蝦眼水

Chinese

FWOTD – 28 July 2024

		shrimp; prawn	eye	water; river
trad. (蝦眼水)		蝦	眼	水
simp. (虾眼水)		虾	眼	水
Literally: “shrimp-eye water”.

Etymology

So named for the size of the bubbles resembling that of the eyes of shrimp.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiāyǎnshuǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄚ ㄧㄢˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): haa¹ ngaan⁵ seoi²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiāyǎnshuǐ [Phonetic: xiāyánshuǐ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄚ ㄧㄢˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siayǎnshuěi
    • Wade–Giles: hsia¹-yen³-shui³
    • Yale: syā-yǎn-shwěi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiayeanshoei
    • Palladius: сяяньшуй (sjajanʹšuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ jɛn²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: haa¹ ngaan⁵ seoi²
    • Yale: hā ngáahn séui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: haa¹ ngaan⁵ soey²
    • Guangdong Romanization: ha¹ ngan⁵ sêu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haː⁵⁵ ŋaːn¹³ sɵy̯³⁵/

Noun

蝦眼水

1. (chiefly Cantonese) water that is boiled to right below boiling point, when small bubbles are formed at the bottom of the pot
   • 1999, 徐達初, 歐陽珊, 17:11 from the start, in 洗冤錄 [Witness to a Prosecution]‎^[1], episode 7, spoken by 魯花 [Lo Fa] (朱咪咪 [Mimi Chu]), via TVB:

     嗱，啲水呢，就滾得太透喇，話明要蝦眼水𠺢嘛，係咪吖？ [Cantonese, trad.]
     嗱，啲水呢，就滚得太透喇，话明要虾眼水𠺢嘛，系咪吖？ [Cantonese, simp.]

     naa⁴, di¹ seoi² ne¹, zau⁶ gwan² dak¹ taai³ tau³ laa³, waa⁶ ming⁴ jiu³ haa¹ ngaan⁵ seoi² gaa¹ maa³, hai⁶ mai⁶ aa¹? [Jyutping]

     See, the water, it's boiled too long. I clearly told you we need shrimp eye water, didn't I?

   • 2008, 物级校对（陈梦因）, 《粤菜溯源录》, Tianjin: 百花文艺出版社, →ISBN, page 98:

     泡茶用刚烧开的虾眼水。 [MSC, simp.]
     泡茶用剛燒開的蝦眼水。 [MSC, trad.]

     Pàochá yòng gāng shāokāi de xiāyǎnshuǐ. [Pinyin]

     Brew tea with shrimp eye water that was just brought to a boil.

   • 2019, 李家鼎 [Steve Lee], 《鼎爺廚房3：原汁原味功夫菜》 [Grandpa's Kitchen 3], Hong Kong: Wan Li Book Company Limited, →ISBN, page 38:

     用大火煲至水滾時，收慢火，待飯面呈蝦眼水，放入田雞，將火調大一點，聽到「嘞嘞」聲和有香味溢出（表示開始有飯焦了），收細火煮15分鐘。 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
     用大火煲至水滚时，收慢火，待饭面呈虾眼水，放入田鸡，将火调大一点，听到「嘞嘞」声和有香味溢出（表示开始有饭焦了），收细火煮15分钟。 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]

     jung⁶ daai⁶ fo² bou¹ zi³ seoi² gwan² si⁴, sau¹ maan⁶ fo², doi⁶ faan⁶ min^6-2 cing⁴ haa¹ ngaan⁵ seoi², fong³ jap⁶ tin⁴ gai¹, zoeng¹ fo² tiu⁴ daai⁶ jat¹ dim², teng¹ dou^3-2 “laak¹ laak¹” seng¹ wo⁴ jau⁵ hoeng¹ mei⁶ jat⁶ ceot¹ (biu² si⁶ hoi¹ ci² jau⁵ faan⁶ ziu¹ liu⁵), sau¹ sai³ fo² zyu² 15 fan¹ zung¹. [Jyutping]

     Boil on high heat. When the water boils, lower to low heat and wait for the shrimp eyes to appear on top of the rice. Put in the frog meat, and turn up the heat a little bit. When you hear popping sounds and when there is a fragrant aroma (indicating that it is starting to form rice crust), lower to low heat and let it cook for 15 minutes.

   • 2021, “洛神花香橙蒟蒻果凍 [Roselle Jelly with Orange]”, in 《帶飯一族必學的滋味便當食譜》‎^[2], Hong Kong: Department of Health; Occupational Safety & Health Council; Labour Department:

     煮至「蝦眼水」（起細水泡後）立即熄火，將洛神花盛起，將花瓣切片。 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
     煮至「虾眼水」（起细水泡后）立即熄火，将洛神花盛起，将花瓣切片。 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]

     zyu² zi³ “haa¹ ngaan⁵ seoi²” (hei² sai³ seoi² pou⁵ hau⁶) laap⁶ zik¹ sik¹ fo², zoeng¹ lok³ san⁴ faa¹ sing⁶ hei², zoeng¹ faa¹ faan^6-2 cit³ pin^3-2. [Jyutping]

     Remove the heat when the mixture is just boiled. Take the roselle petals out and slice them into pieces.

Synonyms

• 魚眼水／鱼眼水
• (Teochew) 蟹目水