Seafood

I’m of Cantonese descent, but I’m not bragging when I say the Cantonese preparation of seafood is regarded as the finest and most inventive in all of China. Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) is located along the southern coast of China, so seafood features prominently in its cuisine.

In China, seafood is mainly sold live in tanks. Many people go out on a daily basis to pick out a fresh whole fish to be steamed for dinner that night, or to buy a basketful of clams to be tossed in a pungent black bean sauce as soon as they get home. I remember shooting a Food Network special in Guangzhou with my mother. They had us pick out some live prawns from a market stall. We then walked across the street and handed them to a Chinese chef who tossed them in his wok with some garlic and green onions. Within minutes, we were sitting down to lunch. You can’t get any fresher than that!