List of Sino-Mauritian dishes facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This article is about the delicious Chinese and Chinese-influenced foods you can find in Mauritius! The island of Mauritius has a special mix of cultures, and a big part of that comes from people of Chinese origin who settled there. They brought their amazing cooking traditions, which have blended with local flavors to create unique dishes.

Get ready to explore some of the most popular and interesting foods, from main meals to yummy snacks and desserts!

Main Dishes: Meals to Fill You Up

These are the main courses that make up a big part of a meal.

Chicken and Eggs

Dizef rouge (Red Eggs): These are hard-boiled eggs dyed red. They are often eaten with pickled ginger. Families share them when a baby is one month old to celebrate!
Chicken cooked in rice wine and ginger: This chicken dish is also eaten during a baby's one-month-old celebration.

Rice Dishes

Rice is a super important food in many cultures, and it's a staple in Mauritian-Chinese cooking too!

Bol renversé (Upside Down Bowl): This fun dish is like a "magic bowl"! It's a rice dish topped with a stir-fry sauce, a bit like chop suey. It can have meat, chicken, and veggies like bok choy and mushrooms. It's usually finished with a fried egg on top.
Briyani porc (Pork Biryani): This is a local version of the Indian dish biryani, but it uses pork instead of beef or chicken. It shows how different cultures mix in Mauritius!
Diri blanc (White Rice): This is simply plain, steamed white rice. It's a basic food eaten with almost every meal.
Diri frir (Chinese Fried Rice): This is the classic Chinese fried rice. There's also a local version with chicken fried rice served with fresh tomato chutney.
Riz cantonais (Cantonese-style Fried Rice): Another popular type of fried rice, made in the style of Cantonese cooking.

Noodle Dishes

Noodles are another favorite! They come in many shapes and sizes.

Meefoon frir (Fried Meefoon): These are fried rice vermicelli noodles, which are very thin.
Mine bouilli (Boiled Noodles): These are boiled noodles served without broth.
- Mine bouilli poulet (Boiled Noodles with Chicken): The same boiled noodles, but topped with chicken.
Mine frire (Chow mein): This is the famous chow mein, which means fried noodles!

Mine frire (Chow mein)

Delicious Dumplings

Dumplings are small, yummy parcels of dough filled with different ingredients. They are often steamed or boiled.

Boulette poisson (Fish ball): These are fish balls, often served in soup.
Haw gao (Har gow): These are clear, steamed dumplings usually filled with tasty prawns.

Haw gao (Shrimp dumplings)

Wantan (Wonton): These are small dumplings that can be boiled in soup or fried.
Xiao loong bao (Xiaolong bao): These are small, steamed buns often served in dim sum meals. They are famous for having a delicious soup inside!

Xiao loong bao (Soup dumplings)

Saw maï (Shumai): These open-topped dumplings often contain prawn, pork, or chicken. You can even find vegetarian versions!
Steamed stuffed chilli: Green chillies filled with a mixture, usually pork.
Steamed stuffed eggplant: Eggplant pieces filled with a mixture, often fish.
Yong foo gah (Stuffed bitter gourd): A Hakka dish where bitter gourd is stuffed with shrimp and fish paste.
Tangyuan (Glutinous Rice Ball): These are sweet, round balls made of glutinous rice.

Tangyuan

Zong (Zongzi): These are special dumplings wrapped in fatak leaves. There are sweet versions (Hakka-style) eaten with peanut powder, and salty versions (Cantonese-style).

Zongzi

Teofu (Tofu): This is extra soft tofu, often cut into small pieces.
Teokon (Silken tofu): This is firmer tofu, often cut into cubes.

Teokon (Blanched tofu)

Teokon farci (Yong tau foo): Extra firm tofu filled with ground meat (like pork) or fish paste.

Teokon farci (Stuffed tofu)

Buns and Bread

Bao (Baozi): These are soft, steamed buns.
- Salty bao: Filled with chicken or pork, Chinese sausage, black mushroom, and soy egg.
- Sweet bao: Often filled with red bean paste.
Bao char siu (Cha siu bao): Steamed buns usually filled with char siu (BBQ pork).

Bao char siu (Steamed roast pork bun)

Side Dishes: Tasty Additions

Side dishes are smaller plates that go along with your main meal.

Braised and Roasted Dishes

Cha siu (Char siu): This is a delicious Cantonese-style barbecued pork. It's often sweet and savory.

Cha siu (BBQ pork)

Foong moon choo niouk (Red Braised Pork): A Hakka-style dish with pork belly or brisket cooked in sweet rice wine.
Siuyuk (Siu yuk): This is crispy pork belly, a very popular dish with crunchy skin.

Siuyuk (Crispy pork belly)

Other Cooking Methods

Saucisse sinwa (Chinese sausage): A Southern Chinese sausage, often sliced and added to rice or other dishes.
Yam kuk gai (Salt-baked chicken): Chicken cooked using a salt-crust method.
Pak cham gai (White cut chicken): Steamed chicken, usually served cold with a dipping sauce.
Steamed fish: A whole fresh fish, steamed to perfection.
Chop suey: A stir-fried dish with meat or chicken and mixed vegetables.
Zhai (Buddha's delight): A vegetarian stir-fry with many different vegetables.
Sweet and sour fish: Fish filet with vegetables and pineapple in a sweet and sour sauce.
Dizef cent ans (Century eggs): These are special preserved eggs, often eaten with pickled ginger.

