What to Eat in Lijiang

In Lijiang, besides Lijiang local foods, there is also a lot of Chengdu, Sichuan restaurants. The most representative of the Naxi dish is trip-lap water, eight big bowls. The fungus mushrooms such as tricholoma matsutake, collybia albuminosa, morchella, they are not only expensive, and also delicious and nourishing, and it is unique cuisine of Lijiang. Salmon and dried ribs, although cannot be called a symbolic local cuisine, but it is very popular by many trenchermen.

 

Lijiang Black Goat Hot Pot is a famous local special cuisine in  Lijiang. The mutton used in this hot pot has fine muscle fiber, small hardness, tender meat, delicious taste and little sheep smell. Also, it has high nutritional value and high protein content, low fat and cholesterol content, which help people nourish Yin and tonify Yang, complement weakness and strengthen body, improve human immunity, prolong life and beautify the features.

The black goat with the skin used in the hot pot has been ninety percent mature after special processing before on the table; hence, while tourists eating them, they will feel little sheep smell. Those black goats are put in mountains to breed; its meat is lean and delicious. The soup of the black goat hot pot is carefully boiled for 4-5 hours with using a secret herbal formula. Its thick fragrance, delicious taste, plus local vegetables, taste great! 

Lijiang Black Goat Hot Pot

Tip
Native Black Goat Hot Pot in Lijiang is very famous and must to have a taste. The “native Black Goat street” in Jinkai square forms a spectacular scene that it is a street full of black brand which in order to highlight the black of native black goat, their signs are all black. The scene of this street can be comparable to the red lanterns bar street of Lijiang ancient city.

Eating black goat hot pot, besides mutton, you can still have some mutton offal that when you eat it is more comprehensive and balanced in nutrition of full-bodied flavor. A meal with mutton, mutton offal, vegetables and beer generally 130-150 Yuan is enough. Where to eat dried ribs hotpot, the locals answer is: Xiangshan market. Almost all the shops are selling dried ribs there, but at 2 p.m, every shop closed, only “Yujie” is op

Lijiang Black Goat Hot Pot
 

Yunnan people and Sichuan people can eat spicy food, but the spicy is in a different way. In Yunnan people like the dry chili powder, and Sichuan people like the spoon of red oil, each have each own characteristics. After putting fermented bean curd, its taste is better. When soup boiled, sprinkle a little pork ribs soup, the dip of dried ribs hot pot is done.

Dried Ribs Dip

Tips
Where to eat dried ribs hotpot, the locals answer is: Xiangshan market. Almost all the shops are selling dried ribs there, but at 2 p.m, every shop closed, only “Yujie” is open and there are a lot of people, especially the local people there to have dinner. That restaurant's environment is common, but its menu is indeed rich with delicious food. And the price is very reasonable.

On the streets of the Lijiang Ancient Town, you can see a well-known snack called the Chickpea Bean Jelly. The chickpeas are soybean which is the specialty of Eryuan County in Dali Prefecture adjacent to Lijiang; they are exported to Southeast Asian countries. Turn the chickpeas into powder; and then cook them into the off-white; pour into various containers to chill; hence, the Chickpea Bean Jelly is taken shape.

Bean Jelly is originally one kind of food for relieving summer heat, however, Lijiang Chickpea Bean Jelly is not only a kind of cool food, but also can be hot to eat. The stores selling Chickpea Bean Jelly have hands ready to adapt to customer requirements.

As a cool food, Chickpea Bean Jelly is always ate in summer. Mixing up the crystal flakes, pimiento, green leek, pepper, shallots, mustard, vinegar and other condiments, you will enjoy a kind of delicious food with good color, aroma and taste which is appetizing and refreshing. As a hot food, it is often eaten in cold seasons. Put it on a pan and fry it till till both sides become yellow color. Eating together with variety of spicy or sour condiments according to personal taste, you will feel your whole body become warm.

Chickpea Bean Jelly
 

Lijiang Stuffed Bun, unique flavor food of the Naxi Nationality, has a long history. Lijiang Stuffed Bun is divided into two tastes including salty and sweet taste. You can arbitrarily choose in accordance with you own tastes. It has golden color, well flavor and aroma, and crispy and delicious taste. In Lijiang Ancient Town, there are many franchise shops selling Lijiang Stuffed Bun, mostly operated by adult women, who have skill and superb craftsmanship and operate flourishing business.

One of its characteristics is that it has good color, smell and taste. The main raw material for production is the fine wheat flour produced in Lijiang. Fill the wheat flour with spring which flows down from the Yulong Snow Mountain to make into synthetic dough; and then paint on vegetable oil on the marble slate, roll into pieces of sheet, sprinkle with ham or sugar, roll into cylindric shape, enfold sesame, walnut and other condiments in the middle, and bake in pan to fry it into golden brown with the gentle heat, hence, Lijiang Stuffed Bun is produced.

The second feature is that it is non-perishable food. It will not mildew even if it is placed after a few days. No matter taking it during your trip or as gifts to distant relatives and friends, you do not have to worry about, just take it out and lightly steam or fry it, it is still crisp and sweet. Because of this special feature, Lijiang Stuffed Bun is highly favored by tourists.

Lijiang Rice Sausage is a kind of special flavor food in Lijiang. It is made of pig blood, rice and various spices which are mixed together according to certain proportion. And then pour into the processed pig intestines; hence, the delicious Lijiang Rice Sausage is produced. Processing and manufacturing rice sausage has become traditional habit of the Naxi Nationality who are living in Yunnan.

For the time of killing pigs at the end of the year, almost every naxi people has to make some rice sausages. If they have some family members out to study or work, they will try to request some other people to bring some to their families. While eating the rice sausages, you should cut them into wafer, or fry them with hot oil, or with steam them with steamer. Lijiang Rice Sausage has glossy colour, fragrant smell as well as high nutritional value; they are good items for enriching the blood and nourishing your vitality.

Lijiang Rice Sausage
 

Buttered Tea, same as Lijiang Stuffed Bun, has two flavors including salty and sweet flavors. It is made of butter, eggs, salt, hemp seeds, and peanuts, walnuts, which are served in a slender wooden barrel filling with stewed liquid of tea leaves; and then use a stick to repeatedly stir.

Buttered Tea is the main way of tea drinking in numerous ethnic groups in Lijiang area, and also is the the necessary food at the start of a day. For those people who drink buttered tea the first time, she will feel some kind of a strange smell for the first bite, however, if you insist to drink more, you will be able to appreciate the mellow of the tea. Buttered Tea is sold in many stores in Lijiang Ancient Town; it is a part of culture in Lijiang and also the representative of Lijiang food.

Buttered Tea
 

Lijiang Succades are processing products using the preservation method with the sugar along with the raw materials fruit and vegetable. Generated using a strong osmotic pressure caused by a high concentration of sugar, forcing the fruit and vegetable water to be discharged and sugar to be penetrated, while suppressing the growth of microorganisms, so that the fruits and vegetables can be maintained in good condition. Again after reasonable formulations and a few processing technologies, the fruits and vegetables become various flavors of candied fruits. To produce succades initially is to save the remaining fruits and vegetables due to the changes of seasons with sugar or salt dehydration so that it can be stored for a long; and later with the constant improvement of the production process, it evolved into a popular food today which can be eaten in four seasons.

Lijiang Succade has various tastes, such as white gourd, plum, bletilla formosana, hot pepper, sweet potato, tomato, pawpaw, plum-leaf crab, lotus root, eggplant, grapefruit, orange, etc…Those succades are shining brilliantly like excellent topaz with a variety of flavor.