Yulin Cuisine Introduction
Yulin cuisine enjoys a prominent status across China. Shaped by its unique geographical location and regional culture, the city boasts a rich and diverse culinary heritage. Restaurants and eateries of all sizes can be widely found in urban areas, towns, townships and major scenic spots.
Local specialties cover a great range: mutton dishes including whole roasted lamb, roast lamb, stewed lamb and lamb offal soup; buckwheat foods such as buckwheat stuffed pastries and buckwheat dough balls; millet products; soybean dishes featuring tofu feasts and plain boiled tofu; potato-based meals including potato banquets; and distinctive boiled fish from Hongjiannao Lake.
Tofu
Yulin tofu has a long history. Back in the Ming Dynasty, the ancient city of Yulin was one of the nine strategic frontier towns along the Great Wall. As the city expanded, the number of soldiers and local residents grew rapidly. Due to the shortage of non-staple foods in the frontier, locals began to make tofu using the peach blossom spring water from Puhui Spring. The finished tofu is white, tender, smooth and flavorful, standing out from tofu made elsewhere. Gradually, it became an indispensable staple in the daily diet of both soldiers and civilians.
Yulin tofu can be cooked in various ways, such as braising, deep-frying, stir-frying and steaming. Fried soybean curd is particularly renowned. Golden brown with a crispy crust and soft interior, it delivers an irresistible aroma and pure taste. Grease-free and endlessly appetizing, it is a top-grade dish for banquets and entertaining guests. The local tofu feast is hugely popular among food lovers at home and abroad. In particular, fresh soft tofu of Yulin features exclusive craftsmanship and flavor, truly a gem worthy of wider promotion.
Horseshoe Pastry
A classic local snack of Yulin. Dough is mixed with oil, sugar and water, kneaded, rolled thin and cut into horseshoe shapes, then slowly deep-fried over low heat. Crisp, fluffy and sweet, it is an ideal gift for relatives and friends, as well as a fine treat for feasts. The pastry is traditionally baked against the inner wall of a vertical oven, hence its horseshoe shape and name.
A Qing Dynasty poet wrote verses in praise of it: Traces remain from the kneaded dough; its fragrance lingers though no horse hooves tread. This bears witness to its long history and enduring popularity. Light and portable, it is a favorite travel food. Warm in nature and enriched with maltose, it is also a nourishing tonic for women during the postpartum period after being fried in sesame oil.
Hand-Grabbed Lamb
Bordering Inner Mongolia, Dingbian County of Yulin has adopted the Mongolian custom of eating hand-grabbed lamb. Lamb is cut into large chunks and marked individually before being fully stewed in a pot. Diners pick up their respective portions by hand. Even when simply boiled in plain water, the meat tastes fresh and savory with no unpleasant mutton smell.
Dingbian Lamb
Also known as young lamb meat, it uses ram lambs around 40 days old from the local beach sheep breed. Regarded as a premium dish for treating guests, it has been famous since ancient times. There are two traditional cooking methods:
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Steamed Lamb: Chop lamb bones and meat into one-inch cubes. Heat cooking oil to medium heat, sauté Sichuan pepper powder, ginger, garlic and scallions until fragrant. Add the lamb cubes and stir-fry over high heat for around 10 minutes until the meat turns white. Blend in soybean paste and cook for another two to three minutes until the meat’s natural moisture evaporates. Transfer the lamb to a bowl or basin, steam thoroughly in a bamboo steamer, and season with monosodium glutamate and coriander. This method best preserves the original flavor — the meat is tender, aromatic and never cloying.
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Slow-Stewed Lamb: Fry the lamb cubes in medium-hot oil for over 10 minutes until white. Add soybean paste and cook until moisture is gone. Pour in warm water and salt, then simmer on low heat for about one hour. Finish with a pinch of monosodium glutamate, scallions and coriander.
Chrysanthemum Hot Pot
It is a time-honored traditional dish of Yulin. Using flowers in cooking has a long history in China, and chrysanthemum cuisine dates back more than 2,000 years. Qu Yuan, a great ancient poet, once wrote of dining on fallen chrysanthemum petals at dusk. In Records of Chrysanthemums by Yuan Jie of the Tang Dynasty, chrysanthemum was praised as both a valuable medicinal herb and a fine vegetable.
Ancient people created various chrysanthemum recipes. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, imperial chefs made this hot pot by simmering clear broth, fish balls, fresh meat and chicken breast. Chrysanthemum petals were then added, and the pot was covered to simmer briefly. The tender meat and fragrant soup blend perfectly with delicate floral notes, giving the dish its name.
Yulin Assorted Three Meats
Main Ingredients: Pork, mutton and chicken
Auxiliary Ingredients: Rehydrated wood ear mushrooms, daylilies, kelp shreds, chives and spinach
- Slice cooked pork, half braised in brown sauce and half stewed. Deep-fry potato slices and cut sheet jelly into strips.
- Mix raw meat with seasonings to make meatballs for boiling, fried meatballs and crispy meat chunks.
- Bring meat stock to a boil with extra water. Add pork, mutton, chicken, meatballs, crispy meat, sheet jelly, daylilies and kelp shreds, then simmer until fully cooked.
Features: Bright color, rich and mellow flavor.
Lamb Offal Soup
Local people in Yulin have accumulated exquisite cooking skills over generations, creating a wealth of popular side dishes and distinctive snacks. Well-known choices include Suide fried twisted buns, Qingjian pancakes, Zhenchuan dry-baked cakes and Dingbian buckwheat noodles.
The must-try lamb offal stew is made by simmering a mixture of lamb blood, heart, liver, lungs, intestines and tripe, hence its name. These ingredients are collectively called "lamb entrails" in local dialect. The dish features diverse textures and a balanced sour and spicy taste. It is fresh, non-greasy and nutrient-rich, with an appetizing savory broth. Ideal for cold climates, it quickly warms the body — diners often feel warm halfway through the bowl and break into a sweat after finishing it. It is affordable and easy to enjoy.
Millet Cakes
Among women living along the Qingjian River basin, there is a popular saying: Good starter makes perfect yellow millet cakes. It means the quality of these steamed cakes largely depends on the fermentation starter. Yellow millet cakes are a traditional festive food for the Lunar New Year in Qingjian.
As the New Year approaches, families soak several dou of freshly husked yellow millet in clean water overnight. The next day, take the millet out and let it drain for an hour, then grind it repeatedly into fine flour with a large millstone. Add the crucial old fermentation starter, cover the dough with quilts on a warm brick bed and leave it to ferment overnight. At dawn the next morning, people start steaming the millet cakes as soon as roosters crow.
Traditional Twelve-Course Feast
A set meal for banquets and weddings, served in the fixed order below. A bowl of steamed rice is also provided, followed by a large bowl of thick soup at the end. Each table seats six guests. This catering custom for wedding banquets has been passed down in Yulin since the late Qing Dynasty.
- Assorted Delicacies (cold platter)
- Scallion and spinach stir-fried with shredded pork
- Chicken soup
- Plain meat / Halal mutton
- Eight-treasure rice pudding
- Four-Joy Meatballs
- Spicy chicken
- Tripe shred soup
- Fried meatballs
- Daylily soup
- Braised meat / Chessboard-style pork
- Kelp soup
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