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Tu

The Tu ethnic minority mainly resides inQinghaiProvincein northwestChina. Tus are mainly engaged in agriculture, supplemented with livestock breeding, and especially good at sheep rising. They have formed a special dietetic culture of their own.

The diet of Tus is directly related to their production. The staple food includes meat and dairy products in the pasturing areas, while highland barley, buckwheat and yams in the agricultural areas. Tus are fond of ghee fried noodles, fried steamed bun,Shouzhuapork and mutton (use hand to eat the
meat),Dahuri(bun cooked in an oven),Hailiu(oil paste), andHalihai(nettle cake),Shaomai(stuffed pancake), etc. They like to drink milky tea and homemade highland barley wine, which is calledMinghaiin their native language.

Tus usually have three meals a day. The breakfast is often simple, with boiled potatoes as the major food; the lunch is sumptuous, with rice and dishes, and the major food is pastry; the supper usually consists of noodles, and pastry flakes.

The daily dishes usually consist of meat and dairy products. TheShouzhuamutton is the best food for entertaining guests and celebrating festivals. There are many kinds of foods made of special local ingredients. Some of the representative special foods includeDahuri(bun cooked in an
oven),Halihai(nettle cake), andShaomai(stuffed pancake), etc.

Dahuri: special food of Tus for entertaining guest. It is made by roasting round dough, which is made of wheaten flour mixed evenly with vegetable oil and salty water, in the oven. The food is crisp and delicious. When entertaining honorable guests, Tus will place a fried noodle box on the table,
and offer a plate of big pieces of fat meat, stabbed with a 5 inch-long knife on the top, and a bottle of wine tied with a little pinch wool, which is the most respectful way for entertaining the guests.

Tus has attached much importance to dietetic sanitation all along. Each one, including guests, has his/her own tableware, which prevents contamination of diseases.

Tus are very hospitable. They welcome any visitors warmly. In feasts, the host usually drinks three cups of wine. When the guest arrives at the door, the host will propose three toasts, called three cups at door; when the guest gets seated on theKang(a kind of heated bed used in northChina), the
host will propose three toasts, called three cups on horseback; when the meal begins, the host will propose another three toasts. Those who cannot drink can avoid drinking by dipping his/her middle finger into the wine and flexing it three times in the air. It can be seen from this that Tus
respect the will of guests.

The daily drinks are similar to those of the local Tibetans. Tus like to drink tuckahoe tea and buttered tea, as well asMingliujiu,a kind of wine made from highland barley.

Tus have many special festival foods: steamed twisted rolls, steamed bread and deep-fried dough cake for the Spring Festival; cool noodles and cool rice noodles for the Dragon Boat Festival; multi-layered moon cakes (similar to big steamed bread) for the Mid-Autumn Festival; stuffed dumpling for
lunar October 1;Jiaotuan(a kind of food made of pea flour) for December 8; and white flour cookie with diamond patterns for lunar December 23.

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