se4 gang1蛇羹
Jyutpingse4 gang1
Yalesèh gāng
Definition
Snake soup; a Cantonese delicacy made with shredded snake meat, chicken, pork, and spices.
colloquialfood
How it's used
Snake soup is deeply associated with traditional Chinese medicine, specifically the concept of warming the body during cold weather. It is almost exclusively consumed in specialized shops that often also sell snake wine or other snake-based products. Because of the preparation involved, it is rarely cooked at home and is considered a seasonal delicacy rather than a standard daily meal.
Measure word
wun2碗wúnExamples
Eating a bowl of hot snake soup in winter is really warming.
Have you tried it yet? The snake soup at this shop is very famous.
Related words
Common phrases
snake soup with crispy crackers
eating snake soup in winter
Common mistake
Learners often confuse the texture of snake soup with standard thick soups like corn soup, but it is much more complex due to the shredded ingredients and the addition of crispy fried dough crackers and shredded lemon leaves, which are essential accompaniments.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
