The impression of Tibetan food always seems to have nothing to do with food. The mountains and rivers are far away, and simple tea and light rice are the most intuitive feelings about Tibetan food. The categories of Tibetan food are not complicated, and the four treasures of Tibetan food almost concentrate the essence of Tibetan food-beef and mutton, dairy products, highland barley and tea. Simple, rough and practical, Tibetan food life is completely integrated with these four foods, just like the simple and heroic character of Tibetans.
The simplicity of Tibetan food is not limited by products, nor is it just for the convenience of nomadic life. Tibetans are an innate nation, and gods and buddhas occupy almost every Tibetan's heart. Even if the products in the sacred mountains and lakes are delicious, they will not be tempted by them. Tibetans believe that when a person's mind is occupied by faith, eating is only a simple way to maintain physical needs. Han nationality is a nation that has entered the WTO. Animals and birds, delicacies and delicacies, as long as they can be digested, will be enjoyed. This is the biggest difference between Tibetan and Han people in their dietary concept.
Buddhists believe in the equality of all beings and have great awe of life. Tibetans have many taboos in diet, especially small animals. They think this is the same life. A cow can feed many people for many days, but dozens of frogs or birds can only fill one person's stomach, which is the biggest blasphemy to life. It is precisely because Tibetans respect the creatures in the world and despise their own desires that Tibetan food culture is extremely simple.
Although the style of Tibetan food is simple, its taste is not inferior to that of the eight major cuisines. Driving all the way, I like these four kinds of food best.
Baba:
It is one of the traditional staple foods of Tibetan herdsmen. If you are a guest in the home of a Tibetan compatriot, the host will definitely bring a homemade Ciba and fragrant milk tea. The table is full of golden ghee, sparkling white sugar and milk yellow qula (casein), which is very beautiful. Ciba is flour made by cleaning, drying and frying highland barley. When eating, mix well with a small amount of butter tea, milk residue and sugar, and you can eat. At the entrance, the aroma of highland barley fried noodles and the rich aroma of butter tea instantly bloom on the tip of the tongue, which is memorable. In addition to the excellent taste experience, Ciba is rich in nutritional value and extremely high in calories. In addition, it is easy to carry and store, and has become a necessary thing for Tibetans to satisfy their hunger and keep out the cold during long-distance travel.
Buttered tea:
It is a special drink in China and Tibet. Often eaten with Ciba, it has the functions of refreshing the brain, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst. Butter tea is made of butter and strong tea: first, put a proper amount of butter into a special bucket, add salt, then pour in the boiled strong tea juice, and stir it repeatedly with a wooden handle to make the butter and tea juice dissolve into one. It usually takes more than 1500 times to forge the purest and most fragrant butter tea.
Roasted lamb chops:
Beef and mutton are important raw materials in Tibetan cuisine. Beef is mainly plateau yak meat, and mutton is mostly sheep meat, which is tender and delicious. In addition to the traditional air-dried meat and tuotuo meat, roast lamb chops are also an authentic food that cannot be missed in Tibetan food. Boil the lamb chops in hot water until they are half cooked, and then turn them over on the grill for roasting. Only a small amount of seasoning is put in the whole process, which removes the smell of mutton and completely retains the original flavor and fresh taste of mutton. Lamb chops sprinkled with grease with the aroma of cumin and Chili noodles can't help but make people's index fingers move.
Highland barley wine:
According to historical records, Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty married Tubo from Chang 'an in the 7th century A.D., and introduced the advanced brewing technology of the Han nationality into Tibet. After 1300 years of historical changes, Tibetan wine culture with highland barley wine as the carrier is famous at home and abroad for its unique style of fragrance, mellow, sweet and crisp.
The mature brewing technology of highland barley wine is even more enviable: clean highland barley quickly to avoid affecting the taste because it is placed in water for a long time. Then use a certain amount of water to boil highland barley, and turn it slowly with a wooden stick to make it heated evenly. When it is ripe, turn off the fire and sit still, waiting for the highland barley to completely absorb the water in the pot. When it is warm, spread it flat on a clean cloth and evenly sprinkle with special distiller's yeast. When laying koji, highland barley wine will be bitter if the temperature is too high, and the fermentation effect will be poor if the temperature is too low, so it is particularly important to grasp the time. After sprinkling the yeast, put the highland barley wine into the pot and cover it with insulation layer for preservation. It can be fermented two nights in summer and at least three days in winter. If the temperature is right, you will smell the wine after one night.
In addition to professional breweries, many local brewers still use a series of tedious processes such as natural koji-making-manual preparation-old altar aging to brew highland barley wine. The technology passed down from our ancestors is different, and the taste is different. If you have time to visit, you might as well try to identify yourself. ...
In April this year, I traveled to Tibet. During my stay in Lhasa, I deliberately walked into the Kunren family, tasted an authentic Kunyan, and felt the delicacy of Tibetan food and the enthusiasm of Tibetans at close range. ......