Broiled bean curd, Wenshan

The broiled bean curd is a featured snack in south Yunnan. Each bean curd weighs about 20 grams. Bean curd is made from high-grade soybeans. First, get rid of the shell of the soybeans. Grind them, and soak them in the water until they expand. Mill them to get the juice. Boil the juice and sieve it. Pure it into the mould and give it shape. Finally, get rid of the water and ferment it. Among all the working procedures, the fermentation is the most important. If the fermentation is too short, the bean curd will be so hard and taste a little bitter. If it is too long, the bean curd will decay.

 The so-called broiled bean curd is in fact a kind of bean curd with odor. It smells awful but taste great. After the fermentation, many nutriments in the bean curd which are not easy to be absorbed by the human body have been decompounded by yeasts or fungals, and thus are good to human health.

Pickle Loach, Wenshan

In Puzhehei of the Qiubei County, a famous scenic spot in Yunnan, there are many tasty folk snacks. Pickle loach is one of them.Loach does not only taste tender and fresh, but is also nourishing. Loach contains little fat and even less cholesterin. It also contains such important substances which can help resist the aging of the blood vessels as insaturational fatty acid. As a result, it is an ideal food for the elderly and the people who are suffering from anaemia, hepatitis, and Cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure.

Salted tendons of beef, Wenshan

The salted tendons of beef is a famous traditional dish of the Dai people. The raw materials are the head and the feet of the scalpers. The seasonings are ginger, garlic, chili, the leaves of the wild Chinese prickly ash, salt, and so on. First, shave and wash the head and feet of the scalper clean. Cut them into small cubes and cook them in the boiler until they get very tender.

Then take them out, remove the bones, and cut them into strips. Marinate the strips in the water which has been used to wash rice for about 3 hours. Take them out, wash them clean, and then dry them. Mix them with chopped chili, pestled ginger, garlic, salt and the leaves of the wild Chinese prickly ash. Put them into the jar and seal the jar. They are edible in about half a month. They taste savory, vinegary, tender and cool.

Sanqi Steaming Pot Chicken, Wenshan

The Sanqi Steaming Pot Chicken is a famous dish in the Yanshan County. First, marinate the fine roots of Sanqi in the water, and then wash them clean. Put the roots in the abdominal cavity of the chicken which has already been washed. Place the chicken and the seasonings in the boiler. Then put the boiler on another boiler which holds about 4 or 5 kilograms of water. Airproof the meeting point of the two boilers.

Put the boilers on the big fire and braise for 3 or 4 hours until the chicken is done and the flesh and the bone separate from each. The chicken done this way is tender and fresh.In as early as the year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, Sanqi Steaming Pot Chicken was widespread in the areas of south Yunnan. If you use Tall Gastraodia Tuber, it is Tall Gastraodia Tuber Steaming Pot Chicken; if you use China Cordyceps, it is China Cordyceps Steaming Pot Chicken. All these are special famous tonic dishes in Yunnan.

You can taste them in many places. In Kunming, if you want to try it, just ask some local people and they will tell you where.It is said that during the year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor made his rounds in Linan Fu which is today’s Jianshui County. The magistrate of the district ordered the local chef to dedicate a delicious dish for the Emperor.

The chef who was only 24 years old then used the theory of the chaffy dish, and created the slinky boiler. It turned out to be very successful and the chicken was very tender and fresh. The Qianlong Emperor was full of praise. Shortly after that, the Steaming Pot Chicken has become a famous dish at the state banquet.