yānzhì: 腌制 - To Marinate, Pickle, Cure

• Keywords: 腌制, yānzhì, Chinese marinade, how to marinate in Chinese, Chinese pickling, Chinese curing, food preservation, what does yanzhi mean, yanzhi pinyin, Chinese cooking terms, Sichuan pickles, cured meat.
• Summary: Yānzhì (腌制) is a fundamental Chinese culinary verb meaning to marinate, pickle, or cure food. This essential technique uses ingredients like salt, soy sauce, sugar, and spices to preserve ingredients and, more importantly, to create deep, complex flavors. From tenderizing meat for a stir-fry to making traditional Sichuan pickles (pàocài) or cured bacon (làròu), understanding yānzhì is key to authentic Chinese cooking.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): yānzhì
• Part of Speech: Verb
• HSK Level: HSK 5
• Concise Definition: To steep food in a savory liquid or rub it with spices before cooking or for preservation; to marinate, pickle, or cure.
• In a Nutshell: Yānzhì is the all-in-one term for preparing an ingredient by soaking or coating it in a flavorful mixture. It's the process that happens before the main cooking event (like frying or roasting) or is the main event itself (for making pickles). The goal is always the same: to make the food more tender, flavorful, and last longer.

• 腌 (yān): This character means “to salt” or “to preserve meat with salt/spices.” The radical on the left, 月 (yuè), is a common form of 肉 (ròu), meaning “meat” or “flesh.” This tells you the character is often related to preparing meat.
• 制 (zhì): This character means “to make,” “to manufacture,” or “to create.” The radical on the right, 刀 (dāo), means “knife,” hinting at a process of crafting or preparation.
• Together, 腌制 (yānzhì) literally means “to make by salting/preserving.” It perfectly captures the idea of actively creating a new flavor profile or preserving an ingredient through this specific process.

Yānzhì is more than just a cooking step; it's a cornerstone of Chinese culinary philosophy, born from millennia of resourcefulness and a deep appreciation for complex flavors. Before refrigeration, 腌制 was a critical survival skill, allowing families to preserve vegetables from the harvest and meat from a slaughter to last through the winter. This practical need evolved into a culinary art form. In Western cooking, we have distinct terms: “marinating” (usually short-term, for flavor/tenderness), “pickling” (long-term, with vinegar or brine for preservation), and “curing” (with salt, for meats like bacon). Yānzhì encompasses all these concepts. The key difference lies in the ingredients and the end products. While Western marinades often feature oil, citrus, and herbs, Chinese yānzhì frequently relies on a base of soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, garlic, and five-spice powder. Furthermore, foods created through 腌制, like cured sausages (腊肠, làcháng) and pickled mustard greens (酸菜, suāncài), aren't just side dishes; they are often foundational ingredients themselves, used to impart intense, savory (鲜, xiān or “umami”) flavor to stir-fries, soups, and steamed dishes. This reflects a cultural value of extracting the maximum flavor and utility from every ingredient.

Yānzhì is an everyday verb used in kitchens all across China. It's a neutral term, used in both home cooking and professional culinary settings.

• In Home Cooking: Someone might say “我先把肉腌制一下” (Wǒ xiān bǎ ròu yānzhì yīxià), meaning “I'll marinate the meat for a bit first.” It's a standard preparatory step for countless dishes.
• In Restaurants: Menus might describe a dish as “秘制腌制” (mìzhì yānzhì), or “marinated with a secret recipe,” to signify a special, flavorful preparation.
• In Recipes: It's the standard instruction verb. A recipe will specify what ingredients to use for the 腌制 process and for how long.

The term is almost exclusively used in a culinary context. While you could technically use it metaphorically, it would be considered poetic or unusual. For beginners, it's safe to assume it always refers to food.

