Cantonese cuisine facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cantonese cuisine
Chefs cook with a wok
Traditional Chinese	廣東菜
Simplified Chinese	广东菜
Cantonese Yale	Gwóng dūng choi
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guǎngdōngcài Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gwóng dūng choi IPA [kʷɔ̌ːŋtóŋtsʰɔ̄ːy] Jyutping Gwong2 dung1 coi3
Yue cuisine
Traditional Chinese	粵菜
Simplified Chinese	粤菜
Cantonese Yale	Yuht choi
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yuècài Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yuht choi IPA [ỳːt̚tsʰɔ̄ːy] Jyutping Jyut6 coi3

Map showing major regional cuisines of China

Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine (Chinese: 廣東菜 or Chinese: 粵菜) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Macau. Strictly speaking, Cantonese cuisine is the cuisine of Guangzhou or of Cantonese speakers, but it often includes the cooking styles of all the speakers of Yue Chinese languages in Guangdong. Scholars categorize Guangdong cuisine into three major groups based on the region's dialect: Cantonese, Hakka and Chaozhou cuisines. On the other hand, the Teochew cuisine and Hakka cuisine of Guangdong are considered their own styles, as is neighboring Guangxi's cuisine despite eastern Guangxi being considered culturally Cantonese due to the presence of ethnic Zhuang influences in the rest of the province. Cantonese cuisine is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the large number of Cantonese emigrants. Chefs trained in Cantonese cuisine are highly sought after throughout China. Until the late 20th century, most Chinese restaurants in the West served largely Cantonese dishes.

Background

Guangzhou (Canton) City, the provincial capital of Guangdong and the centre of Cantonese culture, has long been a trading hub and many imported foods and ingredients are used in Cantonese cuisine. Besides pork, beef and chicken, Cantonese cuisine incorporates almost all edible meats, including offal, chicken feet, duck's tongue, frog legs, snakes and snails. However, lamb and goat are less commonly used than in the cuisines of northern or western China. Many cooking methods are used, with steaming and stir-frying being the most favoured due to their convenience and rapidity. Other techniques include shallow frying, double steaming, braising and deep frying.

Compared to other Chinese regional cuisines, the flavours of most traditional Cantonese dishes should be well-balanced and not greasy. Apart from that, spices should be used in modest amounts to avoid overwhelming the flavours of the primary ingredients, and these ingredients in turn should be at the peak of their freshness and quality. There is no widespread use of fresh herbs in Cantonese cooking, in contrast with their liberal use in other cuisines such as Sichuanese, Vietnamese, Lao, Thai and European. Garlic chives and coriander leaves are notable exceptions, although the former are often used as a vegetable and the latter are usually used as mere garnish in most dishes.

Foods

Sauces and condiments

In Cantonese cuisine, ingredients such as sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, corn starch, vinegar, scallion and sesame oil suffice to enhance flavour, although garlic is heavily used in some dishes, especially those in which internal organs, such as entrails, may emit unpleasant odours. Ginger, chili peppers, five-spice powder, powdered black pepper, star anise and a few other spices are also used, but often sparingly.

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  Char siu is often marinated with plum sauce and honey for sweet flavour

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  Oysters steamed in two ways: with ginger and garlic, and in black bean sauce

Dried and preserved ingredients

Although Cantonese cooks pay much attention to the freshness of their primary ingredients, Cantonese cuisine also uses a long list of preserved food items to add flavour to a dish. This may be influenced by Hakka cuisine, since the Hakkas were once a dominant group occupying imperial Hong Kong and other southern territories.

Some items gain very intense flavours 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 a la carte, but rather with vegetables or other Cantonese dishes.

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  Century egg

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  Deep-fried vegetarian goose wrapped in tofu skin

Traditional dishes

A number of dishes have been part of Cantonese cuisine since the earliest territorial establishments of Guangdong. While many of these are on the menus of typical Cantonese restaurants, some simpler ones are more commonly found in Cantonese homes. Home-made Cantonese dishes are usually served with plain white rice.

