How China's Top Culinary Province Became the Lifelong Rival of Pre-Made Meals

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Born in Guangdong's street-side dai pai dongs, the clay pot dishes (known as "jue jue bao") are affordable and adaptable to various ingredients, yet they exceptionally test the chef's "hand gestures" (a Cantonese term referring to technique and skill). With just an earthenware pot, a pair of long chopsticks, and a splash of rice wine, the chef's mastery of heat—amplified by high flames and alcohol—creates a quintessential Cantonese dish that relies on no added water, showcasing the pure essence of ingredients through intense wok hei (breath of the wok).

Even after being served, the clay pot remains fiercely hot, persistently sizzling and releasing an irresistible aroma. The piping-hot dish, with its crisp, tender, fresh, and fragrant meat and vegetables, coated in a rich, savory sauce that defies the traditional light-and-refined stereotype of Cantonese cuisine, is a unique and beloved local delicacy among Cantonese natives.

After being served, the clay pot continues to cook from the residual heat of the earthenware.

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Despite its seemingly casual name, in the hearts of Guangdong gourmets, jue jue bao is the ultimate test of a Cantonese chef's fire control. While outsiders might dismiss it as a simple street food—affordable at just几十块 and ready in under ten minutes—local food connoisseurs know that the culinary adage "one never tires of exquisite flavors or finely prepared dishes" elevates Cantonese cooking far beyond basic stir-frying or frying. Combining blazing heat and earthenware pots, jue jue bao raises the difficulty to the next level.

Common single-character Cantonese cooking techniques.

The term "jue," originally an onomatopoeia, evolved into a cooking technique solely due to its unforgiving demand for precise heat control. The most basic criterion for a合格的 jue jue bao is that it must not release water. Whether using seafood, meat, or vegetables, or employing one of the four methods—raw-jue, cooked-jue, clear-jue, or sauce-jue—the dish must achieve a dry, fragrant, and intensely wok hei flavor. How to quickly cook ingredients without oil or water? The answer lies in the Cantonese favorite cookware: the clay pot.

The clay pot has deep roots in Lingnan's culinary culture. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Liu Xun's "Ling Biao Lu Yi" recorded: "Potters in Guangzhou make earthen pots, which, when fired and glazed, are cleaner than ironware and especially suitable for brewing medicine." Clay pots withstand high heat, conduct heat quickly, and retain it long, making them ideal for simmering medicine or soups, as well as enduring high temperatures for dishes like煲仔饭—earning them the title of the first-generation "kitchen神器."

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Raw-jue, as the name suggests, involves cooking fresh, raw ingredients directly in the pot. The clay pot, heated until slightly smoking, is filled with completely raw ingredients. The intense heat quickly locks in moisture, and the pot is covered to steam. At the perfect moment, a splash of rice wine is poured around the edge, igniting flames that envelop the pot. Mastering this high-heat technique ensures the ingredients remain "crisp, tender, fresh, and fragrant," while pushing the cookware to its limits.

Thus, to avoid damaging the pot from rapid temperature changes and to simplify heat control for harder-to-cook ingredients, cooked-jue emerged, where ingredients are partially pre-cooked. However, in the eyes of jue jue bao purists, cooked-jue lacks the raw vitality of冷热碰撞 and falls slightly short in wok hei.

If the secret to jue jue bao's wok hei lies in the clay pot and high heat, then its rich, savory flavor depends entirely on each restaurant's proprietary jue jue sauce. While a few opt for清啫—seasoned only with salt and rice wine to highlight the ingredients' natural taste—most jue jue bao dishes rely on pre-marination with sauce (酱啫), adding no water or extra seasoning during cooking, except for scallions and cilantro at the end.

The浓油赤酱 of jue jue bao彻底颠覆s the "stereotype" of Cantonese cuisine's lightness.

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There are no fixed rules for making jue jue sauce—it's all up to the chef's experience. The range of seasonings is vast, including dipping sauces like柱候酱,海鲜酱,沙爹酱,沙茶酱,蒜蓉辣酱,腐乳, and南乳, as well as cooking staples like生抽,老抽,香油,鱼露, and冰糖. As a result, no two jue jue bao restaurants taste exactly alike.

