Chinese Clay Pot Names | Generated by AI
Question: What is the English name for “wa guan” (the small earthenware or clay pot used for steaming food)?
Answer:
“Wa guan” (瓦罐) refers to a traditional Chinese clay pot or earthenware pot, often called a sand pot, claypot, or sandy pot in English.
The specific small-sized version commonly used for individual portions of soup, stew, or steamed rice dishes (especially in Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine) is most accurately translated as:
- Mini clay pot
- Small sand pot
- Earthenware steaming pot
- Chinese clay stewing pot
In restaurants and on English menus, you will most often see it listed as “clay pot” or “mini clay pot” (e.g., “Clay Pot Rice” = 煲仔饭, using a very similar small wa guan).
Sometimes it is also called a “Chinese sandpot” or “sandy pot” because traditional ones are made from a special sandy clay from regions like Yixing or Guangdong that can withstand direct flame and retain heat very well.
So in short:
Wa guan = (small) Chinese clay pot / sand pot