Distinctive Tibetan Food

Distinctive Tibetan Food – Beef and Mutton

The beef and mutton are staple Tibetan food. In pasturing area, people do not eat vegetables, and the diet structure is very simple. As we all know, the beef and mutton are with high calories, which is helpful for resisting cold for people on high plateau. It is very interesting that Tibetans have the habit of eating fresh meat. If you come to some Tibetan family on pasture or agriculture area, you can see the dried beef and mutton which are hanging in the tent or house. If you visit these families, the host will take out these dried meats to invite you to taste. This is distinctive flavor which only can be tasted on high plateau.

Distinctive Tibetan Food – Drinks

Various drinks in Tibet are necessary nutritious food among Tibetan Food. The Tibetan drinks include butter tea, sweet tea, and barley wine and so on. The butter tea is often had together with tsamba which is another staple Tibetan food, but also regarded as daily drink. The butter tea and sweet tea separately made up butter, milk or milk powder, adding tea, salt and sugar. Both butter tea and sweet tea have the function of tea. In Tibet, it is ancient tradition that use butter tea to entertain guests. No matter you walk into herdsman's tent, farmer's house, or visit relatives and friends, the host will present you prepared butter tea. When Tibetans go afar, the relatives and friends will present a white Hada and a bowl of butter tea to express blessing, Another Tibetan drinks is barley wine which brewed from barley. In Tibet, everyone will drink this kind of wine. Before festivals, Tibetans will brew large amount of barley wine. From March to August, almost in every traditional or non-traditional festival, Tibetans will take the sweet and intoxicating barley wine to the grassland, put up colorful tent, to drink the barley wine, while singing and dancing. It fully shows the charm of Tibetan wine culture.

Distinctive Tibetan Food – Ghee

You can see ghee everywhere in Tibet. On the Barkhor Street in Lhasa, the herdsmen take piece of ghee, or a bag of ghee to sell. No matter in the city or countryside, every grain shop will continuously supply ghee. When you walk into every Tibetan family, the ghee is necessary thing on the cupboard. In conclusion, ghee is necessary Tibetan food in every Tibetan family. The ghee is extracted from milk and goat's milk. It is very interesting to extract ghee before the milk separator widely used in Tibet. Tibetan women first heat up the milk, then pour the milk into a big bucket which named "Xuedong", after that beat the milk for hundreds times until the oil separate from water and there appear light yellow fattiness on the surface. At last, put the fattiness into a leather bag, and cool it. That the ghee in Tibet. The ghee is with high nutrients. Tibetans almost have less vegetables and fruits. The daily calories, except supplied by meat, mainly offered by ghee. There are many ways to eat ghee, but it mainly used to make butter tea and eat with tsamba. In festival, Tibetans also use ghee to fry food.