A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups

A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups
May 31, 2014 By Andrea Scarlatelli , eChinacities.com

Part of the wonder of living in China is the opportunity to sample so many varieties of food. Yes, they can all be classified as "Chinese," but that’s about as descriptive as "American food." The nuances of Chinese food come from the differences in regional preference, access to ingredients, and downright creativity. Read on for the best dishes from a sampling of Chinese minority groups – and accompanying recipes so you can try making them yourself!

1) Uyghur
One of the more well-known minorities in China, the Uyghurs mostly reside in Xinjiang (although they are also well represented in Hunan Province). Naan bread, unsweetened yogurt, and a heavy affinity towards lamb and chicken give Uyghur cuisine a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor. It also tends to feature stewed vegetables such as eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and carrots that lend a "comfort food" feel to the dishes, despite the sometimes exotic spices that accompany them.

A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups
Photo: feedingthedragon.com

Recommended dish: Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Yogurt (烤羊肉串配酸奶)
(www.feedingthedragon.com)

Serving size: 18 skewers

Ingredients:
1 egg
20 ml cornstarch (玉米淀粉)
1 kg boneless lamb, cut into 2 centimeter cubes
44 ml cumin seeds (孜然)
44 ml coriander seeds (胡荽子)
5 ml salt
5 ml pure ground red chilies (also called Asian chili powder)
44 ml vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt

Instructions:
A) Beat the egg and cornstarch in a large bowl. Toss in the lamb so all the cubes are coated and refrigerate for one hour.

B) Prepare a medium fire in a charcoal grill (gas can also be used although charcoal is much better in terms of flavor) and oil the grill grates.

C) Roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a skillet over medium heat just until you smell the spices (be careful not to let them burn). Immediately remove skillet from heat and let cool. Grind the seeds into a coarse powder (you can do this with a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle).

D) Mix powder with salt and chili powder. Spear 5 cubes of lamb onto each skewer and rub the spice mixture over the meat. Brush tops of the skewers with oil.

E) Grill skewers until crusty and brown on the outside, and medium-rare on the inside. Serve the kebabs with a side of yogurt for dipping.

2) Zhuang
The Zhuang group is officially the largest minority group in China, with over 18 million people living throughout mostly Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Hunan, and Guizhou Provinces. Their dishes often focus on a combination of salty and sour flavors and include pickles, oil tea (tea leaves fried with rice in oil), and soups. The unique salty/sour combination can perhaps be epitomized in their penchant for preserved lemons – a whole lemon soaked for years in lemon juice and salt.

A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups
Photo: china-citytour.com

Recommended dish: Lemon Duck ( 柠檬鸭)
(www.foodrecipe.com)

Serving size: 8

Ingredients:
3 slices root ginger
2 onions
2 lemons
1.35-1.8 kilograms duck
10 ml salt
1 sheet pork skin (12.5x12.5) (一张肉皮)
60 ml soy sauce
250 ml water
45 ml sherry

Directions:
A) Shred ginger and cut onions into thin slices.

B) Prick 1 lemon a few times with a fork and slice the other lemon into eight segments. Rub the duck inside and outside with salt, then insert the punctured lemon into the cavity of the duck.

C) Place the duck in a deep sided casserole dish, and sprinkle it with ginger and remaining onion. Place the pork skin on top, using it to help keep the ginger and onion in place.

D) Combine soy sauce, water, and sherry, and pour over the duck. Cover the casserole dish and place it in a tray half-filled with water. Put the tray in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 2.5 hours.

E) Remove from oven and take away pork skin, onion and ginger from the duck. Transfer duck to a deep-sided serving dish.

F) Skim fat off the remaining liquid in the casserole dish in which the duck was cooked. Rapidly boil the liquid to reduce the amount by a third. Pour the desired amount of liquid over the duck and serve.

3) Tibetan
Tibetans in China have had a rough road, but their food culture has endured for centuries. Only the 10th largest minority group in China, they nonetheless retain very distinctive flavors in their cuisines, which includes yak milk-based dishes (such as yak butter tea), dried beef and lamb, and "tsampa," a roasted barley flour. Laping noodles, made with potato or mung bean starch and water, are also used in cold dishes. The recipe below substitutes the sometimes-hard-to-find laping noodle with the glass variety.

A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups
Photo: yowangdu.com

Recommended dish: "Laping" Noodles
(www.yowangdu.com)

Serving size: 6-8

Ingredients:
7 cloves of garlic, minced
1 stalk green onion, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, chopped (芫荽叶)
5 ml salt
5 ml rice vinegar
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup crushed dried red pepper (note: this amount of red pepper makes the dish extremely spicy – for those who don’t want it so hot, use roughly half this amount)
1 large package of glass noodles

Instructions:
A) Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Place noodles in refrigerator until they are chilled.

