Cantonese cuisine
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| Cantonese cuisine | ||
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| Traditional Chinese: | 廣東菜 | |
| Simplified Chinese: | 广东菜 | |
| Mandarin | ||
| Hanyu Pinyin: | Guǎngdōng cài | |
| Cantonese | ||
| Jyutping: | Gwong2 dong1 coi3 | |
| Yue cuisine | ||
| Chinese: | 粵菜 | |
| Mandarin | ||
| Pinyin: | Yuè cài | |
| Cantonese | ||
| Jyutping: | Jyut6 coi3 | |
Cantonese (Yue) cuisine originates from Guangdong Province in southern China, or more precisely, the area around Canton (Guangzhou). Of the various regional styles of Chinese cuisine, Cantonese is the best-known outside China. A "Chinese restaurant" in a Western country will usually serve mostly Cantonese food, or an adaptation thereof. The prominence of Cantonese cuisine outside China is likely due to the disproportionate early emigration from this region, as well as the relative accessibility of some Cantonese dishes to foreign palates. Cantonese dishes rarely use "hot" spices like chilli, unlike, for instance, Szechuan cuisine. Also within China itself, restaurants serving Cantonese cuisine can be found in many other regions.
Cantonese cuisine has widely been regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese regional fare, because of the immensity and diversity of the ingredients used. This is because Guangzhou (Canton), a long established trading port in Southern China, has been exposed to more imported food products and ingredients than any other area in China. For example, shell fish and prawns are rarely served in Northern Chinese cuisine because, before the advent of refrigeration, these ingredients were simply not feasibly available. Sometimes, Chiuchow cuisine and Hakka cuisine are also grouped with in the Cantonese cuisine because of the geography. However, most Cantonese would argue that that is inaccurate because the flavour palette and emphasis are quite different.
There is a Cantonese saying: "Any animal whose back faces the sun can be eaten" , and in Northern Chinese areas such as Beijing, it is said 「天上飛的除了飛机，水里游的除了潛水艇，地上走的除了坦克，廣東人都願意吃。」 (Hanyu pinyin: Tiān shàng fēide chúle fēijī, shuǐlǐ yóude chúle qiánshuǐtǐng, dìshàng zǒude chúle tǎnkè, Guǎndōngrén dōu yuànyì chī. The Cantonese will eat everything that swims except the submarine, everything that flies except the airplane, and everything that walks except the tank). British royal Prince Philip said much the same thing upon visiting China in 1983. Cantonese cuisine includes almost all edible food in addition to the staples of pork, beef and chicken — snakes, snails, insects, worms, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails. One subject of controversy amongst some Westerners is the raising of dogs and cats as food in some places in China; however, dog is not a common restaurant food, and is illegal in Hong Kong (and may soon be in Taiwan). Eating dogs was a survival tactic in times of famine, and is frowned upon by many Chinese today.
Despite the countless Cantonese cooking methods, steaming, stir frying and deep frying are the most popular cooking methods in restaurants due to the short cooking time, and philosophy of bringing out the flavor of the freshest ingredients.
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[edit] Elements of cooking
[edit] Spices
Cantonese cuisine can be characterized by the use of very mild and simple spices in combination. Ginger, spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, corn starch and oil are sufficient for most Cantonese cooking. Garlic is used heavily in dishes especially with internal organs that have unpleasant odors, such as entrails. Five-spice powder, white pepper powder and many other spices are used in Cantonese dishes, but usually very lightly. Cantonese cuisine is sometimes considered bland by those used to thicker, richer and darker sauces of other Chinese cuisines.
[edit] Freshness
Spicy hot dishes are extremely rare in Cantonese cuisine. Spicy hot food is more common in very hot climates, such as those of Sichuan, Thailand, etc. where food spoils easily, and in the cold climates of the north. Guangdong has the richest food resources in China in terms of agriculture and aquaculture. Natural flavors are a highlight of Cantonese cuisine, thanks to the copious amounts of available fresh produce, and the mild weather of the region.
As an example of the high standard for freshness in Cantonese meals, cows and pigs used for meat are usually killed earlier the same day. Chickens are often killed just hours beforehand, and fish are displayed in tanks for customers to choose for immediate preparation. It is not unusual for a waiter at a Cantonese restaurant to bring the live flipping fish or the crawling lobster to the table to show the patron as proof of freshness before cooking.
