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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | sīuméi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | roasted items | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Siu mei (Chinese: 燒味; Cantonese Yale: sīuméi) is the generic Cantonese name of meats roasted on spits over an open fire or a large wood-burning rotisserie oven. It creates a unique, deep barbecue 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 in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas Chinatowns, especially with Cantonese emigrants.[1] In Hong Kong, the average person eats siu mei once every four days, with char siu being the most popular, followed by siu yuk (roast pork or pork belly) second, and roast goose third.[2] Some dishes, such as white cut chicken and soy sauce chicken, are not roasted at all but are considered siu mei nonetheless. Siu mei is also known colloquially as siu laap (烧腊; 燒臘; shāo là; siu1 laap6), as the latter term encompasses siu mei and laap mei, a type of preserved meat. They are usually prepared in the same kitchen during autumn and winter season in what are often known as siu laap establishments or Chinese BBQ shops. Siu laap is also often sold alongside lou mei, such as orange cuttlefish and pig's ear.
- ^ Zoe Li (29 August 2011). "Hong Kongers eat 66,000 tons of siu mei a year". CNN Go. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ "Go easy on the Siu mei, experts warn". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-03-20.