Delicious Food in Liangshan

This classic Yi ethnic dish literally means salted meat chunks. Locally in Sichuan dialect, meat chunks are called tuo, hence its well-known name Tuotuo Meat (Chunked Meat).

It can be made with beef, mutton, pork, chicken or game meat, with mutton and pork being the most common choices. The Yi people regard young piglets as pure and sacred, so serving pork from young piglets to guests is a sign of sincere respect. The meat is tender yet firm, fragrant and never greasy.

Cooking method: Slaughter the piglet, roast it over fire while scraping off the fur thoroughly. Once the skin turns golden brown, clean the pig and eviscerate it. Cut the meat into fist-sized chunks, put them into cold water and boil over high heat. When the foam disappears, the meat is fully cooked. Take the meat out, season it with salt, chili powder, Chinese prickly ash powder and locally grown litsea pungens powder. The litsea pungens acts as a natural flavor enhancer, lending the meat a crisp, fresh taste with a lingering afterflavor.

Another traditional Yi delicacy. Select suckling pigs weighing 10 to 15 kilograms. After slaughtering, remove the hair and internal organs, then roast the whole pig over an open fire while turning continuously. The finished roasted pig has a golden crispy skin and an inviting aroma.

You may cut it into chunks and mix with seasonings, or serve the whole pig on a large plate with side dishes of dipping sauces. Diners cut off meat with knives as they eat. The meat is crispy on the outside and tender inside, boasting an irresistible savory taste.

Sour vegetable soup is the most distinctive soup among Yi cuisines in Liangshan. It can be cooked plain or with oil. It helps relieve summer heat, quench thirst and aid weight loss.

Potato and sour vegetable soup seasoned with salt, chili, prickly ash and litsea root powder tastes mild, sour, spicy and fresh. Adding sour vegetables to meat soup (except mutton soup) cuts through greasiness, and pairing fresh meat with fresh sour vegetables creates an even more delicious broth.

A traditional food of the Nari people living beside Lugu Lake in Yanyuan County. After slaughtering a pig, people fill its large and small intestines with a mixture of half-cooked rice, pig's blood, salt, lard, prickly ash and five-spice powder. Some also add buckwheat or oats. Roll the intestines into loops and boil them thoroughly. This treat is often given as a gift to relatives and friends.

Before eating, slice the rolled intestines and fry them in lard. They pair perfectly with wine and tartary buckwheat tea for an enhanced flavor.

The Nari people around Lugu Lake are skilled at making pork fat preserves. The quantity of this food is seen as a symbol of a family’s wealth.

Production: Slaughter a pig, remove all bones, then rub the meat with salt, prickly ash and spices before sewing it into the shape of a pipa. It is usually cured in winter. Properly made pork fat preserve can be stored for years without spoilage. Aged preserve is even used for medicinal purposes. It has a delicate fragrance, rich but not greasy, and tastes better than ham. It is a top-grade dish for banquets, and goes wonderfully with ox-head rice.

Also known as Riji or Keri, Sulima is a must-serve homemade drink for receiving guests in every Nari household around Lugu Lake. Pale yellow in color, it has a fresh, sweet and sour taste, finer than beer, with an alcohol content of around 10%. It is rich in 11 kinds of amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and other nutrients.

Brewing method: Mix highland barley, barley, wheat, buckwheat, barnyard grass, corn and millet. Boil the grains in a large iron pot and roast until dry, retaining a slight crust flavor. Cool the grains in a winnowing basket, mix with home-made yeast, and transfer to a woven fermentation container called Rika. When the wine aroma emerges, move the mixture into earthen jars and seal tightly. After about ten days, add spring water from Nü'er Cave. Use hollow curved bamboo tubes to siphon out the liquor, which can be served immediately and keeps its flavor for a long time.

Also named Keri or An'erji, it is another popular liquor among the local Nari people for daily drinking and entertaining guests. With an alcohol content of roughly 30%, it is clear and transparent with a strong pleasant fragrance, and people rarely get drunk even after drinking a moderate amount.

Cut a small opening on a pork stomach and clean it thoroughly. Stuff it tightly with meat chunks seasoned with salt, prickly ash powder, chili powder, litsea flowers and garlic. Sew up the opening and seal it with pork intestine slices. Hang the stuffed stomach in a well-ventilated smoky area to dry. If kept airtight, it develops a richer flavor over time. Serving a whole unopened smoked pork stomach to guests is regarded as a great courtesy, comparable to slaughtering a sheep.

When cooking, put the whole pork stomach and broth into a soup basin. The meat inside is tender and savory, and the soup is thick, milky white and full of aroma.

Also called soaking wine or tube wine, it is a unique traditional rice wine served at Yi festivals and celebrations. It is brewed from corn, sorghum and buckwheat.

Brewing method: Coarsely grind the grains, steam them with water, then spread them in a winnowing basket to cool. Add buckwheat husks and yeast when the temperature is suitable, then seal and ferment. After more than 30 hours, transfer the mixture to wooden barrels or earthen jars and seal the openings with mud. The wine is ready to drink in about half a month, and tastes even better after two to three months of storage.

Before serving, add plenty of cold boiled water and let it stand for one or two hours. Drink by inserting several hemp or bamboo tubes and sipping directly. This distinctive Yi liquor is also high in nutritional value.

Marinated from local ducks in Xichang, it is famous for its large size (each live duck usually weighs over 3 to 5 kilograms) and delicious flavor. The meat is tender, rich but not greasy, attractive in color and highly nutritious.

Its duck liver often weighs more than 400 grams. Whether steamed, stir-fried or preserved, it is a premium delicacy for feasts. There is a local saying: "One steamed duck liver perfumes nine rooms", earning it another nickname Big Liver Duck