Chinabites

Posted: May. 21, 2009

One of the hidden gems of Chinese cuisine is Yunnan food. The under-representation of Yunnanese cuisine outside of China is somewhat puzzling given the success rates I’ve had when I introduce it to travelers coming to China for the first time.

Yunnan has numerous ethnic minorities, many with their own unique cultural, linguistic, and of course, culinary identity. One of the more famous Yunnanese ethnic cuisines is the cuisine of the Dai people. One of the defining aspects of Dai cuisine is a tart, sour flavor that characterizes many of its key ingredients and dishes. Main stays include any number of dishes with suān sǔn (酸笋), or sour preserved bamboo shoots, beef jerky or chicken prepared in lime or lemon marinades, and pineapple rice.

I learned to love Dai cuisine in Beijing, at the Rainbow Cloud Room restaurant. Upon arrival in Kunming one of the first orders of business was to explore what the local Dai restaurants had to offer.

The first Dai meal I had in Kunming, at the Dai Bamboo House, was an absolute knockout. I managed to get a table on the bamboo-faced terrace just above street level and enjoyed tiny roasted sunflower seeds while the waitress brought the menu. The meal started with a glass of shuǐ jiǔ (水酒), or homemade chilled rice wine.

When I’ve had rice wine outside of Yunnan it is generally a very mellow, sweet wine, with very low alcohol content and a distinctively full rice-like aftertaste. The rice wine at the Dai Bamboo House was slightly stronger and had a surprising and refreshing tang on the tongue which reminded me instantly of carbonation. It took several sips for me to satisfy myself that I was not drinking a carbonated beverage, but rather one which was causing a pleasant prickling sensation on my tongue.

From that high note the meal continued to impress. I followed the suggestions of my helpful waitress and ordered the guǐjī (鬼鸡), boneless chicken with chillis in a lime marinade served cold.

Next up was shuǐjué cài (水蕨菜) a tender regional green vegetable which my Chinese-English dictionary unhelpfully identifies as “bracken”. This particular “bracken” was served with thin green beans, tomatoes, and garlic.

I made an impromptu dessert from another Dai staple, fried bananas, which were golden and crispy on the outside delightfully firm and tart on the inside.

The waitstaff were extremely helpful and friendly. I chatted with the manager of the restaurant after the meal. I asked whether this was a frequent tourist destination and she replied that most of their customers are locals. The irony of course is that this news delighted the tourist in me, giving me the feeling that I had discovered something unique and local.

I was so encouraged by the successful Dai adventure of the previous night that I tried for a new Dai restaurant the next day at lunchtime. The results were decidedly less thrilling, and will be the subject of a subsequent Chinabites blog post.