Name	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Cantonese style fried rice		廣式炒飯	广式炒饭	gwong2 sik1 cau2 faan6	Guǎng shì chǎofàn
Choy sum in oyster sauce		蠔油菜心	蚝油菜心	hou4 jau4 coi3 sam1	háoyóu càixīn
Congee with lean pork and century egg		皮蛋瘦肉粥		pei4 daan2 sau3 juk6 zuk1	pídàn shòuròuzhōu
Steamed egg		蒸水蛋		zing1 seoi2 daan2	zhēngshuǐdàn
Steamed frog legs on lotus leaf		荷葉蒸田雞	荷叶蒸田鸡	ho4 jip6 zing1 tin4 gai1	héyè zhēng tiánjī
Steamed ground pork with salted duck egg		鹹蛋蒸肉餅	咸蛋蒸肉饼	haam4 daan2 zing1 juk6 beng2	xiándàn zhēng ròubǐng
Steamed spare ribs with fermented black beans and chilli pepper		豉椒排骨		si6 ziu1 paai4 gwat1	chǐjiāo páigǔ
Stewed beef brisket		柱侯牛腩		cyu5 hau4 ngau4 naam5	zhùhóu niú nǎn
Stir-fried hairy gourd with dried shrimp and cellophane noodles		大姨媽嫁女	大姨妈嫁女	daai6 ji4 maa1 gaa3 neoi5	dàyímā jiànǚ
Stir-fried water spinach with shredded chilli and fermented tofu		椒絲腐乳通菜	椒丝腐乳通菜	ziu1 si1 fu6 jyu5 tung1 coi3	jiāosī fǔrǔ tōngcài
Sweet and sour pork		咕嚕肉	咕噜肉	gu1 lou1 juk6	gūlūròu

Deep fried dishes

There are a small number of deep-fried dishes in Cantonese cuisine, which can often be found as street food. They have been extensively documented in colonial Hong Kong records of the 19th and 20th centuries. A few are synonymous with Cantonese breakfast and lunch, even though these are also part of other cuisines.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Dace fish balls		鯪魚球	鲮鱼球	leng4 jyu4 kau4	língyúqiú
Chinese Donut		油炸鬼		jau4 zaa3 gwai2	yóuzháguǐ
Zaa Leung		炸兩	炸两	zaa3 loeng5	zháliǎng

Soups

Old fire soup, or lou fo tong (simplified Chinese: 老火汤; traditional Chinese: 老火湯; Mandarin Pinyin: lǎohuǒ tāng; Jyutping: lou5 fo2 tong; literally "old fire-cooked soup"), is a clear broth prepared by simmering meat and other ingredients over a low heat for several hours. Chinese herbs are often used as ingredients. There are basically two ways to make old fire soup – put ingredients and water in the pot and heat it directly on fire, which is called bou tong (simplified Chinese: 煲汤; traditional Chinese: 煲湯; Mandarin Pinyin: bāo tāng; Jyutping: bou1 tong1); or put the ingredients in a small stew pot, and put it in a bigger pot filled with water, then heat the bigger pot on fire directly, which is called dun tong (simplified Chinese: 燉汤; traditional Chinese: 燉湯; Mandarin Pinyin: dùn tāng; Jyutping: dun6 tong1). The latter way can keep the most original taste of the soup.

Soup chain stores or delivery outlets in cities with significant Cantonese populations, such as Hong Kong, serve this dish due to the long preparation time required of slow-simmered soup.

Seafood

Seafood tanks in a Cantonese restaurant

Due to Guangdong's location along the South China Sea coast, fresh seafood is prominent in Cantonese cuisine, and many Cantonese restaurants keep aquariums or seafood tanks on the premises. In Cantonese cuisine, as in cuisines from other parts of Asia, if seafood has a repugnant odour, strong spices and marinating juices are added; the freshest seafood is odourless and, in Cantonese culinary arts, 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. In Cantonese cuisine, the light seasoning is used only to bring out the natural sweetness of the seafood. As a rule of thumb, the spiciness of a dish is usually negatively correlated to the freshness of the ingredients.

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  Typical ingredients for Cantonese style hotpot are razor shell (蟶子), crab (蟹), prawn (蝦), chicken sausage (雞肉腸仔) and dace fishball (魚旦)

Noodle dishes

Noodles are served either in soup broth or fried. These are available as home-cooked meals, on dim sum side menus, or as street food at dai pai dongs, where they can be served with a variety of toppings such as fish balls, beef balls, or fish slices.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin	Notes
Beef brisket noodles		牛腩麵	牛腩面	ngau4 laam5 min6	niú nǎn miàn	May be served dry or in soup.
Beef chow fun		乾炒牛河	干炒牛河	gon1 caau2 ngau4 ho2	gān chǎo niú hé
Chow mein		炒麵	炒面	caau2 min6	chǎo miàn	A generic term for various stir-fried noodle dishes. Hong Kong-style chow mein is made from pan-fried thin crispy noodles.
Jook-sing noodles		竹昇麵	竹升面	zuk1 sing1 min6	zhúshēngmiàn	Bamboo log pressed noodles.
Lo mein		撈麵	捞面	lou1 min6	lāo miàn
Rice noodle roll		腸粉	肠粉	coeng2 fan2	chángfěn	Also known as chee cheong fun.
Rice noodles		河粉		ho4 fun2	héfěn	Also known as hor-fun.
Silver needle noodles		銀針粉	银针粉	ngan4 zam1 fun2	yín zhēn fěn	Also known as rat noodles (Chinese: 老鼠粉; Mandarin Pinyin: lǎoshǔ fěn; Jyutping: lou5 syu2 fan2).
Yi mein		伊麵	伊面	ji1 min6	yī miàn	Also known as e-fu noodles.
Wonton noodles		雲吞麵	云吞面	wan4 tan1 min6	yúntūn miàn	Sometimes spelled as wanton noodles.