B) Combine garlic, onion and cilantro with salt, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and crushed dried red pepper in a small bowl and stir well.

C) Drizzle sauce over the glass noodles, and then mix gently with a spatula until it is evenly and thoroughly coated.

4) Dai
The Dai (or "Tai" as they were called until 1953) minority lives mostly in Yunnan Province, where the hot, humid weather influences their culinary preferences. For example, bugs are a constant nuisance in the tropical heat, so the Dai have turned them into a favorite snack – roasted, fried, or grilled. They also enjoy a variety of meat and fish, with the exception of lamb or mutton. Spicy dishes are common, although the heat doesn’t usually compare to some other, more famous Chinese cuisines.


A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups
Photo: cn.openrice.com

Recommended dish: Banana Leaf Fish (蕉叶鱼)
(Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue Through China with Recipes)

Serving size: 4

Ingredients:
3 fresh small red chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ml minced fresh ginger
5 ml kosher salt
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (芫荽叶)
3/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil, coarsely chopped
15 ml vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine
4 fillets (about 170 grams each) of white fish (like tilapia or halibut)
4 banana leaves or 12-inch pieces of aluminum foil (蕉叶)

Instructions:
A) Preheat oven to 232 degrees Celsius. Mash chilies, garlic, ginger, salt, cilantro, and basil into a chunky paste (using a mortar and pestle is best). Whisk in oil and wine until blended well.

B) Place a fish fillet to the right of center on a banana leaf or a piece of foil. Place on quarter of the cilantro paste on the fish and spread it around until fish is covered. Fold the left side of the banana leaf or foil in half over the fish. Fold each of the three open sides inward several times to make a packet with a tight seal. If you’re using a banana leaf, use toothpicks to secure the folded edges. Repeat with remaining fish, paste, and banana leaves or foil.

C) Place the packets seam side up on a baking pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.

D) Serve in the banana leaf or remove the fish from the foil and place on a plate with the juices.

5) Mongolian
The roughly six million Mongolians in China mostly reside in the northeastern provinces. Interestingly enough, according to www.china.org.cn, twice as many Mongols live in China as in Mongolia itself. They are traditionally a nomadic people, which is reflected in their meat- and dairy-heavy diet. Beef, goat, or lamb are often roasted and served alongside a milk-based accompaniment such as milk tea, milk tofu, or fermented mare’s milk. The cuisine tends toward heavy, hearty fare – perfect for battling those frigid northeast winters.

A Taste of All China: 5 Great Dishes from Minority Groups
Photo: nipic.com

Recommended dish: Spicy Mongolian Beef (蒙古牛肉)
(www.chinese.food.com)

Ingredients:
½ kilo lean ground beef lean ground beef
5 cups finely shredded Chinese cabbage
10 ml sea salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
30 ml dry sherry
30 ml hoisin sauce
15 ml oyster sauce
5 ml malt vinegar
2.5 ml sesame oil
1 small carrot, peeled and finely sliced
½ medium red pepper, finely sliced
¾ cup finely sliced green onion

Marinade:
30 ml dry sherry
15 ml light soy sauce
15 ml cornstarch
15 ml finely diced gingerroot
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
2.5 ml sesame oil

Instructions:
A) Combine ground beef with marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

B) Meanwhile, combine cabbage and salt in a large bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes, then rinse under cold water and drain, squeezing out any excess liquid.

C) Heat 30 ml of oil in a hot wok until surface shimmers slightly. Add half the marinated beef and stir-fry for 30 seconds, breaking up any lumps with a spoon. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside.

D) Add remaining oil to hot wok. Stir in remaining beef and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Return reserved beef mixture to the wok with sherry, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar and sesame oil and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

E) Toss in cabbage, carrot, and pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in scallions and remove from heat. Serve.

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Keywords: China minority group dishes Uyghur dishes great food China cooking in China Chinese recipes

5 Comments

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Guest793100

Yummy yummy

Aug 31, 2014 10:56 Report Abuse

ChefKitten

I generally don't trust the food sold in Chinese street, but as a cook I have to admit the taste is awesome. If Chinese street food vendors could serve clean and healthy dishes, the country would be a heaven!

Jun 04, 2014 15:56 Report Abuse

Laowei

If.... Stephen Hawking would have a better chance winning a marathon, than that happening.

Jun 08, 2014 04:20 Report Abuse

bill8899

Aaaannndd they're talking about delicious food again.

May 31, 2014 03:21 Report Abuse

Jonathan

I've never seen the onions in the Xinjiang photo prepared as that looks. Why not throw in a recipe for laohucai and be redeemed?

Sep 21, 2012 22:22 Report Abuse