Stewing · FFET10503
Wei (slow cooking in broth or embers)
Cook ingredients slowly in broth over gentle heat, or indirectly with hot ash, until tender.
Slow cooking in plenty of water or stock over low heat, with the broth kept.
Wei is a slow cooking technique that uses broth or indirect heat from hot ash or charcoal. The broth method can use a clay pot over gentle heat to cook ingredients until tender; the charcoal method separates the food from the charcoal with earth or ash. A cooking text dated 1792 uses the character wei and recommends gentle heat and a clay pot.
What
Wei is a slow cooking technique with two forms: cooking ingredients slowly in broth, and heating food indirectly with charcoal, using earth or ash as a barrier.1,2
When
A cooking text dated 1792 uses wei to describe slow cooking over gentle heat. Another historical passage describes fish wrapped in grass, sealed in clay, and cooked in hot ash, but uses the character ao; it does not establish the earliest use of wei.3,5
Where
The available material does not name a region where wei was practiced. Qing-era cooking texts include examples with sea cucumber, abalone, and ham.3,4
How
For the broth method, ingredients cook slowly in liquid; one approach uses a clay pot over gentle heat. For the charcoal method, earth or ash separates the food from the charcoal. A ceramic vessel containing broth and ingredients can also cook slowly in or near hot embers.1,2,3
Why
Gentle heat gradually cooks the ingredients until tender. Historical cooking guidance cautions that strong heat can dry out food during wei.3,4
Impact and influence
Wei is used for a range of meat dishes and soups. Recorded examples include white-simmered pork, ham simmered with honey and wine, beef tongue, lamb hooves, and crab and eel soups.4,6