{"id":1807,"date":"2022-03-19T19:26:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T01:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kuchatea.com\/blog\/?p=1807"},"modified":"2024-04-29T12:49:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T18:49:56","slug":"yunnan-cuisine-teas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kuchatea.com\/blog\/yunnan-cuisine-teas\/","title":{"rendered":"Yunnan Cuisine Leverages Ethnic and Environmental Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yunnan Cuisine Leverages Ethnic and Environmental Diversity<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

With 25 of China\u2019s 50+ official ethnic minorities and a landscape including tropical and subtropical jungles, temperate forests, high and cold plateaus and soaring mountains, Yunnan Province offers a wild diversity of cuisines. The province borders Southeast Asian countries Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, as well as Tibet. Cuisines from these countries inform the local cuisines; the Southeast Asian influence renders Yunnan food more spicy than many other regions of China. And foods from the province\u2019s<\/a> many different climates and ecosystems figure into Yunnan\u2019s dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mushrooms and Yunnan a close couple<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The forests yield an immense number of wild mushrooms \u2014 more than 600 species of edible mushrooms, of which more than 300 are sold in the province and 160 are commonly traded in local markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unsurprisingly, some of the province\u2019s most popular dishes incorporate wild, foraged mushrooms. Wild mushrooms are so central to many Yunnan cuisines that people in the province\u2019s capital, Kunming, call cultivated mushrooms \u201cartificial mushrooms.\u201d During mushroom season, from May until September, people crowd markets and restaurants looking for things like pine mushrooms (also known as matsutake), chicken palm mushrooms and porcini mushrooms, which in China are known as \u201cox liver mushrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yunnan cuisine leans into mushrooms with abandon.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One Yunnan novelty is local cheese, which is not part of most Chinese cuisines. The region\u2019s Bai, Naxi and Sani people make rubing cheese, a fresh white cheese made from goat\u2019s or sheep\u2019s milk. Bai people craft rushan cheese, made from cow\u2019s milk, which is normally grilled or deep-fried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xuanwei ham, used to flavor stews and braises across China, is made in Yunnan. It figures into the province\u2019s most famous dish, guoqiao (Crossing the Bridge, in English) a rice noodle soup with a variety of sliced vegetables and meats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For guoqiao, servers bring hot soup broth, rice noodles and a platter with sliced meats, fish and vegetables to the table. Diners then assemble their own bowls of delicious soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other well-known Yunnan dishes include:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Steamed pot chicken<\/strong>: Chicken cooked with Yunnan herbs and served in a ceramic pot with a chimney-like spout. The spout promotes the circulation of steam. The broth in this dish is a treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dai Pineapple Rice<\/strong>: A simple mix of fresh pineapple and sticky rice. This Southern Yunnan specialty reflects its proximity to Southeast Asia, where pineapples grow in abundance in the tropical environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t think the Front Range supports any restaurants the specialize in the foods of Yunnan. Too bad!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for your dining pleasure, we offer a recipe, for Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crossing the Bridge noodles is a classic Yunnan dish.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles – (<\/strong>\u4e91\u5357\u8fc7\u6865\u7c73\u7ebf<\/strong>)<\/strong> (with thanks to Soy, Rice Fire<\/a>, from which we adapted this recipe)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Serves 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicken stock (makes about 6 cups)<\/strong>
2 lb (900 g) chicken wings
6 cups (1.4 L) water
2 scallion, cut into 8 pieces
2-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger, crushed
2 teaspoons white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14 oz (400 g) fresh rice noodles or 7 oz (200 g) dried noodles
2 oz (60 g) Chinese ham or other dry-cured ham (such as prosciutto, jam\u00f3n, or country ham), thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
7 oz (200 g) any combination of thinly sliced pork, chicken, or fish
6 oz (170 g) tender leafy greens (such as baby bok choy or spinach)
3 oz (90 g) mushrooms (varieties like hen-of-the-woods are great, but shitake and porcini will work great too)
1 tablespoon chopped zha cai (Sichuan pickled vegetables) or any pickle you like (optional)
Chili sauce <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To make the chicken stock:<\/p>\n\n\n\n