|
| Tibetan
Food and Drinks |
| Food and drink in Tibet are much related to climate,
local products, religion and folk customs. |
Food |
| Tsampa |
| Traditional staple food of Tibetan is Tsampa, roasted
barley flour mixed with Tibetan yak-butter tea. Tibetan usually get some
flour with salted butter tea in a bowl, rotate the bowl with the left
hand and mix the food with the fingers of the right hand, roll it into
small lump, then squeeze it into the mouth with the fingers. Other
ingredients may also be added to enrich the flavors. Tibetans eat Tsampa
every day and bring it as snack food while traveling. |
| Yak Butter |
| Yak Butter, refined from the milk of yaks, is the
daily food of Tibetans. It has very high value of nutrition. The way of
Tibetans to refine yak butter is very intriguing. Tibetan nomads usually
refine milk in the primitive segregators manually. They pour the heated
milk into a big wooden bucket called "Xue Dong", then whip forcibly up
and down for many times to segregate butter from water. Gradually a tier
of something light yellow was afloat, subsequently ladle the butter and
put it into a leather bag to cool it. |
| Beef and Mutton |
| Tibetans like to eat beef and mutton because meat can
provide enough energy to withstand coldness in the high elevation areas.
Usually Tibetans boil beef and mutton with salt, ginger and spices. They
take the meat in hands and cut them with their knives. Some Tibetans
like to eat dried beef and mutton. In the winter, Tibetans cut beef and
mutton into long stripes and hung in shaded place. The dried meat is
crisp and tastes good. |
| Yoghurts and Milk Sediments |
| The popular milk products are yoghourt and milk
sediment. There are two kinds of yoghourts. One is ¡°Daxue¡± (Tibetan
word), which is made of milk from which ghee has been refined; the other
is ¡°Exue¡± (Tibetan word) made of milk from which ghee has not been
refined. Yoghourt is a kind of food full of nourishing components and
easier to digest. Milk sediment is usually used to make Tibet buns. |
| Tibetan Sausages |
| Tibetans like varied sausages made of yak meat, yak
blood and flour. |
| Momo |
| Momo, Tibetan ¡°Ravioli or dumpling¡±, is the most
famous and popular of Tibetan food. The half-moon-shaped Momo filled
with meat, vegetables and ginger can be either steamed or fried. |
| Thenthuk (Tibetan Noodle Soup) |
| A typical Tibetan noodle soup can keep the nomads
withstand the coldness during winter time. It can be made either with
vegetables or meat. |
Drink |
| Salted Yak Butter Tea |
| The salted butter tea is made of boiled tea poured
into a long cylindrical churn along with salt and yak butter. Vigorous
churning makes the ingredients well blended and ready to serve. Tibetan
people drink it throughout the whole day. Almost every traveler samples
the yak butter tea because it is surely to be a highlight of the trip to
Tibet. |
| Sweet Milk Tea |
| Besides salted yak butter tea, sweet milk tea is also
popular among Tibetans. Hot boiling black tea filtered is decanted into
a churn, and mixed with fresh milk and sugar. Many teashops in Tibet
serve the sweet milk tea. It is worth of trying it on the trip. |
| Tibetan Barley Wine |
| Known as Chang, Tibetan barley wine is brewed from
fermented barley grown on the highland. The wine is mild, slightly sweet
and sour and contains little alcohol. The taste of alcohol differs from
one to another due to the brewing method and duration. It is a very
popular alcoholic drink in Tibet. |