Dizef cent ans (Century eggs)

Pickled ginger: Thin slices of ginger preserved in vinegar, often served with other dishes.

Pickled ginger

Soups and Broths: Warm and Comforting

Soups are a big part of Chinese meals, often served at the beginning or alongside other dishes.

Sweet Soups

Adzuki bean soup: A sweet soup made from adzuki beans.

Adzuki bean soup

Mung bean soup: Another sweet soup, made from mung beans.
Snow fungus soup: A savory soup made from snow fungus.

Noodle Soups

Bouillon meefoon (Meefoon soup): Rice vermicelli noodles served in a broth.
Wonton noodle soup: A delicious soup with wontons and noodles.

Meat and Seafood Soups

Hot and sour soup: A popular soup that is both spicy and tangy, usually with chicken.
Wonton soup: Wontons served in a warm broth.
Bouillon boulette poisson (Fishball soup): Fishballs cooked in a flavorful broth.

Rice and Vegetable Soups

La soup diriz (Rice congee): A plain rice porridge, often eaten for breakfast or when feeling unwell.
Bouillon donghua (Winter melon soup): A light and refreshing soup made with winter melon.
La soup maïs (Corn soup with chicken): A creamy soup made with corn and chicken.

Pastries, Desserts, and Snacks: Sweet Treats and Quick Bites

These are perfect for a quick snack or a sweet ending to a meal.

Appetizers

Crevette tempura (Shrimp tempura): Deep-fried breaded prawns.
Hakien (Spring roll): The Hakka Sino-Mauritian version of a spring roll.
Wonton frir (Fried wonton): Crispy, deep-fried wontons.

Savoury Snacks

Chipek (Prawn cracker): Light and crispy crackers made from prawns.
Gato arouille (Taro root fritters): Deep-fried taro balls, often savory.
Gato les doigts (Youtiao): Long strips of deep-fried dough, often eaten for breakfast.
Za teokon (Fried tofu): Tofu that has been deep-fried until golden.

Sweet Pastries and Desserts

Almond biscuit (Chinese almond biscuit): A crumbly, sweet biscuit with almond flavor.
Gai dan gow (Steamed egg sponge cake): A light and fluffy steamed cake.
Gato la cire (Niangao): A sticky, sweet glutinous rice cake.
Gato la lune (Mooncake): These are special cakes eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in many types:
- Chu chong kau: A Hakka-style mooncake that looks like a white finger.

Chu chong kau

- Niat piang: The classic Cantonese-style mooncake, often filled with lotus paste, red bean paste, or even egg yolks.

Niat piang (Mooncake)

Gato macaroni (Sachima): A sweet, crispy pastry made from fried dough strands.

Gato macaroni (Sachima)

Gato pandan (Pandan cake): A green cake flavored with pandan, a tropical plant.

Gato pandan

Gato zinzli (Sesame ball):
- Jien-yan-e: A deep-fried sesame ball, often made with sweet potato or red bean paste, and covered in sesame seeds.

Jien-yan-e (Sesame balls)

- Smiling sesame balls: Deep-fried sesame balls that split open when cooked, looking like they are smiling!
Poutou rouge (Fa gao): A steamed rice cake, typically pink in Mauritius. It's eaten all year, but especially during Chinese New Year for good luck!

Poutou rouge

Sagoo au lait de coco (Sai mai lo): A dessert with sago pearls and coconut milk.

Sagoo au lait de coco

Traditional Chinese Sweets

These are classic candies and snacks.

Sesame seed candy: A crunchy, nougat-like bar with sesame seeds.

Sesame seed candy

Peanut candy: A brittle, nougat-like bar with peanuts.

Peanut candy

Gato la lune (Peanut and Sesame Candy): A brittle bar with both peanuts and sesame seeds.

Peanut and Sesame Candy

Li hing mui (Salted dried plum): A popular salty dried plum snack.

Li hing mui

Losti (Haw flakes): Traditional Chinese sweets made from the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn tree.

Losti (Haw flakes)

Beverages: Drinks to Quench Your Thirst

Bubble tea: A popular drink with tea, milk, and chewy tapioca pearls.
Chrysanthemum tea: A fragrant tea made from chrysanthemum flowers.
Green tea: A healthy and popular type of tea.
Jasmine tea: A fragrant tea flavored with jasmine flowers.
La mousse noir (Grass jelly drink): A refreshing drink made with grass jelly.
Soymilk: A drink made from soybeans.

Sauces and Condiments: Flavor Boosters

These sauces add extra flavor to many dishes.

Black bean sauce: A savory sauce made from fermented black beans.
Char siu sauce: The special sauce used for char siu pork.
Green chilli paste: A spicy dipping sauce made from green chillies.
Hoisin sauce: A thick, sweet, and savory sauce.
La sauce l'ail (Garlic sauce): A dipping sauce, often eaten with fried foods.

La sauce l'ail

Oyster sauce: A rich, savory sauce made from oyster extracts.
Plum sauce: A sweet and sour sauce made from plums.
Red chilli paste: A spicy dipping sauce made from red chillies.
Siaw (Light Soy sauce): A basic soy sauce used for seasoning.
Siaw noir (Dark soy sauce): A darker, thicker soy sauce used for color and flavor.
Siaw poisson (Fish sauce): A salty sauce made from fermented fish.