Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine or more accurately, Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Guangdong province of China. "Cantonese" specifically refers to only Guangzhou or the language known as Cantonese associated with it, but people generally refer to "Cantonese cuisine" to all the cooking styles of the speakers of Yue Chinese languages from within Guangdong. The Teochew cuisine and Hakka cuisine of Guangdong are considered their own styles, as is neighboring Guangxi's despite also being considered culturally Cantonese. It 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
, the provincial capital of Guangdong and the center 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.For a lot of traditional Cantonese cooks, the flavours of a dish 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, a number of ingredients such as sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, 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.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.
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.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.Soups
Old fire soup, or lou fo tong, 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 ; 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. 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
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 inversely proportionate to the freshness of the ingredients.| English | Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Jyutping | Pinyin |
| Lobster with ginger and scallions | 薑蔥龍蝦 | 薑葱龙虾 | goeng1 cung1 lung4 haa1 | jiāngcōng lóngxiā |
| Mantis shrimp | 攋尿蝦 | 濑尿虾 | laai6 niu6 haa1 | làniàoxiā |
| Steamed fish | 蒸魚 | 蒸鱼 | zing1 yu4 | zhēngyú |
| Steamed scallops with ginger and garlic | 蒜茸蒸扇貝 | 蒜茸蒸扇贝 | syun3 jung4 zing1 sin3 bui3 | suànróng zhēng shànbèi |
| White boiled shrimp | 白灼蝦 | 白灼虾 | baak6 zoek3 haa1 | báizhuóxiā |
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.Siu mei
Siu mei 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 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.Siu laap
All Cantonese-style cooked meats, including siu mei, lou mei and preserved meat can be classified as siu laap. 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 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 rice are dishes cooked and served in a flat-bottomed pot. Usually this is a saucepan or braising pan. 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.| English | Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Jyutping | Pinyin |
| Rice with Chinese sausage and preserved meat | 臘味煲仔飯 | 腊味煲仔饭 | laap6 coeng2 bou1 zai2 faan6 | làwèi bāozǎifàn |
| Rice with layered egg and beef | 窩蛋牛肉飯 | 窝蛋牛肉饭 | wo1 daan2 ngaw4 juk6 faan6 | wōdàn niúròu fàn |
| Rice with minced beef patty | 肉餅煲仔飯 | 肉饼煲仔饭 | juk6 beng2 bou1 zai2 faan6 | ròubǐng bāozǎifàn |
| Rice with spare ribs | 排骨煲仔飯 | 排骨煲仔饭 | paai4 gwat1 bou1 zai2 faan6 | páigǔ bāozǎifàn |
| Rice with steamed chicken | 蒸雞肉煲仔飯 | 蒸鸡肉煲仔饭 | zing1 gai1 juk6 bou1 zai2 faan6 | zhēng jīròu bāozǎifàn |
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 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 |