Tibet not only boasts of its mysterious scenery, but also many of its local food with ethnic characteristics of Tibet Region. Want to enjoy an unforgettable journey in Tibet? Bear in mind the following four unique and tempting local foods.
Tibet, the first place for many foreign travelers who want to experience Chinese culture, not only boasts of its mysterious scenery, but also many of its local food with ethnic characteristics of Tibet Region. Want to enjoy an unforgettable journey in Tibet? Bear in mind the following four unique and tempting local foods.
Highland Barley Liquor
Highland Barley Liquor is made from highland barley, and therefore it has a low degree of alcohol. No matter young men and women, or old men and children in Tibet, they all like to drink it, especially at festivals. The highland barley liquor is of bright orange, with sweet and sour taste. Because of its low degree of alcohol, you can take it as beer. When drinking the liquor, you should respect the principle of “Three sips and a cup”, that means you are required to take a sip and then fulfill your cup and repeat it once, for the third time, you should take a sip and drink the fulfilled cup to bottom. On banquet table, host and hostess usually toast their cup while singing. At large banquet, there are professional toasting girls, dressed in the most beautiful clothes, singing the most attractive liquor songs. They try to persuade guests in drinking again and again, till guests are all drunk.
Ciba
Ciba is the staple food for Tibetans. Before making Ciba, the highland barley is dried and fried, ground into fine flour, non-peeled. Then put the Ciba in the bowl, added some buttered tea, homogenize it with water till it has become a lump (Ciba literally means rolling lump). Convenient to carry, Ciba is popular with herdsmen, who only need to take wooden bowl, waist belt, Tanggu (Ciba Pocket in Tibet) along with them. If herdsmen can find some water, it is enough for them to take this as the dinner.
Air-Dried Beef and Mutton
Air-dried meat is a very special Tibetan food. At the end of the year, when it is below freezing point, Tibetans will slice the beef and mutton into strips and hang them in shady place till they are air-dried. When it comes to the second or third year, the meat is crisp with special flavor, so fresh to leave you fantasies.
Qurui
Take the fresh cheese in summer into a leather bag, and lay it in shady place. After long-term stuffy treatment and ferment, it would become milk dregs. Take it out at the next spring and break it up into small round pieces, ready for use. Pulling some water, meat pieces, flour, dried pepper and salt lump into the pot, and minutes later, add the round lump of milk dregs into the pot and boil them. For another pot, the cook adds appropriate quantity of water into the shredded Harley. When it is about 80 percent ripe, add the Harley into the main pot and stir them evenly and boil them with gentle fire. Qurui is the best companion dish for Tibetan citizens, the farmers at spring time in particular. It tastes sweet and can warm the body.