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| Siu mei | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Roasted goose (top left) soy sauce chicken (top middle) white cut chicken (top right) roasted pork (bottom left) Char siu (bottom right, on tray) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 燒味 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 烧味 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | shāowèi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| CantoneseYale | sīuméi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | roasted items | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Siu mei (Chinese:燒味;Cantonese Yale:sīuméi) is the generic Cantonese name of meats roasted on spits over an open fire or in a large wood-burningrotisserie oven. This technique creates a unique, deepbarbecue flavor and the roast is usually coated with a flavorful sauce (a different sauce is used for each variety of meat) before roasting. Siu mei is very popular inHong Kong,Macau,Singapore,Malaysia and overseasChinatowns, especially withCantoneseemigrants.[1] In Hong Kong, the average person eats siu mei once every four days, withchar siu being the most popular, followed bysiu yuk (roast pork or pork belly) second, and roast goose third.[2] Some dishes, such aswhite cut chicken andsoy sauce chicken, are not roasted at all but are considered siu mei nonetheless. Siu mei is also known colloquially assiu laap (烧腊;燒臘;siu1 laap6;shāo là), as the latter term encompassessiu mei andlaap mei, a type of preserved meat. They are usually prepared in the same kitchen during autumn and winter season in what are often known assiu laap establishments or Chinese barbecue shops. Siu laap is also often sold alongsidelou mei, such asorange cuttlefish andpig's ear.
After meetings held between the Food Hygiene Select Committee, the Markets and Abattoirs Select Committee and the Street Traders Select Committee on the topic of "Sale of Cooked Food, Siu Mei, and Lo Mei in Public Markets" in 1978, siu mei shops officially entered into Hong Kong public markets.[3] The public market is a popular place for ordinary citizens to buy siu mei.
Assiu mei takes a great deal of resources to prepare, requiring largeovens and rotisserie-like utilities for cooking the meat, few homes inHong Kong,mainland China, or overseas have the equipment for it. Usually meat of this type is prepared and sold fromsiu laap shops located inhawker centres (in Hong Kong),food courts (overseas Chinese malls such asPacific Mall), ethnic supermarkets (for example, theT & T Supermarket chain in Canada) and restaurants, which tend to mass-produce the numeroussiu mei varieties rather than preparing it at each customer's request. The advantage ofsiu mei andlou mei is that the resulting meat retains its flavor and texture for the whole day, in contrast toPeking duck orcrispy fried chicken, which have to be served immediately after preparation and cooking (hence these are eaten in restaurants), makingsiu mei andlou mei popular for party platters and take-out.
Take-out is quite common, as customers order or prepare their own plainwhite rice to accompany thesiu mei; asiu mei meal comprises meat atop plainwhite rice or noodles, and often with vegetables (napa cabbage,choy sum, orgai lan), usually served in a plastic foam take-out container or on a plate.
In Chinesefine dining and banquet halls, the barbecue platteryu chu (roasted suckling pig) orsiu yuk (roasted pig belly), often in combination with char siu,soy sauce chicken,siu aap (roasted duck) and jellyfish, is an appetizer that comprises the first dish in the ten-course Chinese banquet meal, while varieties of siu laap can also be ordered as full dishesà la carte (usually a half or whole chicken/duck/goose).
