--- title: "Chinese Cooking Words: Spices, Sauces and Cooking Methods (炒, 蒸, 红烧) With Pinyin" description: "91 Chinese cooking words: methods like 炒, 蒸, 红烧 and 凉拌, cuts like 丁, 片 and 丝, spices from 花椒 and 八角 to 五香粉, sauces from 生抽 and 老抽 to 蚝油 and 豆瓣酱, and flavours like 麻辣 and 鱼香, each with pinyin, meaning and sound." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-cooking-words" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Free · 91 words # Chinese cooking words [Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E7%82%92%20%E7%88%86%E7%82%92%20%E6%B2%B9%E7%82%B8%20%E8%92%B8%20%E6%B8%85%E8%92%B8%20%E7%85%AE%20%E6%B0%B4%E7%85%AE%20%E7%82%96%20%E7%84%96%20%E7%BA%A2%E7%83%A7%20%E7%83%A7%20%E7%83%A4%20%E7%85%8E%20%E5%87%89%E6%8B%8C%20%E5%8D%A4%20%E7%86%8F%20%E6%B6%AE%20%E7%84%AF%20%E5%B9%B2%E7%85%B8%20%E8%85%8C%20%E5%8B%BE%E8%8A%A1%20%E5%88%87%20%E5%88%87%E7%89%87%20%E5%88%87%E4%B8%9D%20%E5%89%81%20%E4%B8%81%20%E7%89%87%20%E4%B8%9D%20%E5%9D%97%20%E8%82%89%E6%9C%AB%20%E8%92%9C%E6%9C%AB%20%E5%A7%9C%E4%B8%9D%20%E5%A7%9C%20%E8%91%B1%20%E5%A4%A7%E8%92%9C%20%E8%BE%A3%E6%A4%92%20%E8%8A%B1%E6%A4%92%20%E5%85%AB%E8%A7%92%20%E6%A1%82%E7%9A%AE%20%E4%B8%81%E9%A6%99%20%E5%B0%8F%E8%8C%B4%E9%A6%99%20%E4%BA%94%E9%A6%99%E7%B2%89%20%E8%83%A1%E6%A4%92%20%E7%99%BD%E8%83%A1%E6%A4%92%20%E9%A6%99%E8%8F%9C%20%E8%91%B1%E8%8A%B1%20%E8%B0%83%E6%96%99%20%E9%85%B1%E6%B2%B9%20%E7%94%9F%E6%8A%BD%20%E8%80%81%E6%8A%BD%20%E8%9A%9D%E6%B2%B9%20%E9%86%8B%20%E9%A6%99%E9%86%8B%20%E8%B1%86%E7%93%A3%E9%85%B1%20%E6%B5%B7%E9%B2%9C%E9%85%B1%20%E8%8A%9D%E9%BA%BB%E6%B2%B9%20%E6%96%99%E9%85%92%20%E7%BA%A2%E6%B2%B9%20%E8%B1%86%E8%B1%89%20%E5%91%B3%E7%B2%BE%20%E9%B8%A1%E7%B2%BE%20%E6%B7%80%E7%B2%89%20%E7%B3%96%20%E7%9B%90%20%E9%85%B8%20%E7%94%9C%20%E8%8B%A6%20%E8%BE%A3%20%E5%92%B8%20%E9%BA%BB%20%E9%B2%9C%20%E9%BA%BB%E8%BE%A3%20%E9%85%B8%E8%BE%A3%20%E9%A6%99%E8%BE%A3%20%E7%B3%96%E9%86%8B%20%E9%B1%BC%E9%A6%99%20%E6%A4%92%E7%9B%90%20%E5%8E%A8%E6%88%BF%20%E5%8E%A8%E5%B8%88%20%E5%81%9A%E9%A5%AD%20%E4%B8%8B%E5%8E%A8%20%E8%8F%9C%E8%B0%B1%20%E9%94%85%20%E7%82%92%E9%94%85%20%E8%92%B8%E7%AC%BC%20%E8%8F%9C%E5%88%80%20%E7%A0%A7%E6%9D%BF%20%E9%94%85%E9%93%B2%20%E6%BC%8F%E5%8B%BA%20%E6%93%80%E9%9D%A2%E6%9D%96%20%E7%81%AB%E5%80%99) Speed ## The cooking method in a dish’s name | | Method | Dish | In English | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stir-fry | 炒 chǎo | 炒饭 | fried rice | | Fry | 炸 zhá | 炸酱面 | noodles with soybean paste | | Steam | 清蒸 qīngzhēng | 清蒸鱼 | steamed fish | | Boil | 水煮 shuǐzhǔ | 水煮鱼 | Sichuan boiled fish | | Red-braise | 红烧 hóngshāo | 红烧肉 | red-braised pork belly | | Roast | 烤 kǎo | 烤鸭 | roast duck | | Smash | 拍 pāi | 拍黄瓜 | smashed cucumber salad | | Braise in soy | 卤 lǔ | 卤蛋 | soy-braised egg | | Dip-boil | 涮 shuàn | 涮羊肉 | lamb hotpot | | Cook twice | 回锅 huíguō | 回锅肉 | twice-cooked pork | ## Cooking methods chǎo炒 to stir-fry; to sauté bào爆chǎo炒 to stir-fry quickly over high heat yóu油zhá炸 to deep-fry zhēng蒸 to steam qīng清zhēng蒸 to steam (food) without soy sauce; steamed zhǔ煮 to boil; to cook shuǐ水zhǔ煮 to boil; poached (Sichuan style) dùn炖 to stew; to simmer mèn焖 to braise; to simmer (in a covered pot) hóng红shāo烧 braised in soy sauce; red-cooked shāo烧 to cook; to roast kǎo烤 to roast; to bake jiān煎 to pan-fry liáng凉bàn拌 cold dressed (dish); to dress (salad) lǔ卤 to stew in soy sauce and spices xūn熏 to smoke (food); to fumigate shuàn涮 to dip-boil (thin slices in hot pot) chāo焯 to blanch; to parboil (vegetables) gān干biān煸 dry-fried (cooking method) yān腌 to salt; to pickle gōu勾qiàn芡 to thicken (a sauce) with starch ## Cutting qiē切 to cut; to slice qiē切piàn片 slice; section qiē切sī丝 to shred; to julienne duò剁 to chop; to mince dīng丁 cube; small cube of meat or vegetables piàn片 thin piece; slice sī丝 shredded (food) kuài块 lump; chunk ròu肉mò末 ground meat; minced meat suàn蒜mò末 minced garlic jiāng姜sī丝 shredded ginger ## Spices and aromatics jiāng姜 ginger cōng葱 scallion; green onion dà大suàn蒜 garlic là辣jiāo椒 chili pepper; hot pepper huā花jiāo椒 Sichuan pepper bā八jiǎo角 star anise guì桂pí皮 cassia bark; Chinese cinnamon dīng丁xiāng香 clove (spice) xiǎo小huí茴xiāng香 fennel wǔ五xiāng香fěn粉 five-spice powder hú胡jiāo椒 pepper; black pepper bái白hú胡jiāo椒 white pepper xiāng香cài菜 cilantro; coriander cōng葱huā花 chopped scallion ## Sauces and seasonings tiáo调liào料 seasoning; condiment jiàng酱yóu油 soy sauce shēng生chōu抽 light soy sauce lǎo老chōu抽 dark soy sauce háo蚝yóu油 oyster sauce cù醋 vinegar xiāng香cù醋 aromatic vinegar dòu豆bàn瓣jiàng酱 broad bean paste; doubanjiang hǎi海xiān鲜jiàng酱 hoisin sauce zhī芝ma麻yóu油 sesame oil liào料jiǔ酒 cooking wine hóng红yóu油 chili oil dòu豆chǐ豉 fermented black beans wèi味jīng精 monosodium glutamate (MSG) jī鸡jīng精 chicken bouillon powder diàn淀fěn粉 starch táng糖 sugar yán盐 salt ## Flavours suān酸 sour tián甜 sweet kǔ苦 bitter là辣 hot; spicy xián咸 salty má麻 numb; tingling xiān鲜 delicious; tasty má麻là辣 hot and numbing (Sichuan flavor) suān酸là辣 hot and sour xiāng香là辣 hot and spicy táng糖cù醋 sweet and sour yú鱼xiāng香 fish-fragrant (Sichuan seasoning of garlic, chili and vinegar) jiāo椒yán盐 Sichuan pepper salt; salt and pepper (seasoning) ## In the kitchen chú厨fáng房 kitchen chú厨shī师 cook; chef