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

HSK 3

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.

HSK 7-9

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.