Lisu food

The Lisu ethnic minority mainly lives in Yunnan Province in southern China. Most Lisus live in the mountains on both banks of Nujiang River. They can only grow grains on steep mountain slopes. There is no plain field, and thus little paddy field. They can only develop terraces on the gentle slopes on the banks to plant paddy rice. In the mountains, only maize, buckwheat and some millet can grow.

Due to the geographic conditions, the output of wheat is low but the cost is high, thus the ordinary households seldom eat rice. Taro is a favorite food for Lisus, and can be served as grains. Therefore, every family plants taros.

Lisus usually have three meals a day.

Lisus living along the Lijiang River are fond of dried maize rice. They remove the covering leaves of ripe maize in the autumn, boil them in hot water for a while, and dry them in the shade for preservation. When cooking, they rub off the corns, grind off the coat of the corns with a wooden pestle, and boil them over slow fire with kidney beans, pig head meat or pork chops. It is really delicious. Most Lisus are fond of popcorns.

Barbecue is Lisus' traditional way of cooking meat. Pork, beef, chicken and fish can all be barbecued. The meat cooked in this way tastes delicious and crisp. It is their dietetic feature that has been formed in the long history of hunting and excavating. But Lisus do not eat meat of buffalos, dogs, cats or horses.

Due to the richness ofQiyou(a kind of oil) in the area, all dishes are cooked withQiyou.

Lisus are fond of sesame seed tea. They put sesame seeds into a pot, bake them over small fires till they look yellowish, then crunch and put them into hot water. After the tea has been boiled for 6 or 7 minutes, get rid of the solid residues, pour the liquid back into the pot and add in salt or sugar. It is ready to drink when it is boiled. The tea appears pure white, and people may be drunk if they drink a lot.