Mandarin Monday is a regular series where we help you improve your Chinese by detailing fun and practical phrases and characters.
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Our Taco Fest is all set to kick off this weekend, from May 3-4 at the National Tennis Center, so what better time to brush up on some essential taco-related vocab? We’ll be taking a look at some of the common fillings and extras and showing you how to say you don’t want something in your taco – which may be especially helpful for those cilantro-haters out there.
First of all, taco in Chinese is 塔可 tǎkě, a nice, straightforward transliteration that anyone should be able to nail saying. Now, getting more into the details, let’s take a look at the different kinds of tortillas that are usually available for your tacos.
* Corn tortilla: 玉米饼皮 yùmǐ bǐngpí
* Flour tortilla: 面粉饼 miànfěn bǐng or 小麦饼皮 xiǎomài bǐngpí
* Hard shell: 脆皮 cuìpí
* Soft shell: 软皮 ruǎnpí
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Taco Names
Rather than directly translating the names of fillings like al pastor or carnitas, most Mexican restaurants in China will instead translate the name to the main filling ingredient, e.g. the type of meat, along with the cooking method. For example, carnitas is often translated to 手撕猪肉塔可 shǒusī zhūròu tǎkě, which literally means “pulled pork tacos.” So, let’s check out some of the most common fillings and cooking techniques you’ll see on most menus.
Common Fillings
* Beef: 牛肉 niúròu
* Beef tongue: 牛舌 niúshé
* Steak: 牛排 niúpái
* Pork: 猪肉 zhūròu
* Chicken: 鸡肉 jīròu
* Fried fish: 炸鱼 zháyú
* Shrimp: 虾 xiā
* Vegetarian: 素食 sùshí
* Chorizo: 克里索香肠 kèlǐsuǒ xiāngcháng or 西班牙香肠 xībānyá xiāngcháng
Cooking Method
* Roasted: 烤 kǎo
* Slow-cooked: 慢炖 màndùn
* Slow-roasted: 慢火炉 mànhuǒlú
* Grilled: 炭烤 tànkǎo or 炙烤 zhìkǎo
* Pulled: 手撕 shǒusī
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Common Garnishes
Along with the main filling, tacos, of course, come with an array of delicious garnishes like salsa, pickles, veggies and more to complete that beautiful little treat the world has come to love. Here, we’ve picked out some of the most frequent garnishes you’re likely to encounter.
* Salsa: 莎莎 shāshā
* Guacamole: 牛油果酱 niúyóu guǒjiàng
* Jalapeño: 墨西哥辣椒 mòxīgē làjiāo
* Onion: 洋葱 yángcōng
* Red onion: 红洋葱 hóng yángcōng
* Pickle: 泡 pào or 腌 yān
* Lime: 青柠檬 qīng níngméng
* Cilantro: 香菜 xiāngcài
* Avocado: 牛油果 niúyóuguǒ
* Sour cream: 酸奶油 suān nǎiyóu
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Specifying Your Taco Order
Lastly, if you have some specific requirements for your taco, here are a few useful phrases you can use.
Don’t add: 别放 bié fàng / 不要放 bùyào fàng
If there is a specific ingredient you don’t want in your taco, you can say “请别放/不要放X qǐng bié fàng / bùyào fàng X.” For example, if you are one of those people who hate cilantro, you can say “请别放香菜 qǐng bié fàng xiāngcài.”
Add less or more: 少放 shǎofàng /多放 duōfàng
As well as asking not to add something, you also ask to add less of something by saying “请少放X qǐng shǎofàng X,” and to ask to add more of something by saying “请多放X qǐng duōfàng X.” For example, if you love a bit of spice and want some more jalapeños, you can say “请多放墨西哥辣椒 qǐng duōfàng mòxīgē làjiāo.”
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There is no better place to put this taco vocab to good use than at our upcoming Taco Fest on May 3-4, so what are you waiting for? Get your ticket now by scanning the QR code in the poster below!
Taco Fest will be taking place at the National Tennis Center West Square on May 3-4 from 11am to 8pm. Early bird tickets are RMB 20, and tickets at the door are RMB 30. You can purchase tickets by scanning the QR code in the poster above.
National Tennis Center 国家网球中心
2 Lincui Lu, Chaoyang District (near the west gate of Olympic Forest Park)
朝阳区林萃路2号(奥林匹克森林公园西门附近)
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If you'd like to stay up-to-date with everything taco-related in the capital, join one of our dedicated Taco Lovers group chats! Simply add TBJButler on WeChat by scanning the QR code below and request to become a member.
READ: Taco Fest's Tasty Lineup, With a Shanghai Special Guest
Images: Unsplash, the Beijingers
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