tan2氽
Jyutpingtan2
Yaletán
Definition
To float, or to blanch food in boiling water.
- to float
- to blanch or quick-boil food
colloquialfooddaily actions
How it's used
Primarily used in culinary contexts to describe the quick immersion of food in boiling water. It implies a very short duration, often just enough to soften the texture or remove raw bitterness without fully cooking the item. While technically a character for floating, its Cantonese usage is almost exclusively restricted to this cooking technique.
Examples
The vegetables are ready to eat after a quick blanch.
Do you know how to blanch vegetables so they stay crisp?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with 烚, which refers to boiling something for a longer period until it is fully cooked. Using 氽 for a long boil sounds unnatural to native speakers.
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.
