Flavorful Origins

Yunnan is known for a variety of dairy products, including Dali rushan: thinly sliced cheese that can be fried, grilled or dipped in honey.

A local wild berry features in nanpie, which refers to different types of flavorful pastes made from mashed vegetables or fish.

Sa is a culinary tradition that pairs cold meat or raw vegetables with a versatile sauce that is often mixed with pig blood curd.

Derived from the fruits of the Chinese lacquer tree, qiyou is an oil used to cook eggs, congee, pork stew, roast chicken and even bee larvae.

Found in local moon cake fillings, Xuanwei cured ham can be thinly sliced, steamed, cooked with egg, stewed or served as cold cuts.

Salted and partially dried, the sow thistle can be pickled and stir-fried with pork to lend a sour, crunchy flavor, or added to white radish stew.

Wrapped in leaves with sticky rice or spiced fish, the Musa basjoo -- a banana found in Yunnan -- can make for a sweet snack or a savory dish.

Besides being an appetite stimulant, tart fruits like lemon and sour papaya can be added to shredded chicken, carp or a sauce for dousing live shrimp.

The er, a flattened rice flour cake, can be baked into a sticky snack, sliced and stir-fried with vegetables or julienned into noodle-like strands.

Zha, an old custom, is an assortment of dried fermented vegetables or fish served as side dishes, made with ancient methods of food preservation.