{"id":14686,"date":"2019-03-25T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T14:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=14686"},"modified":"2019-03-20T18:01:24","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T22:01:24","slug":"cantonese-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/cantonese-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Cantonese Food"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most famous styles of Chinese food is Cantonese cuisine, known in Chinese simply as <strong>Guangdong cuisine<\/strong> (\u5e7f\u4e1c\u83dc \u2013 gu\u01ceng d\u014dng c\u00e0i). In terms of the <strong>Eight Great Culinary Traditions of China<\/strong> (\u4e2d\u56fd\u7684\u516b\u5927\u83dc\u7cfb \u2013 zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 de b\u0101 d\u00e0 c\u00e0i x\u00ec), it\u2019s known simply as <strong>Yue Cuisine<\/strong> (\u7ca4\u83dc \u2013 yu\u00e8 c\u00e0i). In this post, we&#8217;ll take a closer look at Cantonese food and learn about some common dishes.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">An Introduction to Cantonese Food<\/h2>\n<p>The food in Southern China is known to be especially fresh, which helps to maintain the natural flavors. Unlike in Western Chinese cuisine, the dishes here contain only modest amounts of spices so as not to overwhelm the taste buds. Many cooking methods are utilized in Southern China, most commonly steaming and stir-frying.<\/p>\n<p>There is a saying about Chinese people (mainly Southerners) that \u201c<em>they will eat everything with four legs except for the table<\/em>\u201c, and nowhere does that ring as true as in the southern part of the country. Whether it be chicken feet, duck\u2019s tongue, or snakes, there isn\u2019t much that people won\u2019t eat down there (cats and dogs can still be found on some menus, although not as much as in the past).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s believed that eating the internal organs of an animal will help your own internal organs \u2013 eating a liver will help your liver, eating lungs will help your lungs, and so on. And before you ask, guys, the answer is yes \u2013 eating an animal\u2019s penis is believed to help with virility. On a less weird note, there\u2019s an abundance of fresh seafood as well, along with yummy soups and sweets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CANTONESE HOMESTYLE FOOD (Guangzhou Style) - Fung Bros Food\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HRhxTAZkdcc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Learn more about Cantonese food in this video from the Fung Bros.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When people in the US and other Western countries eat Chinese food, there\u2019s a good chance that it\u2019s Cantonese food. This is because a majority of Chinese immigrants who moved to the US in the 1800\u2019s were from this part of the country, so they were the first to introduce Americans to Chinese food.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the Chinese food that you\u2019ll find in any given American-Chinese restaurant is a far cry from what you\u2019ll find in Guangdong province or Hong Kong, so let\u2019s examine some of the more well-known dishes from this region of China.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Common Cantonese Dishes<\/h2>\n<h3>Dim Sum (\u70b9\u5fc3 \u2013 di\u01cen x\u012bn)<\/h3>\n<p>The name of this dish can be translated as \u201ctouch the heart,\u201d and a good meal of dim sum does just that. Eating dim sum in a restaurant is known in Cantonese as \u201c<strong>yum cha<\/strong>\u201d (\u996e\u8336 \u2013 y\u01d0n ch\u00e1), which means \u201cto drink tea.\u201d These days, eating a hearty dim sum breakfast with tea is very popular in Hong Kong and other areas of Southern China.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10642\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2.jpg\" aria-label=\"Guangzhou2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10642\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10642\"  alt=\"Dim Sum\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2-350x219.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10642\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dim sum in Guangzhou.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This tradition goes way back, when travelers along the Silk Road would stop to rest their weary feet and have a cup of tea. Eventually, tea houses started serving various snacks to go along with the drinks, and thus the tradition of dim sum was born.