[edit] Seafood
Due to Guangdong's location on the southern coast of China, fresh live seafood is a specialty in Cantonese cuisine. Many authentic restaurants maintain live seafood tanks. From the Cantonese perspective, strong spices are added only to stale seafood to cover the rotting odor. The freshest seafood is odorless, and is best cooked by steaming. For instance, only a small amount of soy sauce, ginger, and spring onion is added to steamed fish. The light seasoning is used only to bring out the natural sweetness of the seafood. However, most restaurants gladly get rid of their stale 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.
[edit] Soup
Other unique Cantonese specialties are slow-cooked soups. This is almost unheard of in other Chinese cuisines. The soup is usually a clear broth prepared by simmering meat and other ingredients for several hours. Sometimes, Chinese herbal medicines are added to the pot. The ingredients of a rather expensive Cantonese slow cooked soup may include (a) fresh whole chicken(s), dried cod gas bladder, dried (a) sea cucumber(s), dried (a) scallop(s), and Bao Yu (鮑魚) (dried abalone). Another more affordable example includes pork bones, watercress with two types of apricot kernels (南北杏西洋菜豬骨湯), etc. The combinations are varied and numerous.
The main attraction is the liquid in the pot, although the solids are eaten too, sometimes with soy sauce. A whole chicken may simmer in a broth for six hours or longer. Traditional Cantonese families have this type of soup at least once a week. Though in this day and age, many families with both working parents cannot afford this tradition due to the long preparation time required. However, wealthy families with servants and a cook still enjoy the luxury every day. For the same reason, not many restaurants serve this type of soup either. Even if they do, it can only be served as soupe du jour.[citation needed]
[edit] Hong Kong style
Sometimes in the US, the term "Hong Kong Style" is used to distinguish this style of cooking from the more Americanized version most Americans are familiar with.
[edit] Preserved food
Though Cantonese cooks pay much attention to the freshness of their cooking ingredients, Cantonese cooking also uses a long list of preserved food items. This may be an influence from Hakka cuisine. Some items gain very intense flavors during the drying/aging/preservation/oxidation process, similar to Italian style sun-dried tomatoes' intensified flavor from drying. Some chefs combine both dried and fresh varieties of the same items in a dish to create a contrast in the taste and texture. Dried items are usually soaked in water to rehydrate them before cooking, such as mushrooms. They may also be cooked with water over long hours until they are tender and juicy. For example, dried abalone and dried scallops have much stronger flavors when dried, without the undesirable strong fishy odor. Not only do preserved foods have a longer shelf life, sometimes the dried foods are preferred over the fresh ones because of their uniquely intense flavor or texture. Cantonese cuisine includes various dried fruits, herbs and flowers, etc.
| Name of the product | Comments |
|---|---|
| Dong Gu (冬菇) (Dried Shiitake) | |
| Bao Yu (鮑魚) (Dried Abalone) | |
| Yeu Ji (瑤柱) (Dried Scallops) | |
| Hoi Sum (海參) (Dried Sea Cucumbers) | |
| Fa Gao (花膠) (Dried Gas Bladders) | |
| Ha Gon(蝦乾) or Ha Mai (蝦米) (Dried Shrimp) | |
| Yu Qi (魚翅) (DriedShark Fins) | |
| Yeen Woh (燕窩) (Dried Bird Nests) | Dried bird nests are not made of forest materials, but of bird saliva. |
| Choy Gon (菜乾) (Dried Chinese cabbage) | a green vegetable native to China |
| Suen Mui Choy (鹹酸菜) or Mui Choy (梅菜) (Pickled Chinese cabbage) | |
| Choy Po (菜脯) (Pickled Vegetables) | |
| Fu Yue (腐乳) or Fermented Tofu | |
| Salt Milk or Ngo Yue (牛乳) | thin films of milk preserved in brine |