Siu mei

A roasted pig and char siu

Siu mei (simplified Chinese: 烧味; traditional Chinese: 燒味; Mandarin Pinyin: shāo wèi; Jyutping: siu1 mei6) is essentially the Chinese rotisserie style of cooking. Unlike most other Cantonese dishes, siu mei solely consists of meat, with no vegetables.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Char siu		叉燒	叉烧	caa1 siu1	chāshāo
Roast duck		燒鴨	烧鸭	siu1 aap3	shāoyā
Roast goose		燒鵝	烧鹅	siu1 ngo4	shāo'é
Roast pig		燒肉	烧肉	siu1 yuk1	shāoròu
Roast pigeon		燒乳鴿	烧乳鸽	siu1 jyu5 gap3	shāorǔgē

Lou mei

Lou mei (simplified Chinese: 卤味; traditional Chinese: 滷味; Mandarin Pinyin: lǔ wèi; Jyutping: lou5 mei6) is the name given to dishes made from internal organs, entrails and other left-over parts of animals. It is widely available in southern Chinese regions.

Image	English	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
	Beef entrails	牛雜	牛杂	ngau4 zaap6	niú zá
	Beef brisket	牛腩		ngau4 laam5	niú nǎn
	Chicken scraps	雞雜	鸡杂	gai1 zaap6	jī zá
	Duck gizzard	鴨腎	鸭肾	aap3 san6	yā shèn
	Pig's tongue	豬脷	猪脷	zyu1 lei6	zhū lì

Siu laap

Cantonese siu mei food stall in Hong Kong

All Cantonese-style cooked meats, including siu mei, lou mei and preserved meat can be classified as siu laap (simplified Chinese: 烧腊; traditional Chinese: 燒臘; Mandarin Pinyin: shāo là; Jyutping: siu1 laap6). Siu laap also includes dishes such as:

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin	Notes
Chicken in soy sauce		豉油雞	豉油鸡	si6 jau4 gai1	chǐ yóu jī
Orange cuttlefish		鹵水墨魚	卤水墨鱼	lou5 seoi2 mak6 jyu4	lǔshuǐ mòyú
Poached duck in master stock		滷水鴨	卤水鸭	lou5 seoi2 aap3	lǔ shuǐ yā
White cut chicken		白切雞	白切鸡	baak6 cit3 gai1	bái qiè jī	Also known as white chopped chicken (simplified Chinese: 白斩鸡; traditional Chinese: 白斬雞; Mandarin Pinyin: báizhǎnjī; Jyutping: baak6 zaam2 gai1) in some places.

A typical dish may consist of offal and half an order of multiple varieties of roasted meat. The majority of siu laap is white meat.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Rice with Chinese sausage and char siu		臘腸叉燒飯	腊肠叉烧饭	laap6 ceung4 caa1 siu1 faan6	làcháng chāshāo fàn
Rice with roast goose and goose intestines		燒鵝鵝腸飯	烧鹅鹅肠饭	siu1 ngo4 ngo4 coeng4 faan6	shāo é é cháng fàn
Siu mei platter		燒味拼盤	烧味拼盘	siu1 mei6 ping6 poon4	shāowèi pīnpán
Siu lap platter		燒臘拼盤	烧腊拼盘	siu1 laap6 ping6 pun4	shāolà pīnpán

Little pot rice

Little pot chicken rice with vegetable and Chinese sausage

Little pot rice (simplified Chinese: 煲仔饭; traditional Chinese: 煲仔飯; Mandarin Pinyin: bāozǎifàn; Jyutping: bou1 zai2 faan6) are dishes cooked and served in a flat-bottomed pot (as opposed to a round-bottomed wok). Usually this is a saucepan or braising pan (see clay pot cooking). 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 or no mixing in between. Many standard combinations exist.

