South-west China Food

Chinese food is paradoxically one of the world's best known and at the same time, least known. The slightly sweet tastes of Cantonese stir fries, the succulence of Beijing's Peking Duck and the spiciness of Sichuan's Kung Po Chicken are all well known, but many of the most famous Chinese dishes were, in fact, invented in the USA and are unknown in China while most of China's real cuisine is unknown outside its borders.

An ideal place to sample some of China's unknown cuisine is in the south-west which is home to many of the country's ethnic minorities. Here we can find dishes such as boluo fan, or pineapple rice, as made by the Dai people in the Xishuangbanna region of Yunnan province bordering Myanmar and Laos. A pineapple is carved out to make a bowl in which rice is steamed with minced meat.

Yunnan is also the home of the famous "Crossing the Bridge Noodles". Like many Chinese dishes this has a cryptic name referring to some legend regarding its origin. Unfortunately, over time these legends have been altered and elaborated upon so much that now there are several competing versions. One is that there was a man who was preparing for the Imperial Civil Service exams and ensconced himself on an island to study in peace. Everyday his wife brought him a bowl of noodles from home, but by the time she delivered them they were cold. By chance, she found that a small amount of chicken or vegetable fat floating on the top of the noodle broth kept the noodles hot as she crossed the bridge to the island. Whatever the origin of the dish, it is now served in restaurants large and small across the whole of Yunnan province and is really a bowl of rich soup with meat, rice noodles and spices. It is a popular breakfast dish.

The Bai people who live around the ancient city of Dali are unusual in China in that they eat some dairy foods. They make a kind of mild goat's cheese known as 'rubing'. In the local cuisine it is usually deep fried or stir-fried in the way other places treat bean curd, but it can also be eaten raw. It has the texture of mozzarella but with a slightly goat-like taste and aroma. The Bai also make a cow's milk cheese which is grilled or deep fried.

The Naxi people of the Lijiang area are partial to yak meat and to butter tea, two foods which are also enjoyed in Tibet, but are something of an acquired taste for many visitors. More acceptable are the delicious Yunnan hams known as Xuanwei Ham, one of China's three famous hams.

Another favourite dish in the area is 'Qi guo ji' or steam pot chicken where an organic chicken is steamed with medicinal herbs in a special earthenware pot. Then there is Yiliang Roast Duck which uses honey to crisp and colour the skin and is roasted with pine branches and needles, which gives a unique flavour to the duck.

The mountains and forests which cover this region are home a wide range of wild mushrooms, some unique to the area. Mushroom hotpots featuring several different mushrooms, such as such as the cow liver mushroom or the monkey head mushroom, are a popular dish.

After all this wonderful food, it is good to relax with a cup of the world famous Pu-erh tea, which grows in Yunnan. This is, unusually, a tea which improves with age and it is possible to find very old teas which are very expensive. There are however younger teas which are quite affordable.

So, here are but a few examples of the rich variety of virtually unknown dishes and foods of SW China. There are many more to be explored in this beautiful part of the world.