My little adventure with the Yi Cuisine Menu
So, the other day, I got this idea stuck in my head about Yi cuisine. Remembered hearing about it ages ago, maybe saw something on a travel show, or perhaps it was from that trip way back when. Can’t quite recall. Anyway, I got curious about what a proper Yi cuisine menu actually looks like. You know, the real deal, not just some generic “ethnic food” thing.
First thing, obviously, I hit the internet. Typed in “Yi cuisine menu,” “Yi ethnic food,” all that jazz. And let me tell you, it wasn’t like finding a pizza menu down the street. Information was scattered. Lots of mentions of buckwheat, potatoes, sour and spicy flavors, preserved meats… but getting a coherent list, like a typical menu structure? Tougher than I thought. Seemed like a lot of it was just academic papers or very niche travel blogs. Made me think, this stuff isn’t really mainstream, is it?
Trying to piece it together
I spent a good couple of hours just clicking around, translating bits and pieces from Chinese sites using those clunky online tools. Started jotting down names that kept popping up. Things like:
- Buckwheat cakes or bread (Qiao Ba seems to be a name)
- Sour soup dishes (Suan Tang something)
- Potato dishes (loads of ways to cook potatoes, apparently)
- Preserved pork (La Rou maybe?)
- Some kind of grilled meats
It felt like detective work, honestly. I wasn’t even trying to cook anything yet, just wanted to understand what people would actually order if they went to a place serving this food. I found some pictures, food looked hearty, rustic. Definitely different.
The hunt for something real
Reading about it is one thing, right? I wanted to get a feel for it. My first thought was, maybe there’s a restaurant nearby? Nope. Checked all the usual delivery apps and local listings. Nothing specifically advertising “Yi cuisine.” Kind of disappointing. It reminded me of this time years ago I was trying to find authentic Parsi food after reading a novel set in Mumbai. Took me ages then, too. Seems like some culinary traditions just stay hidden away unless you know where to look, or you’re actually there.
So, plan B: Could I maybe recreate one dish? I focused on the buckwheat idea, seemed central. Found a few recipe descriptions, but again, vague. “Mix buckwheat flour with water, add seasonings, steam or bake.” Okay… which seasonings? How much water? It’s like someone telling you to “just build a chair” without any plans.
I did manage to get some buckwheat flour easily enough. Tried making a simple steamed cake thing. Added some salt, a bit of chili flake I had lying around. The result? Edible. Ish. Probably nowhere near the real thing. It was dense, kinda bland apart from the chili. Definitely missing some secret ingredient or technique. Made me appreciate the skill that goes into even simple traditional foods.
What I learned (sort of)
So, after all that digging and my slightly sad buckwheat experiment, do I have a definitive “Yi Cuisine Menu”? Nah, not really. I have a better idea, a collection of potential dishes and flavor profiles. It’s clear that buckwheat, potatoes, sourness, and spice are big players. Preserving meat also seems important.
The whole exercise just showed me how hard it can be to really connect with a specific food culture when you’re outside of it. Menus aren’t just lists of food; they tell a story about ingredients, history, people. And sometimes, you can’t just look up that story online, you gotta go find it. Maybe one day I’ll actually get to try the real stuff in Yunnan or Sichuan. Until then, my curiosity is satisfied… for now. It was an interesting afternoon, anyway.
