Chinese, Part 2
Categories: Ethnic Eating 101
Arguably the most familiar Chinese regional cuisine in the United States, Cantonese food got its start with the first Chinese immigrants to San Francisco. At that point they had to make do with what ingredients were available to them. Cantonese food in the US isn't like that anymore.
It's said that Cantonese people will eat anything with four legs except the table and chairs. The Chinese tradition of nose-to-tail eating is taken to much further lengths in Canton, to the point where even Chinese not from the region will blanch at some of the foods. Not so much of the truly odd stuff that lines the streets of Guangdong (formerly known in English as Canton, from whence the name of the cuisine) or Hong Kong is available here in Orange County, though. You won't find any scorpions on sticks, noodles with shrimp eggs, or animals more unusual than, say, sea cucumbers.
Meat
Cantonese food and roasted meat go together like peanut butter and jelly; the images of Chinese roasting shops, with head-on ducks, chickens and pigs strung under lamps are very Cantonese. A simple meal of roast meat, rice and a vegetable or soup is hugely satisfying and usually very cheap. Roast duck (燒鴨) is not the ordeal to make that its northern air-puffed cousin is; you won't find any buns here, but a portion of duck breast and maybe a leg. Make sure to lay your meat on the rice so the juices can run into the starch.
If duck is not your speed, try roast pork (燒肉) or its sweeter
counterpart, cha shu (叉燒), the vibrantly red barbecued pork that is
often tucked inside soft white buns (叉燒包). While cha shu is definitely
more common, I like the plain roast meat better; it's still got a red
tinge from its treatment and has an amazingly soft texture for a roast
meat (at least when done well). Sam Woo is the name of at least four
unrelated chains of Chinese roast meat shops that have sprouted good
restaurants; ours is in Irvine (15333 Culver Dr., Irvine).
While you'll see chickens in these restaurants, the best Cantonese preparation of chicken is called baak tsit gai (白切雞), or white-cut chicken. This is chicken that has been rubbed with salt, then boiled in broth and lots of ginger (ginger and chicken are a traditional pairing). This will be served with a condiment called goong tsung jaau (薑蔥油), a mixture of ginger, green onions and oil. If your white-cut chicken is served over rice that's been cooked in chicken broth, it's called Hainan chicken rice (海南雞飯) and is pretty much the national dish of Singapore and the lunch of at least half the salaried workforce in Hong Kong. Try the Hainan chicken rice at Yum Cha Cafe (13861 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, inside the Thuan Phat supermarket).
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| tracyhunter @ flickr.com CC BY 2.0 |
It's said that Cantonese people will eat anything with four legs except the table and chairs. The Chinese tradition of nose-to-tail eating is taken to much further lengths in Canton, to the point where even Chinese not from the region will blanch at some of the foods. Not so much of the truly odd stuff that lines the streets of Guangdong (formerly known in English as Canton, from whence the name of the cuisine) or Hong Kong is available here in Orange County, though. You won't find any scorpions on sticks, noodles with shrimp eggs, or animals more unusual than, say, sea cucumbers.
Meat
Cantonese food and roasted meat go together like peanut butter and jelly; the images of Chinese roasting shops, with head-on ducks, chickens and pigs strung under lamps are very Cantonese. A simple meal of roast meat, rice and a vegetable or soup is hugely satisfying and usually very cheap. Roast duck (燒鴨) is not the ordeal to make that its northern air-puffed cousin is; you won't find any buns here, but a portion of duck breast and maybe a leg. Make sure to lay your meat on the rice so the juices can run into the starch.
 |
| avlxyz @ flickr.com CC BY-SA 2.0 |
While you'll see chickens in these restaurants, the best Cantonese preparation of chicken is called baak tsit gai (白切雞), or white-cut chicken. This is chicken that has been rubbed with salt, then boiled in broth and lots of ginger (ginger and chicken are a traditional pairing). This will be served with a condiment called goong tsung jaau (薑蔥油), a mixture of ginger, green onions and oil. If your white-cut chicken is served over rice that's been cooked in chicken broth, it's called Hainan chicken rice (海南雞飯) and is pretty much the national dish of Singapore and the lunch of at least half the salaried workforce in Hong Kong. Try the Hainan chicken rice at Yum Cha Cafe (13861 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, inside the Thuan Phat supermarket).
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