<\/p>\n<p>Dim sum is basically a variety of different dumplings and steamed buns stuffed full of just about anything, including: beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegetables. One serving usually has about 3 or 4 pieces, so it\u2019s best to go family style and just order up a bunch and pass them around.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10387\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/09\/DSC_0827.jpg\" aria-label=\"DSC 0827\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10387\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10387\"  alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"437\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/09\/DSC_0827.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/09\/DSC_0827.jpg 650w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/09\/DSC_0827-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10387\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dim sum &#8211; a huge part of Hong Kong culture.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So, what exactly are they pushing around on those carts? Here are a few of the most common dishes you\u2019ll find when eating dim sum:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>shrimp dumpling (\u867e\u997a \u2013 xi\u0101 ji\u01ceo)<\/li>\n<li>soup dumplings (\u5c0f\u7b3c\u5305 \u2013 xi\u01ceo l\u00f3ng b\u0101o)<\/li>\n<li>pot stickers (\u9505\u8d34 \u2013 gu\u014d ti\u0113)<\/li>\n<li>siu mai (\u70e7\u5356 \u2013 sh\u0101o mai)<\/li>\n<li>spring rolls (\u6625\u5377 \u2013 ch\u016bn ju\u01cen)<\/li>\n<li>rice noodle roll (\u80a0\u7c89 \u2013 ch\u00e1ng f\u011bn)<\/li>\n<li>meatballs (\u725b\u8089\u4e38 \u2013 ni\u00fa r\u00f2u w\u00e1n)<\/li>\n<li>steamed pork ribs (\u84b8\u6392\u9aa8 \u2013 zh\u0113ng p\u00e1i g\u01d4)<\/li>\n<li>BBQ pork bun (\u53c9\u70e7\u5305 \u2013 ch\u0101 sh\u0101o b\u0101o)<\/li>\n<li>pineapple bun (\u83e0\u841d\u5305 \u2013 b\u014d lu\u00f3 b\u0101o)<\/li>\n<li>taro cake (\u828b\u5934\u7cd5 \u2013 y\u00f9 tou g\u0101o)<\/li>\n<li>congee\/porridge (\u7ca5 \u2013 zh\u014du)<\/li>\n<li>sticky rice (\u7cef\u7c73\u98ef \u2013 nu\u00f2 m\u01d0 f\u00e0n)<\/li>\n<li>egg tart (\u86cb\u631e \u2013 d\u00e0n t\u00e0)<\/li>\n<li>mango pudding (\u8292\u679c\u5e03\u7538 \u2013 m\u00e1ng gu\u01d2 b\u00f9 di\u0101n)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When out for dim sum, remember that it\u2019s custom to fill your companion\u2019s tea cups before your own. Also, when someone has poured your cup, it\u2019s best to tap your fingers on the table. This is a sign of respect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"11 Classic Dim Sum Dishes You MUST Try!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bTtv9ADzdxE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>The Food Ranger shows you 11 dim sum dishes you must try.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Sweet and Sour Pork (\u5495\u565c\u8089 \u2013 g\u016b l\u016b r\u00f2u)<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_14690\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/sampangan\/8270797583\/in\/photolist-dARZYk-6K1gVK-b1t68-5Wu4Ec-giT3NY-j2962x-8d1dtQ-EeAVyB-av7XM9-av5hyZ-uZphm-AnSWY-69gK4P-4zXpi1-5SCbek-eUQiD1-dNoLTY-bkW4uK-5SGvFQ-4yy23N-5b1ULy-5PFAdH-581tJ6-4HGhKC-4XxUZC-5SGusU-4XxVRm-581t2a-7eEeXN-4EndMh-9B4Fhb-4XxVEb-7eAjsK-5rsHkV-5rsGRr-9wn3Ed-8UKF6o-9QCQoh-5SnrHB-8eYK4-BFkF4-8UGCwK-6fTrSu-4zXpzf-6fTrkG-akEng-4qGiav-P6AEM-4EndW7-5WyjBh\" aria-label=\"8270797583 8a52189470 Z\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14690\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14690\"  alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/03\/8270797583_8a52189470_z.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/03\/8270797583_8a52189470_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/03\/8270797583_8a52189470_z-350x232.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14690\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by Sam Pangan from flickr.com.<br \/>Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This classic Cantonese dish is famous round the world, and for good reason. Slices of deep fried pork are stir-fried in a sauce made from a mixture of sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and soy sauce, along with pineapple, green peppers, and onions. The Cantonese original is made with preserved plums and hawthorn candy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Drunken Prawns\u00a0(\u9189\u867e \u2013 zu\u00ec xi\u0101)<\/h3>\n<p>These shrimps are nice and liquored up before they are cooked, as they are soaked in rice wine for a while prior to being steamed. More adventurous eaters can try this one the way a lot of people like to \u2013 alive. I\u2019m not sure about you, but I\u2019ll stick to the cooked version.