syun3 sam1蒜芯
Jyutpingsyun3 sam1
Yalesyun sām
Definition
Garlic shoot; the young, tender stalk of a garlic plant.
colloquialfood
How it's used
Garlic shoots are a staple vegetable in Cantonese home cooking, prized for their crisp texture and mild garlic flavor. They are almost exclusively prepared by stir-frying, often paired with meat like beef or pork slices to balance the richness of the protein. Unlike the bulb, the shoots are treated as a leafy green vegetable rather than a seasoning.
Measure word
zaat3紮jatExamples
This plate of garlic shoots is stir-fried to be very crunchy.
Related words
Common phrases
Stir-fried garlic shoots with sliced meat
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 蒜芯 with 蒜頭, which refers to the garlic bulb itself. While both come from the same plant, they serve completely different roles in a dish.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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.
