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How Chinese Dishes Were Named
China is a country that attaches great importance to names, honor, and prestige.

Manchu and Han Banquet
The Manchu and Han banquet was introduced during Emperor Kangxi’s reign at the government house and official residence of the upper strata.

Tibetan (Xizang) Cuisine

2004-09-30 14:11:30

 

  Tibetan cuisine is divided into two types:
  1) pastoral: nomads basically consume meat and milk, mutton and other types of meat, which is sometimes dried and eaten in winter, while yogurt and cheese are eaten in summer. These foods are rich in protein and calories. Greasy green tea is usually drunk Tibetan meals.
  2) farming: fond of Zamba (roasted Qingke barley flour), Qingke wine, pork and potatoes.
  
  Tibetans have mild palates. Salt, garlic and green Chinese onion are the only seasonings they use. Of course, if guests like spicy food, the versatile Tibetan chefs can satisfy their appetites.
  
  There are more than 60 varieties of typical Tibetan dishes, such as rice with milk and meat dumplings in sparerib soup. Tibetan snacks include yak blood cubes, which are made by the drawing 0.25 kg of blood from the veins of a yak. It is then poured into a pan and boiled on a slow fire until the blood solidifies, cut it into cubes. Hot butter is poured on them and white sugar is added.
  
  Lhasa
  Lhasa has more than 100 Tibetan-style restaurants, with painted wooden tables, iron stoves, and porcelain bowls and religious statues. Tourists can choose from a variety of sausages, Zamba, beef or mutton eaten with the fingers, cold yak tongues dressed with sauce, noodles, buttered tea, sweet tea and milk tea.
  
  Visitors to Tibetan homes should pay attention to the methods of drinking various beverages. When drinking buttered tea, wait until the tea cools, then blow the surface oil away and sip the tea with the lips fairly closed together. If you want more, leave some tea in the bowl. If you drain the bowl, it is a sign that you have had enough. When drinking Qingke wine, keep the body straight, hold the cup with both hands, look straight ahead and listen as the host sings a song. After the song, you say a few polite words, hold the cup in the right hand, dip the third finger of the left hand into the wine three times and flip three drops of wine into the air as offerings to Buddha, and then toss off the remainder of the wine. If the host asks you to drink a cup in three gulps, you sip twice, but drain the cup the third time. If you do not want any more, after flipping three drops of wine in the air, just taste your finger and the host will understand. If the guest feels uncomfortable or unable to drink much, he or she should explain it to the host. The lack of oxygen on the high Tibetan Plateau makes it inadvisable to overindulge in alcoholic drinks.


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