Cantonese cuisine

CantoneseorGuangdong cuisine, also known asYue cuisine(Chinese:廣東菜or粵菜), is thecuisineofCantonese people, associated with theGuangdong provinceofChina, particularly the provincial capitalGuangzhou, and the surrounding regions in thePearl River DeltaincludingHong KongandMacau.Strictly speaking, Cantonese cuisine is the cuisine ofGuangzhouor ofCantonesespeakers, but it often includes the cooking styles of all the speakers ofYue Chineselanguages in Guangdong.
TheTeochew cuisineandHakka cuisineof Guangdong are considered their own styles. However, scholars may categorize Guangdong cuisine into three major groups based on the region's dialect: Cantonese, Hakka and Chaozhou cuisines.NeighboringGuangxi'scuisineis also considered separate despite eastern Guangxi being consideredculturally Cantonesedue to the presence ofethnic Zhuanginfluences in the rest of the province.
Cantonese cuisine is one of theEight Great TraditionsofChinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the large number ofCantoneseemigrants. 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.
Guangzhou (Canton) City, the provincial capital ofGuangdongand the centre ofCantonese 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, includingoffal, 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, withsteamingandstir-fryingbeing the most favoured due to their convenience and rapidity. Other techniques includeshallow frying,double steaming,braisinganddeep 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 freshherbsin Cantonese cooking, in contrast with their liberal use in other cuisines such asSichuanese,Vietnamese,Lao,ThaiandEuropean.Garlic chivesandcorianderleaves are notable exceptions, although the former are often used as a vegetable and the latter are usually used as mere garnish in most dishes.
In Cantonese cuisine, ingredients such assugar,salt,soy sauce,rice wine,corn starch,vinegar,scallionandsesame oilsuffice 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, powderedblack pepper,star aniseand a few other spices are also used, but often sparingly.
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 byHakka cuisine, since theHakkaswere once a dominant group occupyingimperial Hong Kongand other southern territories.
Some items gain very intense flavours during thedrying/preservation/oxidationprocess 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 torehydratebefore cooking. These ingredients are generally not serveda la carte, but rather with vegetables or other Cantonese 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 typicalCantonese restaurants, some simpler ones are more commonly found in Cantonese homes. Home-made Cantonese dishes are usually served with plainwhite rice.
There are a small number of deep-fried dishes in Cantonese cuisine, which can often be found asstreet food. They have been extensively documented incolonial Hong Kongrecords of the 19th and 20th centuries. A few are synonymous with Cantonese breakfast and lunch,even though these are also part of other cuisines.
Old fire soup, orlou fo tong(老火汤;老火湯;lǎohuǒ tāng;lou5 fo2 tong; 'old fire-cooked soup'), is a clearbrothprepared 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 calledbou tong(煲汤;煲湯;bāo tāng;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 calleddun tong(燉汤;燉湯;dùn tāng;dan6 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.
Due to Guangdong's location along theSouth China Seacoast, 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 ofAsia, 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 ofsoy sauce,gingerandspring onionis 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.
Noodles are served either in soup broth or fried. These are available as home-cooked meals, ondim sumside menus, or as street food atdai pai dongs, where they can be served with a variety of toppings such asfish balls,beef balls, orfish slices.
Siu mei(烧味;燒味;shāo wèi;siu1 mei6) is essentially the Chineserotisseriestyle of cooking. Unlike most other Cantonese dishes,siu meisolely consists of meat, with no vegetables.
Lou mei(卤味;滷味;lǔ wèi;lou5 mei6) is the name given to dishes made frominternal organs,entrailsand other left-over parts of animals. It is widely available in southern Chinese regions.
All Cantonese-style cooked meats, includingsiu mei,lou meiand preserved meat can be classified assiu laap(烧腊;燒臘;shāo là;siu1 laap6).Siu laapalso includes dishes such as:
A typical dish may consist ofoffaland half an order of multiple varieties of roasted meat. The majority of siu laap iswhite meat.
Little pot rice (煲仔饭;煲仔飯;bāozǎifàn;bou1 zai2 faan6) are dishes cooked and served in a flat-bottomed pot (as opposed to a round-bottomedwok). Usually this is asaucepanorbraisingpan (seeclay 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.
A number of dishes are traditionally served in Cantonese restaurants only at dinner time.Dim sumrestaurants stop servingbamboo-basket dishes after theyum chaperiod (equivalent toafternoon 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 asChinese marriagesor banquets. Salt and pepper dishes are one of the few spicy dishes.
After the evening meal, most Cantonese restaurants offertong sui(糖水;táng shuǐ;tong4 seoi2; 'sugar water'), a sweet soup. Many varieties oftong suiare 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.
Certain Cantonese delicacies consist of parts taken from rare or endangered animals, which raises controversyoveranimal rightsandenvironmental issues. This is oftendue to alleged health benefits of certain animal products. For example, the continued spreading of the idea thatshark cartilagecan 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.