CANTONESE CUISINE

'Cantonese (''Yue'') cuisine' originates from Guangdong Province in Southern China, or more precisely, the area around Guangzhou (Canton). Of the various regional styles of Chinese cuisine, Cantonese is the most well-known outside of China. A "''Chinese restaurant''" in a Western country will 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.

Contents

Background

Elements of cooking

Sauces

Preserved ingredients

Cantonese dishes

Preserved dishes

Traditional dishes

Fried dishes

Slow cooked soup

Seafood

Noodle dishes

Siu mei

Lou mei

Siu laap

Little pan rice

Night dishes

Dessert

Delicacies

Others

Comparison

Stereotypes

References

See also

External links

Background

Cantonese cuisine is characterised by the immensity and diversity of the ingredients used. This is because Guangzhou (Canton) was a well established trading port since the days of the Thirteen Factories with access to many different food and ingredients. Cantonese cuisine includes almost all edible food in addition to the staples of pork, beef, chicken, snakes, snails, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails. Despite the countless Cantonese cooking methods, steaming, stir-frying and deep-frying are the most popular cooking methods in Cantonese restaurants due to the short cooking time, and philosophy of bringing out the flavor of the freshest ingredients.

Elements of cooking

Sauces

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 those 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 compared to the thicker, richer and darker sauces found in other Chinese cuisines.
:''Includes:''
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★ Hoisin sauce
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★ Oyster sauce
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★ Five-spice powder
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★ Red vinegar

Preserved ingredients

Some items gain very intense flavors during the drying/preservation/oxidation process. 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 before cooking. 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. These ingredients are generally not served individually, and need to go with vegetables or other Cantonese dishes. Chinese Cuisine almost always uses the artifcial preservative, Monosodium Glutamate. In Cantonese, this ingredient is known as "Magic Powder" or "Mei Jing". Monosodium Glutamate is used to flavor food in many Cantonese-style dishes.
:''Includes:''
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★ Dried shrimp (蝦米)
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★ Dried scallop
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★ Fermented tofu (腐乳, Fu yue)
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★ Chinese sausage (臘腸)
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★ Salted duck egg (鹹蛋)
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★ Dried cabbage (菜乾, Choy gon)
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★ Ha gon (蝦乾)
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★ Chinese sauerkraut (鹹酸菜, Hahm suen choy)
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★ Pickled Chinese cabbage (梅菜, Mui choy)
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★ Pickled diced daikon (菜脯, Choy po)

Cantonese dishes

Preserved dishes

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, since the Hakkas was once a dominate group to occupy Imperial Hong Kong and other southern territories^[1]. Many of these are home-made Cantonese dishes often served with plain white rice.
:''Includes:''
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★ Preserve-salted fish (鹹魚, Hahm yu)
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★ Preserve-salted duck (臘鴨, Lap ahp)
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★ Preserve-salted pork (臘肉, Lap yuk)

Traditional dishes

A number of dishes have been a part of the Cantonese cuisine collection since the earliest territorial establishments of Guangdong province. Many of these are commonly found among Chinese homes due to their simplicity.
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★ Chinese steamed eggs (蒸水蛋)
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★ Congee with century egg (皮蛋粥)
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★ Steamed bok choy
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★ Stir-fried Vegetables (炒青菜)
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★ Stir-fried Watermelon Skin (炒西瓜皮)

Fried dishes

A small number of fried dishes have become synonymous with Cantonese breakfast and lunch. Because a few of these have been extensively documented through out Colonial Hong Kong records in the 19th to 20th century, most are considered essential part of the Canton diet.^[2] Though these are also expected to be part of other cuisines.
:''Includes:''
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★ Zhaliang (炸兩)
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★ Youtiao
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★ Dace fishballs (鯪魚球)

Slow cooked soup

Other unique Cantonese specialties are slow-cooked soups. 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. Ingredients vary greater depending on the type of soup. The main attraction is the liquid in the pot, although the solids are eaten too. 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. In this day and age many families with both parents working 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. Because of the long preparation time, most restaurants do not serve home made soup.
:''Includes:''
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★ Winter melon soup (冬瓜湯)
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★ Snow fungus soup (银耳湯)
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★ Northeast watercress sparerib soup (南北杏西洋菜豬骨湯)
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★ Old fire-cooked soups (老火湯, Lo foh tong)

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.
:''Includes:''
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★ Steamed fish (蒸魚)
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★ White boiled shrimp (白灼蝦)
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★ Ginger lobster (薑蔥龍蝦)

Noodle dishes

A number of noodle dishes are part of the Cantonese cuisine. These are commonly available at dai pai dong or dim sum side menus.
:''Includes:''
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★ Wonton noodle (雲吞麵)
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★ Chinese noodles with fish ball, beef ball, fish slice
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★ Beef chow fun (乾炒牛河)
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★ Shahe fen (沙河粉)
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★ Hong Kong pan-fried noodles (撈麵)
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★ Pan-fried crispy noodles (港式煎麵)
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★ Different flavours of Japanese Ramen noodles

Siu mei

Main articles: Siu mei

Siu mei is essentially the Chinese rotisserie style of cooking. The style cooks meat and no vegetables. It creates a unique, deep barbecue flavor that is usually enhanced by a flavorful sauce, a different sauce is used for each meat.
:''Includes:''
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★ Char siu (叉烧)
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★ Roasted goose (燒鵝, Siu ngo)
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★ White cut chicken (白切雞)
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★ Roasted pig (燒肉)
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★ Orange cuttlefish (鹵水墨魚)
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★ Brine-soaked duck (滷水鴨)
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★ Soy Sauce Chicken

