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 Pig ears (left) with jellyfish (right) | |
| Course | Hors d'oeuvre |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | China |
| Main ingredients | offal |
| Lou mei | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 滷味/鹵味 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 卤味 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | lou5 mei2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | lǔwèi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Lou mei is the Cantonese name given to dishes made by braising in a sauce known as a master stock or lou sauce (滷水; lou5 seoi2; lóuh séui or 滷汁; lou5 zap1; lóuh jāp). The dish is known as lu wei in Taiwan.
Lou mei can be made from meat, offal, and other off-cuts. The most common varieties are beef, pork, duck and chicken. A vegan meat analogue zaai lou mei, made with wheat gluten, is commonly found in Hong Kong. Lou mei originates in Southern China, is a core part of Hokkien and Teochew cuisine, and is widely available in China and Taiwan with many regional varieties. Selections vary greatly among overseas Chinatowns often depending on the immigrant mix.
Lou mei can be served cold or hot. Cold lou mei is often served with a side of hot braising liquid for immediate mixing. Hot lou mei is often served directly from the pot of braising liquid.
Varieties
Common varieties include:
- Chinese stewed chicken (滷雞)
- Chinese stewed duck (滷鴨)
- Duck/goose meat (鴨片/鵝片)
- Chicken wings (雞翼)
- Duck flippers (鴨掌)
- Chicken claw (雞爪)
- Tofu (豆腐)
- Pig's ear (豬耳)
- Steamed fish intestines (蒸魚腸)
- Stir-fried fish intestines (炒魚腸)
- Beef entrails (牛雜)
- Beef brisket (牛腩)
- Duck gizzard (鴨胗)
- Pig tongue (豬脷)
- pork hock (豬脚)
- Pig's blood (豬血糕)
- spiced corned egg (滷蛋)
- Kelp (海帶)
- Vegetarian (齋滷味)