zuò做fàn饭 to cook; to prepare a meal xià下chú厨 to cook; to go into the kitchen cài菜pǔ谱 recipe; cookbook guō锅 pot; pan chǎo炒guō锅 wok; frying pan zhēng蒸lóng笼 steamer basket cài菜dāo刀 kitchen knife; cleaver zhēn砧bǎn板 chopping board guō锅chǎn铲 spatula lòu漏sháo勺 slotted spoon; skimmer gǎn擀miàn面zhàng杖 rolling pin huǒ火hou候 heat and cooking time ## What spices are used in Chinese cooking? Most dishes start with ginger 姜 (jiāng), scallion 葱 (cōng) and garlic 蒜 (suàn). Sichuan food adds chili 辣椒 (làjiāo) and Sichuan pepper 花椒 (huājiāo); braises add star anise 八角 (bājiǎo) and cassia 桂皮 (guìpí), Chinese cinnamon. 五香粉 (wǔxiāngfěn) is five-spice powder. ## What is in Chinese five-spice powder? 五香粉 (wǔxiāngfěn) is most often star anise 八角, cloves 丁香 (dīngxiāng), Chinese cinnamon 桂皮, Sichuan pepper 花椒 and fennel seeds 小茴香 (xiǎohuíxiāng). Recipes vary, and some add ginger or white pepper. ## What is the difference between 生抽 and 老抽? 生抽 (shēngchōu), light soy sauce, is thin and salty, and seasons a dish. 老抽 (lǎochōu), dark soy sauce, is thicker and less salty, and gives the brown-red colour of 红烧 (hóngshāo) dishes. 酱油 (jiàngyóu) is soy sauce in general. ## What are the main Chinese cooking methods? 炒 (chǎo) stir-frying, 蒸 (zhēng) steaming, 煮 (zhǔ) boiling, 炖 (dùn) stewing, 炸 (zhá) deep-frying, 煎 (jiān) pan-frying, 烤 (kǎo) roasting and 红烧 (hóngshāo) braising in soy sauce. A dish’s name often starts with its method: 红烧肉 is red-braised pork, 清蒸鱼 steamed fish. ## How do you read a Chinese menu? Most dish names are a method or flavour, then the main ingredient, then how it is cut: 鱼香肉丝 (yúxiāng ròusī) is fish-fragrant shredded pork, 土豆丝 (tǔdòusī) shredded potato, and 鸡丁 (jīdīng) diced chicken. Learn 丁 cubes, 片 slices, 丝 shreds and 块 chunks and half the menu opens up. ## What does 麻辣 mean? Numbing and spicy, the taste of Sichuan food: 麻 (má) is the tingling numbness of Sichuan pepper, 辣 (là) the heat of chili. 麻婆豆腐 (mápó dòufu), mapo tofu, is the best known 麻辣 dish. ## Can’t hear it? Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead. ## More for Chinese food - [Chinese food and dish names](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-food-names) - [Fruits and vegetables in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-fruits-and-vegetables) - [Ordering at a Chinese restaurant](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-phrases/restaurant) - [Chinese tea names](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-tea-names) Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; five-spice recipes vary by cook and region.