Cantonese cuisine is the most popular Chinese cuisine in the world. It tastes fresh, natural, and mild and is extremely rich in ingredients. The following are 15 best Cantonese foods you must try.
1. Ah Yat Abalone
Chinese Name: 阿一鲍鱼 ā yī bào yú
Flavor: fresh, tender
Cooking Method: braise, simmer
It is one of the best Cantonese dishes created by Yang Guanyi who is considered the “king of abalone”. The dried abalones are simply cooked with only the soup-stock without any seasonings for over 10 hours, which preserves the original flavor best.
3. White Cut Chicken
Chinese Name: 白切鸡 bái qiē jī
Flavor: fresh, moderately salty, tender and mild
Cooking Method: soft boil
White Cut Chicken originates in Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD). The cockerel is softly boiled over low heat to retain the fresh flavor of chicken without any seasonings then cut into pieces. Customers often eat it together with sauce made of soy sauce, white sugar and so on.
5. Guangzhou Wenchang Chicken
Chinese Name: 广州文昌鸡 guǎng zhōu wén chāng jī
Flavor: fresh and salty
Cooking Method: boil, steam
The main ingredients of this Cantonese food is chicken from Wenchang in Hainan Island, ham and chicken livers. The Wenchang chicken and chicken livers are soft-boiled, which is the similar way to cook White Cut Chicken. Then the boiled chicken and chicken livers are carefully cut into similar size pieces, steamed together with ham, and finally topped with sauce made of soup-stock, Chinese cooking wine and starch.
6. Poached Lobster in Soup
Chinese Name: 上汤焗龙虾 shàng tāng jú long xiā
Flavor: fresh, fishy
Cooking Method: fry, braise
The lobster must be big and fresh. It is firstly fried and then braised with chicken soup and seasonings. This is a nourishing dish with umami taste, high protein content, low fat content and rich nutrition.
7. Braised Crab Meat with Fin
Chinese Name: 生拆蟹肉烩海虎翅 shēng chāi xiè ròu huì hǎi hǔ chì
Flavor: fresh, tender
Cooking Method: braise
It is one of the top 10 classic Cantonese dishes and is a very expensive one. The making process is complex. The fin is first steamed with chicken soup and then quick-boiled, while the crab meat is flash-fried. Then the fin and crab meat is braised together with chicken soup. The finished soup is transparent and taste extremely fresh and tender.
8. Beef Chow Fun (Beef Ho Fun)
Chinese Name: 干炒牛河 gān chǎo niú hé
Flavor: salty and fresh
Cooking Method: fry
Beef Ho Fun is a staple Cantonese food. The beef is flash-fried prior and then stir fried with rice noodles, green onion, onion, mung bean sprout and hotbed chives. When you finish the dish, there is no liquor left in the plate.
10. Rice Noodle Rolls (Cheung Fun)
Chinese Name: 肠粉 cháng fěn
Flavor: fresh, sweet and tender
Cooking Method: steam
Rice Noodle Rolls is a popular snack in Guangdong. People often have it for breakfast. The main ingredients are rice milk, egg, green vegetables, shrimp meat and pork. It is often seasoned with soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame paste, sesame oil or lard oil.
11. Sweet and Sour Pork
Chinese Name: 糖醋咕噜肉 táng cù gū lū ròu
Flavor: sweet and sour
Cooking Method: fry, stir fry
It is also one of the famous Cantonese dishes originated in Qing Dynasty. It is cooked with sweet and sour sauce and pork. The color is bright orange and it tastes crispy and slightly spicy, slightly sweet and sour.
Sweet and Sour Pork
13. Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu)
Chinese Name: 蜜汁叉烧 mì zhī chā shāo
Flavor: slightly sweet
Cooking Method: braise and roast
It is a traditional dish in Guangdong, mainly made of lean pork, soy sauce, honey, sugar and peanut oil. The color is bright red and its nutritional value is high. In addition to eating directly, it can be eaten with rice or stuffed into steamed buns. The stuffing of the famous dim sum, Cha Siu Bao is made of it.
15. Slow-cooked Soup
Chinese Name: 老火靓汤 lǎo huǒ liàng tāng
Flavor: sweet and fresh
Cooking Method: simmer
Slow-cooked Soup is also known as Guangfu soup. It takes a long time to make this Cantonese food over low-fire. There are many kinds of slow-cooked soups. The common ones are black chicken soup with gelatin and red dates, pigeon soup with Chinese yam and so on.
Source: TravelChinaGuide