Qinghai Food Guide: 10 Must-Try Dishes For First Timers

When traveling to Qinghai, one must try its diverse and unique cuisines such as Qinghai Hot Pot, Tripe in Clear Soup, West Side Steak, Lamb with Wildflower and Golden Melon, and others, all showcasing the local food culture.

A few cuisines you must try when traveling to Qinghai include:


1. Qinghai Hot Pot: A beloved of Qinghai people, Qinghai Hot Pot is known for its unique copper stove and colorful ingredients. Sitting around the stove and enjoying a steaming hot pot on a cold winter day is a great way to experience the flavor of Qinghai.


2. Tripe in Clear Soup: Xining's culinary treasure, sheep tripe is slowly stewed in clear soup, the fat gradually melts and blends perfectly with the seasonings, giving off an enticing aroma. When tasted, the delicate texture and fresh flavor make it unforgettable.


3. West Side Steak: Famous for its fine beef ingredients and unique cooking techniques. Each steak is like a work of art, tender, juicy and aromatic.


4. Lamb with Wildflower and Golden Melon: This dish skillfully combines Qinghai's lamb with golden melon. The lamb is tender and smooth, and the sweetness of the golden melon complements the freshness of the lamb.


5. Mutton in Pit Pot: As a unique flavor in the hearts of Qinghai people, mutton in pit pot is famous for its mellow meat aroma and smoky flavor of firewood. Tasting this dish in a countryside restaurant will give you a better sense of Qinghai's rural flavor.


6. Yuhuaer and Brick Bao Cheng: These two kinds of Qinghai-style noodles have their own characteristics. Oil flower is barley flour made roll type rolls, generally rolled with oil, beans, etc.; brick package city is the outer layer of white flour, the inner layer of mixed noodles rolls, shaped like a brick wall.


7. Dog pouring urine: a kind of noodle food popular in Qinghai area, pancakes fried with green oil. It is named after the action of pouring oil along the edge of the pan during the production process, which resembles a dog urinating, and although the name is peculiar, the taste is crispy and delicious.


8. Menyuan milk skin: Menyuan region's unique Hui dairy products, is the essence of milk. The milk skin is white with yellow color, oil flower, tender and crispy taste, rich in high quality protein and a variety of trace elements.


9. Homemade yogurt: Qinghai Hui people process their own homemade yogurt, which is very different from the factory-processed yogurt. This kind of yogurt surface milk skin golden, oil stains, aromatic, cool and slightly acidic, plus a spoonful of sugar is sweet and sour, cool and delicious.


10. sand cans milk tea: stewed milk tea with sand cans, with strong local characteristics. The first Por Tea with salt stewed, and then adjusted into the milk stewed into a mellow taste, is one of the favorite drinks of Qinghai people.


In general, Qinghai's food variety, unique taste, whether it is pasta, meat or dairy products, have their unique production process and flavor characteristics. When traveling to Qinghai, you may want to try some local cuisine and experience the food culture of Qinghai.

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