Stewing · FFET10492
Dun (slow stewing in water)
Ingredients simmer gently in water or stock, or cook in an earthenware or porcelain vessel set in water.
Slow cooking in plenty of water or stock over low heat, with the broth kept.
Dun is a technique that slowly softens ingredients over gentle heat with water or stock and seasonings. Methods include simmering in a covered pot and heating ingredients in an earthenware or porcelain vessel set inside an outer pot of water. Historical banquet descriptions include stewed pig’s trotters and bird’s nest stewed in chicken broth, but the earliest use of dun as a cooking term remains undetermined.
What
Dun slowly cooks ingredients with water or stock and seasonings over gentle heat until tender. It also includes cooking in a vessel set in water.1,2
When
The earliest use of dun as a cooking term remains undetermined. The consulted Song-dynasty dish descriptions use lu, and a cooking passage dated 1792 uses wei zhu. Historical banquet descriptions use the traditional character for dun, but the consulted passages provide no publication year.3,5,6
Where
The available material does not name the regions where dun is practiced and does not establish a place of origin.1,2
How
One method fries ginger and scallions and browns the main ingredient before adding plenty of water or stock, covering, and simmering gently. Another starts ingredients and seasonings in cold water and gradually brings them to a long, gentle simmer. Double-boiling heats a filled earthenware or porcelain vessel inside an outer pot of water.1,2
Why
Slow cooking over gentle heat softens tougher cuts of meat, making dun suitable for these ingredients.1
Impact and influence
Historical banquet descriptions list plainly stewed pig’s trotters and bird’s nest stewed in chicken broth. A clam and crucian carp soup also uses the term dun, showing its use for meat dishes, soups, and banquet ingredients.3,4