Baoshan cuisine, represented by Tengchong dishes, stands out uniquely in Yunnan. It is rich but not greasy, well-balanced between sour and spicy flavours, fresh and appetizing. The most famous specialities include The Great Rescue, rice cake shreds and rice cake slices, and ultra-thin pork slices. The clay hot pot is another iconic local dish, which you can taste at Tengchong Hotel. Other snacks worth trying include soybean milk rice noodles, cold pea jelly, baked food, sour and spicy soup, and chicken mushrooms tossed with green chillies. Tengchong food tends to be a bit salty, so visitors who prefer light flavours can ask chefs to put less salt.

Rice cake slice is a traditional Tengchong snack made of rice. It is cooked with fresh meat, ham, eggs and winter mushrooms. Rice cake shreds are cut from rice cake slices, available in fresh and dried varieties, and cooked in the same way as rice cake slices.

As one of Tengchong’s most renowned snacks, it is a stir-fried rice cake dish. Cut rice cakes into small pieces and quickly stir-fry them with ham, eggs, pork, radishes and tomatoes.

Legend: This dish has an interesting origin. When Emperor Yongli of the Ming Dynasty fled to Tengchong, he suffered terribly from hunger. A kind local farmer stir-fried a large plate of rice cakes for him. The emperor was amazed by the deliciousness and sighed with emotion: “This dish saved my life.” From then on, The Great Rescue became the name for Tengchong rice cakes, and its fame spread rapidly.

This dish tests a chef’s slicing skills. It is made from pig ears, tongues and snouts with special processing methods. After cooking and cooling, the meat is cut into palm-sized slices as thin as paper. The slices can stick to a wall without falling off, hence the name. Dip them in prepared seasonings before eating.