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Cuisine in Hong Kong

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Cantonese cuisine is regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese food because of the immensity and diversity of its ingredients. It is rarely spicy and is unlike Szechwan cuisine. An old Cantonese saying says, “Any animal whose back faces the sky can be eaten.” This is proven true in their entrees, which include pork, beef, chicken, snakes, snails, insects, worms, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails. Contrary to popular belief, dog is not a common restaurant food and is illegal in Hong Kong.

Cantonese meals are extremely fresh. Often the cows or pigs used for meat are killed the same day, and chickens are typically killed just hours before hand. Fish and lobster are kept in tanks for the customer to choose and are often brought to the table still alive, just to verify the freshness. Most seafood is steamed and is only lightly seasoned. For example, a steamed fish may only have a small amount of soy sauce, ginger, and spring onion added to it. If the seafood is stale, however, strong spices will be added to it to cover up the rotting odor. Slow-cooked soup is another popular Cantonese dish. The ingredients vary, and could include anything from a fresh whole chicken to pork bones.

Although freshness is important in Cantonese cuisine, they also use a variety of preserved items. These items include: dried black mushroom, dried abalone, dried scallop, dried sea cucumber, dried shrimp, dried bird nest, pickled bok choy, salted preserved fish, and a number of other items.There are a variety of spices used in Cantonese cuisine, most of which are simple and mild. Some of the key ingredients used are ginger, spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, and oil. Garlic is often used heavily in dishes with unpleasant odors, such as entrails, to mask the smell.

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