing about animal rights in HK

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. 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. Some Westerners have defended the practice of Chinese serving dogs as a survival tactic in times of famine. 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.

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. Many of the dogs were deceptively sold to consumers as lamb meat, since lamb meat cost more than dog meat yielding higher profits.

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." 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. 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.

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. The meat is dubbed by the mainland media as "bad intention pork meat" (黑心豬肉, hēixīn zhūròu). This mirrors the legal modern practice of adding water to meats in countries such as UK and the US.

See also

• Cuisine of Hong Kong
• Dim sum
• Chinese food therapy
• 2008 South China animal consumption incidents
• List of Chinese dishes