Of course, high heat, clay pots, and jue jue sauce are just the basics. The final deliciousness depends on the chef's火功. Before adding ingredients, the pot's temperature is judged by experience—too low, and the ingredients won't cook quickly; too high, and the pot may crack. After adding ingredients, the chef must balance crisp texture and strong wok hei upon serving, requiring lightning-fast hands and precise timing. Some even account for the distance between kitchen and table, ensuring each dish arrives at its perfect doneness.

Experienced chefs work at lightning speed, serving dishes in minutes.

Fresh ingredients, washed and drained, are mixed with jue jue sauce, coated in starch to lock in flavor, and marinated with a dash of peanut oil for aroma. In a smoking-hot clay pot, a little oil is added to sauté沙姜,红葱头, and garlic as a base. The ingredients are spread evenly, covered, and steamed briefly. A splash of rice wine around the lid ignites flames, and after the alcohol burns off, scallions and cilantro are added. The dish is rushed to the table with a sizzle, earning praise: "够镬气!"

High heat is the soul of jue jue bao.

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However, the sizzling pot, which takes only minutes to serve, can encompass a vast array of ingredients. Cantonese often describe this cooking method as "everything can be sizzled," highlighting its versatility with various ingredients. By slightly adjusting the sauce ratio and cooking heat based on the ingredients, the focus remains on the dry, fragrant, and crisp texture achieved through the unique "sizzling" technique.

Many dai pai dongs still maintain the tradition of "jogging" dishes to the table,

solely to ensure the sizzling pot is served at its optimal heat.

Although both land and sea ingredients, as well as vegetables, can be prepared using the sizzling method, longtime Cantonese practitioners have naturally developed a set of "best combinations."

Take sizzled meats, for example—the star is undoubtedly the sizzled chicken pot. Cantonese have always held a deep affection for chicken, with chicken pots alone branching into medicinal, charcoal-fired, and innovative styles... Yet, despite the competition, the raw-sizzled chicken pot remains wildly popular for its uniquely bold, dry fragrance. An authentic sizzled chicken pot must be raw-sizzled; relatively quick-cooking chicken needs only a brief encounter with high heat for the skin to turn slightly golden and lock in its juices, enhanced by the evaporation of rice wine and the aromas of scallions and cilantro.

Raw-sizzled chicken pot: crispy on the outside, tender and smooth inside.

The raw-sizzled chicken pot is served when 80% cooked, relying on the residual heat of the clay pot to finish the job with a few quick stirs amid the sizzling sounds, preventing sticking. The chicken, brimming with wok hei, delivers a rich, savory flavor with every bite—crispy skin paired with juicy, tender meat. Coated in sauce, it’s perfect for pairing with rice, easily devouring a big bowl.

The undisputed king of sizzled seafood is the eel sizzling pot. Unlike the smaller eels used in clay pot rice, sizzled eel pots typically use finger-thick eels, cut into bone-in segments and cooked over high heat. The moderately thick eel meat is fully coated in sauce, offering a firm, springy texture with a savory aroma that complements both rice and alcohol.

Sizzled ingredients are fully coated in sauce but never "soggy."

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Beyond meats, sizzled vegetables under high heat also offer unique flavors. Shrimp paste is a perfect match for sizzled greens—freshly harvested long beans or crisp water spinach stems, stir-fried with shrimp paste instead of sizzling sauce. The high heat amplifies the shrimp paste’s savory umami, giving the vegetables a meaty aroma. Raw-sizzled long beans with shrimp paste or water spinach stems are refreshing and palate-cleansing.

The all-encompassing sizzling pot goes even further. Crispy and chewy sizzled pork intestines, slightly sweet sizzled cauliflower, rich and bone-like sizzled spare ribs, lively sizzled soft-shell turtle, or creative sizzled durian chicken... Ordinary local ingredients achieve culinary transcendence through the sizzling technique.

Sizzled fish head pot: deliciously flavorful.

Fresh ingredients with original taste, cooked with fierce heat and wok hei—the sizzling pot, which pre-made dishes can never replicate, embodies the ultimate pursuit of perfect heat. It’s the most accessible culinary delight in ordinary life. If you get the chance, you must try the bold, fiery Cantonese dai pai dong-style sizzling pot!

Dai pai dong delicacies never go out of style.

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