焖 (mèn): to braise

Meanings

1 to braise
2 to stew in a covered pot
3 to cook slowly over low heat with a lid on

Characters

焖

mèn

to braise, to stew in a covered pot

Examples

这道菜要用小火焖两个小时。

Zhè dào cài yào yòng xiǎohuǒ mèn liǎng gè xiǎoshí.

This dish needs to be braised over low heat for two hours.

焖鸭是广东的传统菜肴。

Mèn yā shì Guǎngdōng de chuántǒng càiyáo.

Braised duck is a traditional Guangdong dish.

Tips

usage

焖 is a specific Chinese cooking technique: ingredients are sealed in a pot with liquid and cooked over low heat for a long time. The key is the closed lid, which traps steam. Common dishes: 焖鸡 (braised chicken), 焖饭 (rice cooked by absorption), 焖牛腩 (braised beef brisket).

Components

radical

火 huǒ

fire

Left fire radical - pictograph of flames with a central tongue and two sparks. The indexing radical that anchors 焖 in the cooking family with 煮, 炖, 烧, 烤. Every member of this set names a way of applying heat to food; 焖 specifies a low-heat covered braise.

phonetic

闷 mèn

stuffy; closed-in

Right 闷 supplies the sound mèn exactly. It also pulls heavy semantic weight: 闷 means 'stifled, sealed in,' and braising is literally cooking 'stifled' under a tight lid until trapped steam tenderises the meat. The full character is almost a compound ideograph reinforced by a perfect phonetic.