Kuai (dish)
| Kuai | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | kuài |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | kui2 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | kòe |
Kuai (Chinese: 膾; pinyin: kuài) was a Chinese dish consisting of finely cut strips of raw fish or meat, which was popular and commonly eaten in the early history and dynastic times of China. According to the Book of Rites (禮記) compiled between 202 BC–220 AD, kuai consists of small thin slices or strips of raw meat, which are prepared by first thinly slicing the meat and then cutting the thin slices into strips. In modern times, the dishes are more often referred to as "raw fish slices" (Chinese: 生魚片; pinyin: shēngyú piàn) or as "yusheng" (魚生, yúshēng). Commonly used fish in ancient times include carp (鯉) and mandarin fish (鳜), but salmon (鮭) is also used in modern times.
Sauces were an essential part of kuai dishes, with green onions used for preparation of sauces in spring and mustard seed used for sauces in autumn (膾，春用蔥，秋用芥, Book of Rites). According to many classical texts, kuai served without sauces was deemed inedible and should be avoided (不得其醬不食, Analects).
Raw fish and meat dishes, know collectively as kuai, were first documented in China in the Zhou Dynasty (1045–256 BC), and are mentioned in the Shi Jing,Classic of Rites, Analects of Confucius, and Mencius. A related preparation method is xuan (軒), which involve slicing the raw meat in large thin pieces in the manner of carpaccio, however the term "kuai" was used to refer to this method. Kuai is the preferred preparation of raw beef and lamb, or fish such as the carp, while meats from wild deers and boars were prepared as xuan. Thinness in the slices or strips was an important factor for judging the quality of the dish (膾不厭細, Analects). During this dynasty and the ensuing Warring States period kuai made from all fauna were widely consumed.
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