炖

• Pinyin: dùn
• Hanzi breakdown: 炖 = 火 (fire radical) + 敦 (earnest/solid, phonetic) — slow and steady application of heat

Meaning

To braise or stew; to cook food slowly in liquid over low heat for an extended period until tender and flavourful.

A fundamental Chinese cooking method. 炖 implies long, slow cooking that breaks down tough proteins and develops deep flavour: 炖鸡汤 (slow-cooked chicken broth), 红烧炖肉 (braised pork), 炖排骨 (stewed spare ribs). Valued for both taste and supposed health benefits in traditional Chinese medicine (药膳炖汤). The word evokes warmth, patience, and home-cooked nourishment.

Examples

1. 妈妈一大早就把排骨放入砂锅，用小火慢慢炖了三个小时，汤色金黄浓郁。 Mom put the ribs into a clay pot early in the morning and simmered them over low heat for three hours, until the broth turned a rich golden color.
2. 寒冬时节，一锅热腾腾的炖羊肉是北方家庭餐桌上最常见的暖身菜肴。 In the depths of winter, a steaming pot of braised lamb is one of the most common warming dishes on northern family tables.
3. 中医建议体质虚弱者定期炖服枸杞红枣鸡汤，以达到滋补养身的效果。 Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners advise people with weak constitutions to regularly simmer chicken soup with goji berries and red dates to nourish the body.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, food culture, traditional medicine

Tone: warm

Do Say

• 砂锅炖出的骨头汤，胶原蛋白充分溶解在汤汁中，色泽乳白，营养价值极高。(The bone broth simmered in a clay pot has collagen fully dissolved into the liquid, giving it a milky white colour and extremely high nutritional value.)
• 做红烧肉时，先大火收汁上色，再转小火慢炖，才能使肥瘦相间的五花肉达到入口即化的口感。(When making red-braised pork, first use high heat to reduce the sauce and colour the meat, then switch to low heat and braise slowly — this is the only way to make the layered pork belly melt in the mouth.)

Don't Say

• 把这个问题炖一下 — 炖 is a cooking term; for letting a problem sit or simmering over a plan say 搁置这个问题 or 让这件事缓一缓

Origin & History

炖 = 火 (fire) + 敦 (thick/solid, phonetic) — to apply fire with steady sustained heat

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal