Bao yu

Bao yu
Cantonese-style steamed abalone
Traditional Chinese	鮑魚
Simplified Chinese	鲍鱼
Cantonese Jyutping	baau6*1 jyu4
Hanyu Pinyin	bàoyú
Literal meaning	abalone
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin bàoyú Min - Hokkien POJ pau-hî, pau-hû Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping baau6*1 jyu4

Baoyu is the common Chinese name given to abalone and also the dried seafood product produced from the adductor muscle of abalone. In dried form, it is a highly prized and expensive ingredient used in Chinese cuisine. In certain regional Chinese cuisines, its status ranks with such prized ingredients as shark's fin, sea cucumber and bird's nest.

Fresh abalone is rarely used in Chinese cuisine. It is often purchased in dehydrated form and rehydrated prior to cooking. Recently, the use of canned abalone in recipes has risen in popularity.

Unlike Japanese cuisine, only the adductor muscle of the abalone is consumed in Chinese cuisine. Abalone innards are rarely, if ever, used in Chinese cooking.

Sample dishes

• 

  Dish with abalone, asparagus and black bean sauce

• 

  Cantonese style braised baoyu, with Chinese black mushrooms

• 

  cooked whole abalone with duck feet and pomelo skin

See also

• Abalone
• Sea cucumber (food)
• Shark fin soup
• Buddha jumps over the wall