Chinese Miao Cuisine: Colorful, Spicy, and more!

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 the Miao lead a hard and simple life in remote mountainous areas of southern and southwestern China. Even in their holidays and ceremonies, food showed on a table doesn't look very luxurious. However the Miao have some unique food which is unlike that in most places of China.

Colorful glutinous rice

Glutinous rice is the staple food of Miao culture. During holidays a unique colorful rice is prepared for guests. There are five different colors in the rice: yellow, red, white, black, and blue. The colors are from juices of varied plants. It looks beautiful, and tastes deliciously sweet.

The single girls send their lovers the sweet, colorful glutinous rice as a gift. They may place a few specific things in the rice basket to imply if they have a future. A bamboo hook indicates that the man should buy the girl an umbrella as a gift. A tree branch implies they have no future. A toon sprout means they can marry soon. On their wedding day, the couple will eat glutinous rice paste with phoenix, dragon, and baby patterns on it.

Oil-tea

A very common Miao beverage is “oil-tea.”It is a everyday drink for some people. Salt, ginger, and oil are put together with the tea leaves and then fried in a wok. Then water is added and the whole brew is brought to a boil. The tea leaves are beaten into pieces with a mallet and the concoction is then boiled for a while longer. The tea is then filtered and mixed together with corn, beans, peanuts, or glutinous rice, and then some spring onions, garlic, and peppers can be added.

Now you can enjoy a big cup of rich and deep tea.

Together with oil-tea, a chopstick is often provided. Lay the chopstick onto your bowl if you don't need tea anymore. Otherwise, you will be served tea non-stop!

Sour soup

A special sour soup is served all year round. It is made of fermented rice and various kinds of steamed vegetables. 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, minced and fried chili peppers are the main spices added into Miao dishes.

There are many ways to cook chili peppers. You can fry or bake them, and then mix them together with wine, ginger, or garlic to get varied tastes. The flavoring can be kept for quite a long time after it is put into a jar.

Chicken and duck

The Miao like chicken and duck meat, and especially chicken or duck's heart. The innards are almost always reserved for the elderly and special guests to show respect.

Wine

Wine has a long history among the Miao. Nearly each Miao family can make wine at home.

The sticky rice and a special fruit can be used to make a sweet wine which tastes delicious and helps digestion. While visiting a Miao village, you will be entertained by the local people with a whole wine service. From the road to their village gate, there are twelve different sites used for this service. If you can finish all 12 bowls of wine, you’ll be a hero! Don't feel uneasy if you can't. You just need to touch the bowl with your lips softly, and say "Dou She Mo," which is " Thank you" in the Miao language!”then you will have no problem to 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. Lots of wine is sure to be served too!