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shrimps getting Drunk &amp; Dancing [Vlog 70]\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FW8jVJGrecs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>See how drunken prawns are prepared in this short video.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Zha Liang\u00a0(\u70b8\u4e24 \u2013 zh\u00e0 li\u01ceng)<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_14691\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/avlxyz\/3335172530\/in\/photolist-65HCAE-oQGcp6-6ceVqr\" aria-label=\"3335172530 8ddfee6ee0 Z\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14691\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14691\"  alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/03\/3335172530_8ddfee6ee0_z.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/03\/3335172530_8ddfee6ee0_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/03\/3335172530_8ddfee6ee0_z-350x234.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14691\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by Alpha from flickr.com.<br \/>Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A common Cantonese breakfast snack, this is made by wrapping rice paper around a stick of fried dough, known in Chinese as\u00a0<strong>youtiao<\/strong>\u00a0(\u6cb9\u6761 \u2013 y\u00f3u ti\u00e1o). It\u2019s usually eaten alongside some soy milk or congee.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Slow Cooked Soup\u00a0(\u8001\u706b\u6e6f \u2013\u00a0 l\u01ceo hu\u01d2 t\u0101ng \u2013 lit. old fire soup)<\/h3>\n<p>This style of soup is made by simmering meat and other ingredients over low heat for many hours. Since Chinese herbs and\/or medicine are often used, this popular dish has plenty of medicinal value, and it\u2019s thought to heal or improve your health. Unlike in other parts of China, people in the South will usually eat their soup first, whereas people on the mainland tend to serve soup last.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u8001\u706b\u6e6f\u5176\u5be6\u5514\u5065\u5eb7  \u4e0d\u5982\u8a66\u8a66\u6efe\u6e6f - \u6771\u5f35\u897f\u671b\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9tQxZvh14cw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Practice your Chinese listening in this video about the famous soup.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Now that we&#8217;ve learned a bit about Cantonese food and some common dishes, I have a few questions for you:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\">\u4f60\u559c\u6b22\u7ca4\u83dc\u5417\uff1f<br \/>\nn\u01d0 x\u01d0 hu\u0101n yu\u00e8 c\u00e0i ma?<br \/>\nDo you like Cantonese food?<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\">\u4f60\u5403\u8fc7\u4ec0\u4e48\u7ca4\u83dc\uff1f<br \/>\nn\u01d0 ch\u012b gu\u00f2 sh\u00e9n me yu\u00e8 c\u00e0i?<br \/>\nWhat Cantonese food have you eaten?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Leave a comment below in Chinese and let us know!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2-350x219.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Cantonese Food\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2-350x219.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/12\/Guangzhou2.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>One of the most famous styles of Chinese food is Cantonese cuisine, known in Chinese simply as Guangdong cuisine (\u5e7f\u4e1c\u83dc \u2013 gu\u01ceng d\u014dng c\u00e0i). In terms of the Eight Great Culinary Traditions of China (\u4e2d\u56fd\u7684\u516b\u5927\u83dc\u7cfb \u2013 zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 de b\u0101 d\u00e0 c\u00e0i x\u00ec), it\u2019s known simply as Yue Cuisine (\u7ca4\u83dc \u2013 yu\u00e8 c\u00e0i). In this&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/cantonese-food\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":10642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[510765,127399,127396,127401,127405,510843,127403,510842,127407],"class_list":["post-14686","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-cantonese-cuisine","tag-cantonese-food","tag-chinese-cuisine","tag-dim-sum","tag-drunken-prawns","tag-old-fire-soup","tag-sweet-and-sour-pork","tag-you-tiao","tag-zha-liang"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14686"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14693,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686\/revisions\/14693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}