The Chinese spoon or Chinese soup spoon is a type of spoon

Spoon

A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...

 used in Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...

 with a short, thick handle extending directly from a deep, flat bowl. It is used for eating soups, stews, or loose solids such as rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, and is commonly made using porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

s and ceramic

Ceramic

A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...

s. Chinese spoons have typically higher sides and can hold more than the common soup spoon

Soup spoon

A soup spoon is a type of spoon with a large or rounded bowl, used for eating soup. The term either can either refer to the Western soup spoon or the Chinese spoon.-Chinese:...

. Although typically made as a eating utensil, larger versions of the Chinese spoon are also made as serving spoons or ladles.

Names

The Chinese spoon is known in the Chinese languages as "tāngchí" , but depending on the region or community, the spoon may also be known colloquially as:

• "chí zì" : which means "little spoon"
• "sháo" , , : which means "ladle", "little ladle", or "soup ladle", respectively.

The Chinese spoon is traditionally and still commonly known by the name that refers to it as an implement for the consumption of the Chinese food, geng

Geng (dish)

Gēng is a dish in Chinese cuisine. Its thickening agent is usually starch which makes the soup translucent and smooth. Many soups can be cooked in this way, such as expensive shark fin soup, Madame Song's fish soup , and corn soup.-History:...

:

• "diào gēng" which means "carrier of geng"
• "chí gēng" which means "spoon for geng"

In Japanese the Chinese spoon is known as chirirenge , which literally means "fallen lotus petal", alluding to its form.