Understand Chinese Menu: how to decode information from the menu

A) You may decode information based on four basic components in the names of Chinese dishes:

1) How the dish was made

Key words:

炒ch2o: stir fry; the most popular method

炸 zh1: deep fry; mostly used for chicken and fish

紅燒 h9ngsh`o: braise; used for beef, pork and fish

烤 k2o: bake or roast; used for meat or fish

蒸 zh4ng: steam; used for making fish or dumplings

煎 ji`n: fry; used for fish or eggs

2) What ingredients were used

豬 zh[: pig

肉 r-u: usually means pork when it is not specified

牛肉 n^ur-u: beef

雞 j%: chicken

鴨 y`: duck

魚 y+: fish

蝦 xi`: shrimp

菜 c3i: leafy vegetables, cabbage, dishes, cuisine

白菜：cabbage

生菜：lettuce

豆腐 d-u.fu: soy bean curd

蛋 d3n: egg

飯 f3n: rice

麵 mi3n: noodle

海鮮 h2ixi`n: seafood

糖 t1ng: sugar, candy

油/醋 y9u: oil/ c]: vinegar

3) How the ingredients were prepared (how they were cut)

塊 ku3i: chunks

片 pi3n: slices

絲 s%: shredded

丁 d%ng: cubes

4) Tastes:

酸 su`n: sour

甜 ti1n: sweet

苦 k}: bitter

辣 l3: spicy

鹹 xi1n: salty

B) Tableware

盤 p1n: long or round flat fishes

刀叉 d`o.cha: fork and knife

碗 w2n: bowl

筷 ku3i: chopsticks

C) Now, you may test yourself and see if you can decode all the information in the following dishes:

炸豆腐 炒雞丁 北京烤鴨 酸辣湯 紅燒雞

甜酸肉 糖醋魚 蠔油魚片 清蒸魚 酸菜炒肉絲

紅燒牛肉

雞絲炒麵

蛋炒飯

炸八塊

D) What ingredients and cooking methods were used in following dishes?

E) What kind of Chinese food and how many dishes would you order for your family when you go to a Chinese restaurant?

*Please check out the following Web site for more information on Chinese cuisine.

http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/china.html

http://peacock.tnjc.edu.tw/ADD/TOUR/love-1.html

http://www.chinavista.com/culture/cuisine/refresh/b5refresh.html

http://www.tisnet.net/tw/cgi-bin/head/euccns?/eating/eating.html

ãCopyright by Joyce F. H. Ranieri, August, 2000