| Salt fish or Hahm Yu (鹹魚) | |
| Lap Chung (臘腸) (Preserved Salted Sausage) | |
| Preserved Salted Duck or Lap Ahp (臘鴨) | |
| Preserved Salted Pork or Lap Yhok (臘肉) | |
| Hahm Dahn (鹹蛋) (Preserved Salted Eggs) | Salt eggs are preserved in brine until the egg white turns watery clear and the yolk a solid yellowly orange. The watery egg white turns solid when cooked. |
| Pei Dahn(皮蛋) (also known as Perserved eggs or Thousand-year-[old] eggs) | Duck egg preserved in lime until the egg white turns gelatinous and dark brown, the yolk marbled green, similar to the pattern found in a geode. |
[edit] Sample dishes
| Dish | Annotations |
|---|---|
| Dim Sum (點心, literally "touch the heart", means "what your heart picks") | Small dishes served with tea usually at brunch, e.g. char siu bao, steamed shrimp dumplings (Cantonese 蝦餃 ha gow), watercress dumplings (西菜饺) etc.. |
| Shrimp Wonton Noodles In Soup (鮮蝦雲吞麵) | |
| Stir-fried Vegetables (炒青菜) | Green leafy vegetables stir-fried in oil and sometimes garlic or ginger, topped with soy or oyster sauce. |
| Char siu (叉燒) (also called BBQ Pork) | Char siu usually have red outer colorings. |
| Siew Yhok (燒肉, literally "roast meat") or Crispy Roast Pork | Slices straight from the flesh of a pig that is usually roasted whole. |
| Roast (Crispy) Young Pigeon/Squabs (紅燒乳鴿/烤乳鴿 Hanyu Pinyin: hóngshāo rúgē/kǎo rúgē Cantonese: 紅燒=烤) | |
| Shahe Fen (沙河粉) | Thin and flat rice noodles |
| Dry-fried Beef With Ho Fan (乾炒牛河) | Shahe fen stir-fried with fried beef (a common dish) |
| Bak jok (白粥) (Rice Congee) with various toppings and Youtiao (Deep-fried Breadsticks) (油條 or 油炸鬼) | |
| Pork Rind Curry (咖哩豬皮) | |
| Dace Meatballs (鯪魚球) | |
| Steamed Fish (清蒸魚) | |
| Steamed Fish Intestines (蒸魚腸) | |
| Stir-fried Fish Intestines (炒鱼腸) | |
| Steamed Salt Fish (蒸鹹魚) | |
| Cold Steeped Chicken (白切雞) or Steamed Chicken (蒸雞) And Ginger And Spring Onions In Oil (薑蔥油) | |
| Seasoned Roast Chicken (鹽焗雞) | |
| Soy Sauce Duck (滷水鴨) | |
| Lo Foh Tong (老火湯) (Slow-cooked Soups) | |
| Yu Qi Tong (魚翅羹) (Shark fin soup) | |
| Braised Dried Abalone (燜鮑魚) | |
| Guilinggao (龜苓膏) | This jelly was traditionally made out of turtle shell boiled in Chinese medical herbs, but, now, this jelly is mainly boiled with herbal grass, only. |
| Steamed/Boiled/Double-boiled Dessert (糕點) | |
| Tong Sui (糖水) (Sweet Soup) | it is just the chinese word for broth |
| Sticky Rice | Glutinous rice cooked with soy sauce as well as other ingredients such as sausage, scrambled egg pieces, peas, and carrot bits. |
| Lo Mai Gai | Glutinous rice and chicken with (a) pork sausage(s) (pieces) and dried shitake mushrooms, wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed. |
| Zongzi (粽子) | Glutinous rice wrapped and tied in bamboo leaves with a variety of fillings that may include pork, salted egg, beans, or water chestnuts, and boiled |
| Stir-fried Watermelon Skin (炒西瓜皮) | Home-style stir-fried dish made with the peeled skin of a watermelon. |
| Dish | Annotations |
|---|---|
| Roast Suckling Pig (乳豬) | |
| Xio Ap (燒鴨) or Foh Ap (火鴨) (Roast Duck) | |
| Xio Oh (燒鵝)Roast Goose | The most famous version of Xio Ap (燒鵝) comes from Yung Kee in Hong Kong |
| Braised Crispy Chicken (炸子雞) | |
| Xi Yow Gai (豉油雞) (Soy Sauce Chicken) | Soy Sauce Chicken is chicken slowly cooked in soy sauce. |
| Beef Entrails (牛雜) | |
| Beef Stew (牛腩) | |
| Foh Wo (火鍋) or( 打邊爐) (Hot Pot) | |
| Hongkongese Lo Mein (撈麵) | These Noodles are served with a separate bowl of broth. |
| Pan-fried Crispy Noodles (港式煎麵) | This literaly translates to 'Hongkongese Stir-fired Noodles'. |
| Dessert Drinks Served With Shaved Ice (刨冰) | |
| Taro Duck ([陳皮]芋頭鴨) | |
| Salt And pepper Fried Squid (椒鹽魷魚) | |
| Salt And Pepper Fried Shrimp (椒鹽蝦) | |
| Yuet Baeng (月餅) (Mooncake) | This is a Chinese baked good that is traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