Banquet/dinner dishes

A number of dishes are traditionally served in Cantonese restaurants only at dinner time. Dim sum restaurants stop serving bamboo-basket dishes after the yum cha period (equivalent to afternoon tea) and begin offering an entirely different menu in the evening. Some dishes are standard while others are regional. Some are customised for special purposes such as Chinese marriages or banquets. Salt and pepper dishes are one of the few spicy dishes.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Crispy fried chicken		炸子雞	炸子鸡	zaa3 zi2 gai1	zhá zǐ jī
Duck with taro		陳皮芋頭鴨	陈皮芋头鸭	can4 pei4 wu6 tau4 aap3	chén pí yùtóu yā
Fried tofu with shrimp		蝦仁炒豆腐	虾仁炒豆腐	haa1 joeng4 caau2 dau4 fu6	xiārén chǎo dòufǔ
Roast pigeon		乳鴿	乳鸽	jyu5 gap3	rǔ gē
Roast suckling pig		燒乳豬	烧乳豬	siu1 jyu5 zyu1	shāo rǔ zhū
Seafood with bird's nest		海鮮雀巢	海鮮雀巢	hoi2 sin1 zoek3 caau4	hǎixiān quècháo
Shrimp with salt and pepper		椒鹽蝦	椒盐虾	ziu1 jim4 haa1	jiāo yán xiā
Sour spare ribs		生炒排骨	生炒排骨	saang1 cau2 paai4 gwat1	shēng chǎo páigǔ
Spare ribs with salt and pepper		椒鹽骨	椒盐骨	ziu1 jim4 paai4 gwat1	jiāo yán gǔ
Squid with salt and pepper		椒鹽魷魚	椒盐鱿鱼	ziu1 jim4 jau4 jyu2	jiāo yán yóuyú
Yangzhou fried rice		揚州炒飯	扬州炒饭	Joeng4 zau1 cau2 faan6	Yángzhōu chǎofàn

Dessert

After the evening meal, most Cantonese restaurants offer tong sui (Chinese: 糖水; Mandarin Pinyin: táng shuǐ; Jyutping: tong4 seoi2; literally "sugar water"), a sweet soup. Many varieties of tong sui are also found in other Chinese cuisines. Some desserts are traditional, while others are recent innovations. The more expensive restaurants usually offer their specialty desserts. Sugar water is the general name of dessert in Guangdong province. It is cooked by adding water and sugar to some other cooking ingredients.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Black sesame soup	Image:BlacksesameSoup.jpg	芝麻糊		zi1 maa4 wu2	zhīmahú
Coconut pudding		椰汁糕		je4 zap1 gou1	yēzhīgāo
Double skin milk		雙皮奶	双皮奶	soeng1 pei4 naai5	shuāngpínǎi
Mung bean soup		綠豆沙	绿豆沙	luk6 dau6 saa1	lǜdòushā
Red bean soup		紅豆沙	红豆沙	hong4 dau6 saa1	hóngdòushā
Sago soup		西米露		sai1 mei5 lou6	xīmǐlù
Shaved ice		刨冰		paau4 bing1	bǎobīng
Steamed egg custard		燉蛋	炖蛋	dan6 daan2	dùndàn
Steamed milk custard		燉奶	炖奶	dan6 naai5	dùnnǎi
Sweet Chinese pastry		糕點	糕点	gou1 dim2	gāodiǎn
Sweet potato soup		番薯糖水		faan1 syu4 tong4 seoi2	fānshǔ tángshuǐ
Tofu flower pudding		豆腐花		dau6 fu6 faa1	dòufǔhuā
Turtle shell with smilax pudding		龜苓膏	龟苓膏	gwai1 ling4 gou1	guīlínggāo

Delicacies

Certain Cantonese delicacies consist of parts taken from rare or endangered animals, which raises controversy over animal rights and environmental issues. This is often due to alleged health benefits of certain animal products. For example, the continued spreading of the idea that shark cartilage can cure cancer has led to decreased shark populations even though scientific research has found no evidence to support the credibility of shark cartilage as a cancer cure.

English	Image	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Jyutping	Pinyin
Bird's nest soup		燕窝		jin1 wo1	yànwō
Braised abalone		燜鮑魚	焖鲍鱼	mun6 baau1 jyu4	mèn bàoyú
Jellyfish		海蜇		hoi2 zit3	hǎizhé
Sea cucumber		海参		hoi2 saam1	hǎishēn
Shark fin soup		魚翅湯	鱼翅汤	jyu4 ci3 tong1	yúchì tāng

See also

In Spanish: Gastronomía de Cantón para niños