Cantonese (Yue) cuisine originates from Guangdong Province in southern China, or more precisely, from the area around the city of Guangzhou (Canton).
Of the various regional styles of Chinese cuisine, Cantonese is the best-known outside of China. A "Chinese restaurant" in a Western country will usually serve mostly Cantonese food, or an adaptation thereof.
The prominence of Cantonese cuisine outside China is likely due to the disproportionate early emigration from this region, as well as the relative accessibility of some Cantonese dishes to foreign palates. Cantonese dishes rarely use "hot" spices like chili, unlike, for instance, Szechwan cuisine.
Cantonese cuisine is characterized by the immensity and diversity of the ingredients used. This is because Guangzhou (Canton), a long established trading port in southern China, has access to many different foods and ingredients.
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Metropolasia-Man's insight about the Cantonese cuisine...
A famous Chinese saying goes that "The Cantonese eats everything that swims except for boats, everything that flies except for airplanes, and everything that has legs except for tables..." and that is, actually, quite true... as the Cantonese cuisine makes use of almost every edible ingredient under the sun
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A famous Chinese saying goes that "The Cantonese eats everything that swims except for boats, everything that flies except for airplanes, and everything that has legs except for tables"... The Cantonese cuisine makes use of almost every edible ingredient under the sun... From the staples of pork, beef and chicken, to snakes, snails, insects, worms, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails... However, you are not likely to find many of these "exotic creatures" in restaurants across Hong Kong. More than 150 years of British rule have had their influence and the city chefs will refrain from cooking some of those animals that Westerners might consider as disgusting.
The Cantonese cuisine is also characterized by the use of very mild and simple spices in combination. Ginger, spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, corn starch and oil are sufficient for most Cantonese cooking. Garlic is used heavily in dishes, especially with internal organs that have unpleasant odors, such as entrails. Five-spice powder, white pepper powder and many other spices are used in Cantonese dishes, but usually very lightly.
Despite the countless Cantonese cooking methods, steaming, stir frying and deep frying are the most popular cooking methods in restaurants due to the short cooking time, and the philosophy of bringing out the flavor of the freshest ingredients.
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A delicious insight from Metropolasia-Man :
You can't even talk about Cantonese cuisine without mentioning one of its most popular dishes - Dim Sum. Dim Sum literally translates to "touch the heart" and the actual meaning is "pick what your heart choses" (and there is certainly a lot to pick from...).
In essence, this light meal is normally eaten some time from morning to early afternoon and is usually served with Chinese tea... It consists of various types of steamed buns, dumplings and rice-rolls, containing a range of beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options.
The various items are served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate, and can be ordered from a menu
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Noteworthy Cantonese dishes include Roast Suckling Pig, Braised crispy chicken, Shark's fin soup, Bird's nest dishes, Won ton soup, Stir fried vegetables, Chow Mein (Stir fried noodles), Congee (Cantonese rice porridge) and Spring Rolls.
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