Cantonese Noodles

Cantonese Noodles dishes are a trademark of Guangdong Province of Southern China. This region prides itself on the range of Cantonese Noodles dishes that are prepared in a plethora of cooking styles, tastes and ingredients.Several different varieties of noodles are prepared and cooked with meat, chicken, pork, vegetables and spices to make a range of interesting one-pot meals.

History

Canton was a prominent trading port of China and a range of imported foods, ingredients and cooking styles were accessible to the locals as well as the traders who visited the city. Noodles and rice were the most popular one pot meal options that were available for the locals and the traders and Cantonese cooks easily adapted the noodles to suit different regional tastes. In fact, the cooks became so famous for their cooking styles and adaptability that they were considered the best in China. A large range of locally made noodles were quickly adapted to form a variety of Cantonese noodles dishes that are still prepared in local Chinese homes.

Ingredients Used and Preparation Overview of Cantonese Noodles

Cantonese Noodles can be made with any variety of local noodles like wheat noodles, instant noodles, dried noodle, flat cut rice noodles or the yin yong, mee fun or rice noodles, yee meen and hor fun. Fresh flat noodles may also be used in soups and broths to add consistency and bulk to the dishes. The noodles are boiled and then stir-fried, simmered, boiled or flash fried with a range of ingredients to make several unique dishes.

Serving and Eating

Cantonese Noodles are served as one-pot meals in soups, stir fries, broths and casseroles. They can be consumed as a quick snack, breakfast dish or as light suppers.

Popular Cantonese Noodles Recipe Variations

• Cantonese Style Fried Yin Yong is a combination Cantonese noodle dish made with flat cut noodles and rice noodles. Deep- fried shrimp, pork and sauce are added to the noodles along with fresh vegetables.
• Wonton soup is a very popular Cantonese dish that is also called as wanton mee. Noodles are simmered in a hot broth garnished with leafy vegetables and dumplings that are filled with prawn, chicken, mushroom and pork mince.
• Beef Chow fun is a staple Cantonese noodle dish made by frying beef strips with wide rice noodles, bean sprouts and sauce. This same dish can be made into a soup, stir-fried or a wet-fried as a noodle dish.
• Cantonese chow mein is a simple stir-fried noodle dish in which a range of ingredients may be added according to the taste.

Trivia

Cantonese noodle dishes may contain rare heritage noodles that change the taste of the dish completely. For example, jook-sing noodles are considered to be a very rare noodle variant that is used to make a Cantonese noodle dish called the jook-sing wonton noodle dish.