Lou mei

Main articles: Lou mei

Lou mei is the name given to dishes made out of internal organs, entrails and left-over parts of animals. It is grouped under Siu laap (燒臘) as part of Cantonese cuisine. It is widely available in Southern China regions. It should be noted that many people who consume Cantonese dishes regularly are not interested in eating lou mei due to the grotesque nature.
:''Includes:''
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★ Beef Entrails (牛雜)
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★ Beef Stew (牛腩)
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★ Duck gizzard (鴨腎)
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★ Pig tongue (豬脷)

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). 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 and red meat.
:''Includes:''
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★ White rice with Chinese sausage and char siu
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★ White rice with beef entrails and roasted goose
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★ White rice with White cut chicken, duck gizzard and beef stew
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★ Siu laap platter (燒味拼盤)
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★ Siu mei platter (燒臘拼盤)

Little pan rice

Little pan rice (煲仔飯, bou1 zai2 faan6) are dishes cooked then served in a flat-bottomed pan (as opposed to a round-bottom wok). Usually it is a saucepan or braising pan. It is steamed cooked under covers 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. Quite a number of ingredients are used with a lot of combinations being standard.
:''Includes:''
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★ Layered egg and beef over rice (窩蛋牛肉飯)
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★ Layered steak over rice (肉餅煲仔飯)
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★ Tofu pot over rice
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★ Pork Spareribs over rice
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★ Steamed chicken over rice
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★ Pork "pastry" over rice
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★ Preserved chinese sausage over rice

Night dishes

There are a number of dishes that are often served in Cantonese restaurants exclusively at night. 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 like Chinese marriages or banquets. Salt and pepper dishes are one of the few spicy dishes.
:''Includes:''
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★ Crispy fried chicken
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★ Seafood birdsnest
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★ Suckling pig
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★ Soy sauce chicken (豉油雞, Xi yow gai)
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★ Taro duck (陳皮芋頭鴨)
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★ Roast young pigeon/squabs (烤乳鴿)
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★ Sour sparerib (生炒排骨)
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★ Salt and pepper rib (椒鹽骨)
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★ Salt and pepper cuttlefish (椒鹽魷魚)
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★ Salt and pepper shrimp (椒鹽蝦)
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★ Coca-cola chicken

Dessert

After a night meal or dish, Cantonese restaurants usually offer tong sui, sweet soups. Many of the varieties are shared between Cantonese and other Chinese cuisines. Some desserts are more traditional, while others are more recent with local chef creativity. Higher end restaurants usually offer their own blend and customization of desserts.
:''Includes:''
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★ Red bean soup
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★ Gou dim (糕點)
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★ Shaved Ice (刨冰)
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★ Deng egg (燉蛋)
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★ Wild Rice Coconut Milk Soup (sometimes served with corn)

Delicacies

There are some dishes that are prized within the culture. These dishes range from being medium price to very expensive. Most of these have been around in the Far East for a long time, while some are just barely becoming available around the world. Many of these prized animals have serious animal rights controversial issues such as finning of Shark cartilages due to increasing price demands.
:''Includes:''
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★ Braised abalone (燜鮑魚, Bao yu)
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★ Shark fin soup (魚翅羹, Yu qi tong)
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★ Hoi sam
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★ Bird's nest soup known as "Yeen Waw"

Others

★ Guilinggao (龜苓膏)

Comparison

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. Note that actual Hong Kong cuisine differs from traditional Cantonese cuisine.

Stereotypes

There is a level of complexity associated with the cooking style and ingredients that fascinate westerners as well as bring stereotypes and misunderstandings. An example is the western commentary by Prince Philip commenting on Chinese eating habits to the World Wildlife Fund conference in 1986. "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"^[3]. 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 believing in relativist multiculturalism as a showcase of lack of understanding in foreign culinary traditions in the Western world³.
One subject of controversy amongst some Westerners is the raising of dogs and cats as food in some places in mainland China centering in the Cantonse-speaking region. Eating dogs were common and fiercely defended by the nationalist-leaning Chinese people, even from non-Cantonese parts of the country, in the first half of the 20th century. However, as time goes it is becoming a custom going out of fashion. In Hong Kong and Taiwan as of early parts of the 21st century serving dogs as food is illegal and risks social ostrication especially from those under the age of 50 courtesy of the increasing awareness of animal-welfare issues, and even within mainland China an increasing number of young mainland Chinese have called for its abolition as well ^[4].
Some Westerners have defended the practice of Chinese serving dogs as food by putting forth claims of eating dogs as a survival tactic in times of famine^[5]. However, Chinese historical records show serving as food does have a history going as far back as the Shang dynasty as one of the nine common varieties animals reared as food and considered as delicacy. It is claimed by ideological multiculturalism supporters this controversy is a matter of ignorance of ingredients that exist outside Western diets, however this is not shared by a majority of Chinese people in the early 21st century.

References

1. Barber, Nicola. [2004] (2004) Hong Kong. Gareth Stevens Publishing. ISBN 0836851986
2. Wordie, Jason. [2002] (2002) Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-2095631
3. Ward, Laura. [2003] (2003). Foolish Words: The Most Stupid Words Ever Spoken. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 1856486982
4. http://www.ccapn.ngo.cn/acpetition.php
5. Bonner, Arthur. [1997] (1997). Alas! What Brought Thee Hither: The Chinese in New york, 1800-1950. Fairleigh Dickinson University press. ISBN 0838637043

See also

★ Cuisine of Hong Kong

★ Dim sum

★ Chinese food therapy

External links

★ Chinese recipes