• Example 1:
  • 炒牛肉之前，最好先腌制十分钟。
  • Pinyin: Chǎo niúròu zhīqián, zuìhǎo xiān yānzhì shí fēnzhōng.
  • English: Before stir-frying the beef, it's best to marinate it for ten minutes first.
  • Analysis: This is a classic example of using 腌制 for a short-term marinade to tenderize meat and add flavor right before cooking.
• Example 2:
  • 我妈妈做的腌制黄瓜特别好吃。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ māma zuò de yānzhì huángguā tèbié hǎochī.
  • English: The pickled cucumbers my mom makes are especially delicious.
  • Analysis: Here, 腌制 is used to describe the finished product (pickled cucumbers). The “的” (de) particle turns the action into a description.
• Example 3:
  • 制作北京烤鸭需要一个非常复杂的腌制过程。
  • Pinyin: Zhìzuò Běijīng kǎoyā xūyào yīgè fēicháng fùzá de yānzhì guòchéng.
  • English: Making Peking duck requires a very complex marinating process.
  • Analysis: This example shows 腌制 used as a noun, “marination” or “marinating process” (腌制过程).
• Example 4:
  • 你用什么来腌制这些鸡翅的？
  • Pinyin: Nǐ yòng shénme lái yānzhì zhèxiē jīchì de?
  • English: What did you use to marinate these chicken wings?
  • Analysis: A common question in the kitchen. “用…来…” (yòng…lái…) is a structure for asking “use what to do something?”
• Example 5:
  • 在中国北方，人们冬天喜欢腌制酸菜。
  • Pinyin: Zài Zhōngguó běifāng, rénmen dōngtiān xǐhuān yānzhì suāncài.
  • English: In Northern China, people like to pickle napa cabbage (sauerkraut) in the winter.
  • Analysis: This highlights a specific cultural practice related to long-term preservation for the winter.
• Example 6:
  • 这块肉腌制得非常入味。
  • Pinyin: Zhè kuài ròu yānzhì de fēicháng rùwèi.
  • English: This piece of meat has been marinated so that it's very flavorful.
  • Analysis: This sentence uses a resultative complement (得) to describe the outcome of the marination. “入味” (rùwèi) literally means “enter flavor” and is the desired goal of 腌制.
• Example 7:
  • 腌制的时间越长，味道就越咸。
  • Pinyin: Yānzhì de shíjiān yuè cháng, wèidào jiù yuè xián.
  • English: The longer the marination time, the saltier the flavor will be.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the “越…越…” (yuè…yuè…) structure, meaning “the more… the more…”
• Example 8:
  • 这种鱼必须用盐和香料腌制24小时。
  • Pinyin: Zhè zhǒng yú bìxū yòng yán hé xiāngliào yānzhì èrshísì xiǎoshí.
  • English: This type of fish must be cured with salt and spices for 24 hours.
  • Analysis: Shows the use of 腌制 for curing, a longer-term preservation and flavoring method.
• Example 9:
  • 请把排骨和腌制调料混合均匀。
  • Pinyin: Qǐng bǎ páigǔ hé yānzhì tiáoliào hùnhé jūnyún.
  • English: Please mix the pork ribs and the marinade seasonings evenly.
  • Analysis: Here, 腌制 acts as an adjective modifying “seasonings” (调料, tiáoliào), specifying their purpose.
• Example 10:
  • 如果没有时间腌制，炒出来的肉会比较柴。
  • Pinyin: Rúguǒ méiyǒu shíjiān yānzhì, chǎo chūlái de ròu huì bǐjiào chái.
  • English: If you don't have time to marinate, the stir-fried meat will be tougher/drier.
  • Analysis: This sentence explains the practical consequence of skipping the 腌制 step, highlighting its importance for texture (“柴”, chái, means dry/tough, like firewood).

• Not Just Soaking: A common mistake is to confuse 腌制 (yānzhì) with 泡 (pào). While both involve liquid, `泡` simply means “to soak” (e.g., to soak beans in water, 泡脚 pào jiǎo - to soak feet). `腌制`, however, specifically implies soaking or rubbing with ingredients like salt, soy sauce, or spices for the purpose of flavoring, tenderizing, or preserving. You `泡` tea, but you `腌制` chicken.
• It's a Broad Term: English speakers often look for direct translations of “pickle,” “marinate,” and “cure.” While more specific terms exist in Chinese, `腌制` is the most common and versatile verb that covers all three. Don't be afraid to use it for all these situations.
• Incorrect Application: You can't `腌制` everything. The term is reserved for raw ingredients that can absorb flavors, primarily meats, seafood, and vegetables. You would not `腌制` rice, noodles, or a cooked dish.

• 泡菜 (pàocài) - Pickled vegetables, a famous product of `腌制`, especially in Sichuan and Korean cuisine.
• 腊肉 (làròu) - Chinese cured pork belly or bacon, a delicacy made through a long `腌制` and air-drying process.
• 入味 (rùwèi) - Lit. “to enter flavor.” This is the desired result of `腌制`. It means the food has fully absorbed the marinade and is very flavorful.
• 卤 (lǔ) - To braise in a master stock (often soy-sauce based). This is a cooking method, not a pre-cooking step, but it shares the goal of infusing deep flavor.
• 酱油 (jiàngyóu) - Soy sauce, one of the most common and essential ingredients used to `腌制` food.
• 调料 (tiáoliào) - Seasonings, spices, condiments. The general category of items you use to `腌制`.
• 腌 (yān) - The single-character version, often used informally to mean “to salt” or “to pickle.” `腌制` is slightly more formal and complete.
• 熏 (xūn) - To smoke. Another method of preserving and flavoring food, often used after an initial `腌制` or curing process.