Steaming-Pot Chicken (Qiguo Ji)  汽锅鸡

Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles (Guoqiao Mixian) 过桥米线

Braised Jizong (mushroom) in Soy Sauce (Hongshao Jizong) 红烧鸡枞

Pickled vegetable (Suan Yancai) 昆明酸腌菜

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Steaming-Pot Chicken (Qiguo Ji)  汽锅鸡
Reminiscent of Thailand’s famous chicken and coconut soup – albeit without the coconut – this premium soup is made in a special clay pot with a hole in the center and a rounded lid. Steam flows up into the pot through the small flue and stays trapped inside, cooking the meat and infusing the stock with vegetable flavors. Medicinal herbs are sometimes used as healthy seasonings that enhance the nutritional value of this dish.

Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles (Guoqiao Mixian) 过桥米线
Most famous among Yunnan’s specialties is “Guoqiao Mixian”, or “Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles”, a luscious noodle dish topped with slices of meat, shaved vegetables and simmered in a flavorful broth. All the ingredients are brought to the table separately and plunged into the searing hot broth to poach on the spot. Though noodles of similar ilk are served all over China, this dish is made famous by a legend about a scholar who was studying to take the Imperial examinations and locked himself away in a remote pavilion in the middle of a lake in order to better concentrate on his studies. His devoted wife was dismayed to find that the noodles she brought him were always cold after the long trek across the bridge that lead to his hideaway. She soon found that the solution was to smother the noodles with a thin layer of vegetable oil, thus slowing the cooling process. The noodles are still served this way today.

Braised Jizong (mushroom) in Soy Sauce (Hongshao Jizong) 红烧鸡枞
With nearly 200 varieties of wild mushrooms growing in and around Kunming, it’s hardly any wonder that the tasty fungi end up in so many dishes. Crops are most bountiful after summer rainstorms. Among the most prized varities is jizong, which is rumored to taste like chicken.

Pickled vegetable (Suan Yancai) 昆明酸腌菜
This “people’s snack” was born before refrigeration, when the hot and humid climate caused precious food stores to rot at alarming rates. Today, the lip-puckering snack is a Kunming favorite. Pickled vegetables are traditionally prepared near the end of winter. The fresh vegetables were sliced and hung up to dry, and later coated in a thick layer of salt, pepper, ginger and spices. These are thrown into a jar and soaked in vinegar for a month or longer before being consumed.

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