煲

• Pinyin: bāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 煲 = 火 + 保 (fire + preserve — slow-cooking vessel)

Meaning

A clay or ceramic pot used for slow-cooking; to simmer or stew over low heat for an extended period. Used both as a noun (the vessel) and a verb (the cooking method).

Especially associated with Cantonese cuisine and home cooking in southern China. As a verb, 煲 implies patient, unhurried cooking to draw out deep flavour from ingredients, and is also used metaphorically for long phone calls (煲电话粥).

Examples

1. 母亲每天清晨都会用瓦煲慢火熬制一锅浓郁的骨头汤。 Every morning at dawn, my mother uses a clay pot to simmer a rich bone broth over low heat.
2. 他连续煲了四个小时的汤，整间屋子都弥漫着药材的香气。 He simmered the soup for four straight hours, and the whole house filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs.
3. 广东人素有煲汤养生的传统，四季皆有对应的汤品。 Cantonese people have a long tradition of nourishing themselves with simmered soups, with different soups for each season.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, food, daily life

Tone: warm

Do Say

• 她特意买了一只紫砂煲，用来每天为家人熬制养生汤。(She specifically bought a purple clay pot to simmer health soups for her family every day.)
• 这道药膳需要用文火慢慢煲上三个小时，不能心急。(This medicinal dish needs to be simmered slowly over low heat for three hours — you cannot rush it.)

Don't Say

• 用煲煮了五分钟 — 煲 as a method implies prolonged slow-cooking; for quick cooking use 煮 or 炖 instead

Origin & History

煲 = 火 (fire) + 保 (preserve/protect) — a vessel that uses fire to slowly preserve and concentrate flavours

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal