Life of Guangzhou - I See Cantonese Cuisine

People say that you are not counted as having been to Canton if you have not tasted the well-known dishes and pastries there.

Cantonese cuisine, one of the four main cuisines in China, originates from the region around Canton. Reputed as China's finest cuisine, it has absorbed the strong points of other cuisine, diverse and delicate in material. "Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to heaven is edible," Cantonese cuisine includes almost all edible food in addition to the staples of pork, beef and chicken - snakes, snails, insects, worms, chicken feet, duck tongues, ox genitals, and entrails.

The seasonings are varied and well coordinated. Sauces made from ingredients like ginger, garlic, onion, vinegar, and sugar are complemented to enhance flavors. Somewhat lighter than most regional Chinese cuisine, the Cantonese dishes are prepared carefully and exquisitely. Quick-fried or stewed, they turn out to be fresh, crisp, tender, slippery and not salty with all flavors and tastes.

An emphasis on preserving the natural flavor of the food is the hallmark of Cantonese cuisine. As cooking time is short, the flavors and nutrition of the food are preserved. Vegetable and fish dishes are often steamed without the use of too much oil. Fresh live seafood is a specialty in Cantonese cuisine. Many authentic restaurants maintain live seafood tanks. The Cantonese people are very finicky when it comes to the freshness of their food. Even the amount of time taken for a live, swimming fish to be placed on a plate is kept to a minimum."

Cantonese barbecuing methods are unsurpassed. Another unique Cantonese specialty is slow-cooked soup. Sometimes, Chinese herbal medicines are added to the pot. Dim sum is, without a doubt, a trademark food in Cantonese cuisine. It is usually consumed in the mornings and afternoons. The Cantonese are also very inventive, and happy to incorporate non-native ingredients in their cooking.

Cantonese menus are long and can often confuse a diner in making a decision. There are a wide variety of dishes made from meats, poultry, fish, seafood, and vegetables for your pick. They vary with the change of seasons, conforming to modern dietetics.