Here are lists of common Chinese ingredients with translations. Please note that the Chinese names given for these ingredients are those most commonly used in Liuzhou and not necessarily what you will find in your dictionary. Also you may hear very different names again in different places. The Chinese is given in both simplified characters, as used in mainland China including Liuzhou, and in traditional characters as used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and among a large section of the expatriate Chinese community. The latter are more likely to be found on labels in Chinatown shops in the US or UK etc.

Click on any  symbol to see pictures of the relevant entry. For more unusual ingredients, see the Friday Food pages on the Liuzhou Laowai blog, or click on the links here.

These lists are, of course, incomplete but will be regularly expanded and pictures will be added. Any requests, corrections or suggestions are welcome.

Pronunciations are given for the Mandarin using Pinyin and Cantonese using Jyutping.