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The Miao minority group inhabit the mountainous areas of southwestern China. They boast a series of local artwork, including excellent batik, embroidery, brocade, and silver jewels, all of which attracts tourists to visit their hometown. If you also want to visit there, don’t forget to taste their delicious cuisine “the baked food.” Some places even have handmade silver jewels for sale!

In a Miao restaurant, the waiter or waitress will first give you an apron to keep clothes from being stained by the oil. It’s actually a DIY service, because you will have to bake every food by yourself. Around a large electrical pan placed on your table, you can find all kinds of food, including shrimp, fish, chicken, mushroom, bean curd, potato, leek, pumpkin, celery, cucumber, and some wild vegetables collected from mountain. Bake the food in the pan, then dip it into a spicy sauce with pepper and garlic. You will surely like this ethnic flavor! Eat this with buckwheat cake and rice glue ball, Miao’s staple food, drink the special ginger tea, and you will have a most amazing dinning experience!

With a long history, baking food is quite popular in the Miao area. One small town with several local tribes has 500 restaurants which serve this food. In the early years a terrine was used to bake food. The vessel is almost as big as a straw hat, protruding in the middle, and with a furrow along the side to contain oil. Before baking, brush the central part with some oil. While charcoal burns under the vessel, you can smell the sweet fragrance in the air.

About the origin of baking food in Miao area, here is a story. About 400 years ago, Chinese government sent army to the Miao areas to suppress the rebellion. The local people were forced to hide in the forest and made a living on hunting. They placed the preys and wild vegetables found in the forest on tiles, and baked them together with oil and salt. To their surprise, the baked food didn’t taste bad at all as they expected. Later, this practice of baking food became popular in the whole Miao area, and even won the favor of the tourists who visited there.

In the first Chinese Gastrology Festival held in 2003, this special baked food got a gold medal.

While traveling in Miao area, you can enjoy this wonderful food, and unique silver jewels as well. That’s really great!

The Miao ethnic group live in the mountainous areas of southwestern China. They boast a series of local artwork, including excellent batik, embroidery, brocade, and silver jewels, all of which attracts tourists to visit their hometown. If you want to travel there, remember to taste their unique baked food.” Some places even have handmade silver jewels for sale!

In a Miao restaurant, you will first be offered an apron, which is used to protect clothes from being stained by the oil from food. It’s actually a DIY service, because you will have to bake every food by yourself. Around a big pan on your table, there are lots of different food for you to select, like fish, chicken, leek, cucumber, pumpkin, and some unnamed wild vegetables from mountain. Here’s how to enjoy your meal: bake some raw food in the pan, and when it is ready, dip it in a plate with spicy sauce of pepper, garlic, and spring onion. You will surely like this ethnic flavor! Eat this with buckwheat cake and rice glue ball, Miao’s staple food, drink the special ginger tea, and you will have a most amazing dinning experience!

With a long history, baking food is quite popular in the Miao area. One small town with several local tribes has 500 restaurants which serve this food. A terrine-style vessel was ever used to bake food. Big as a straw hat, the vessel has a projecting central part and a furrow along the side to contain oil. The central part will first be wiped with oil before food is put onto it. While charcoal burns under the vessel, you can smell the sweet fragrance in the air.

How does baking food start in Miao area, here is a story. About 400 years ago, Chinese government sent army to the Miao areas to suppress the rebellion. To escape chaos caused by the war, the local people had to ran to the forest and made a living on hunting and gathering. They got the preys and wild vegetables in the forest, and baked them with oil on tiles. Surprisingly enough, this baked food wasn’t bad at all. Since then, this baked food started to be popular in the Miao area, and loved by the tourists who traveled there.

In the first Chinese Gastrology Festival held in 2003, their baked food won a gold medal.

While traveling in Miao area, you can enjoy this wonderful food, and unique silver jewels as well. That’s really great!

The Miao are an ethnic minority, and admiring the glistening silver jewelry the women wear from head to toe, you may think they are rich. But their life is quite hard and simple because of the tough living conditions in mountainous areas of southern and southwestern China. Even during holidays and big ceremonies, food on a table doesn't seem to be sumptuous at all. However the Miao have some unique food that you can't find anywhere else in China.

Colorful glutinous rice

Glutinous rice is the staple food of Miao culture. They cook a unique and colorful rice to feed their friends during holidays. There are five distinct colors in the rice: blue, red, white, black, and yellow. The colors are from juices of varied plants. It looks alluring, and tastes sweet and delicious.

The single women usually give colorful glutinous rice to their lovers as a present. Various things can be placed in the rice basket to tell if the women like the men or not. A bamboo hook tells the man to get an umbrella for the girl as a present. A tree branch means their relationship is finished. A toon sprout means they can marry soon. A glutinous rice paste with the pattern of dragon, phoenix, and baby will be prepared for the bride and groom when they get married.

Oil-tea

A very common Miao beverage is “oil-tea.” Some people drink it every day. Tea leaves are fried in a pan with ginger, salt, and oil. Then put into some water, and boil them together. The tea leaves are beaten into pieces with a mallet and the concoction is then boiled for a while longer. The tea is then sieved and blended together with sticky rice, corn, or beans, and then some garlic, and peppers will be added.

Finally a cup of rich and deep tea is ready.

A chopstick is usually provided together with oil-tea. If you don't want tea anymore, then just lay the chopstick onto your bowl. If not, tea will be given to you endlessly!

Sour soup

A special sour soup is served all year round. The soup is made of different steamed vegetables and fermented rice. People like to use this sour soup to cook fish, chicken or meat, and it gives their dishes a special sour flavor.

Spicy flavoring

In ancient times, it was very difficult for the Miao to get salt, so they used hot peppers to add flavor to their dishes and developed a taste for very spicy food. Today the Miao use the minced and fried chili peppers as important flavoring for their dishes.

Lots of ways can be used to prepare chili peppers. They can be fried or baked, then mixed together with ginger, garlic, wine or soy sauce to achieve different tastes. You can keep the flavoring for long time if you put it into a jar.

Chicken and duck

The Miao like chicken and duck meat, and especially chicken or duck’s heart. The innards are always saved for the guests and elder to express respect.

Wine

Wine has a long history among the Miao. Almost every Miao family can make wine at home.

A unique fruit and glutinous rice can be used to make a sweet wine which tastes good and helps digestion. If you visit a Miao village, the local people will entertain you with a whole set of wine service. It will be set in twelve different places from the road to their village gate. You will be named as a hero if you can drink up all 12 bowls of wine! If you can't, don't worry. Just touch the bowl with your lips gently, and politely say “Dou She Mo,” which in the Miao language means “Thank you!” then you can pass.

Visit the Miao villages during their holidays, and you can enjoy their exciting singing and dancing performances, along with their fascinating embroidery and silver ornaments like the unique silver earrings. And sure, you can taste various kinds of wine as well!