Latest / Learn Cantonese with Fexingo / Cantonese Kitchen Utensils - Cutting Board
Transcript
- Lucas: Hi everyone. It is great to be back with you for Episode 234 of Learn Cantonese with Fexingo. Luna: Hey there! I am so ready for this one. We talked about cooking last time, but we didn't really look at the tools. Lucas: That is right. Last episode we covered basic actions like stirring and boiling water. Today, let us look at the items on the counter. Luna: Oh, I love talking about food prep. Where do we start? Lucas: We start with the most important surface. The place where you cut things. In Cantonese, this is a chopping board. Luna: Let me try. Is it just one word? Lucas: Yes. Listen carefully. 砧板. Luna: Jaan1 baan2. Chopping board. Lucas: Perfect. 砧板. That is the sound of wood or plastic hitting the table. Let us say it again together. 砧板. Luna: 砧板. Okay, I have my chopping board out. Lucas: Good. Now, before we cut anything, we need to clean our ingredients. What is the first step? Luna: Washing them? Like washing vegetables? Lucas: Exactly. You take the vegetables to the sink. The phrase is wash vegetables. Luna: Is it simple? Just wash and vegetable? Lucas: Very simple. 洗菜. Listen. 洗菜. Luna: Seoi2 coi3. Wash vegetables. Lucas: Spot on. 洗菜. It is such a common action. You do it every single time you cook. Let us repeat it. 洗菜. Luna: 洗菜. I am washing the greens now. They are nice and clean. Lucas: Great. Now, onto the board. What is something small that needs careful cutting? Something green? Luna: Scallions? Or spring onions? We often chop those finely. Lucas: Yes. And the verb for cutting is very common too. To cut scallions is a classic technique. Luna: Let me guess. Cut and scallion? Lucas: You got it. 切蔥. Listen closely. 切蔥. Luna: Cit3 cung1. Cut scallions. Lucas: Excellent tone. 切蔥. Imagine the knife going through the green stems. 切蔥. Luna: 切蔥. I am chopping them up nicely. They are all sorted. Lucas: Okay, now we move to the stove. This is where things get hot. Before we add anything, what happens to the pan? Luna: It gets warm? It heats up? Lucas: Right. The wok or pan is getting hot. There is a specific way to say this in Cantonese. It uses a particle to show change. Luna: I remember that particle from earlier episodes. It means 'already' or 'now'. Lucas: Correct. So, the wok is hot already. Listen to this full phrase. 鑊熱咗喇. Luna: Fo3 yit6 zo2 laa3. The wok is hot already. Lucas: Yes. 鑊熱咗喇. It implies you must act now. Do not wait. 鑊熱咗喇. Luna: 鑊熱咗喇. Oh wow, it is sizzling. I can hear it. Lucas: And now, the final step before adding the food. We put the oil in. Luna: Drop oil? Add oil? Lucas: In Cantonese, we often use the verb 'drop' or 'put'. Drop oil. Listen. 落油. Luna: Loak3 jau4. Drop oil. Lucas: Beautiful. 落油. You drop the oil into the hot wok. 落油. Luna: 落油. And then immediately the aromatics go in. That is the magic moment. Lucas: It really is. Let us review what we have learned today. We started with the surface. Luna: The chopping board. 砧板. Lucas: Then we cleaned our food. 洗菜. Luna: Then we prepared the garnish. 切蔥. Lucas: Then we heated the pan. 鑊熱咗喇. Luna: And finally, we added the fat. 落油. Lucas: Exactly. A perfect sequence. From clean ingredients to a hot pan ready for action. Luna: I feel like I could cook a stir-fry right now. My arms are tired from chopping. Lucas: Well done. Those five phrases are solid. 砧板, 洗菜, 切蔥, 鑊熱咗喇, 落油. Luna: They are so useful. I can see myself using these every weekend. Lucas: If Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with this language, consider supporting us. It keeps the show ad-free and allows us to keep making episodes like this. Luna: Yeah, if today was worth a coffee to you, that is the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Thank you for listening. We will see you next time with more Cantonese. Luna: Bye for now!