Yunnan Cuisine

Yunnan cuisine (simplified Chinese: 云南菜; traditional Chinese: 雲南菜; pinyin: Yúnnán cài) or Dian cuisine (Chinese: 滇菜; pinyin: Diān cài), is an amalgam of the cuisines of the Han Chinese and other ethnic minorities in China. As the province with the largest number of ethnic minority groups, Yunnan cuisine is vastly varied, and it is difficult to make generalisations. Many Yunnan dishes are quite spicy, and mushrooms are featured prominently. Another important characteristic of Yunnan cuisine is the wide use of flowers as food. Two of the province's most famous products are the renowned pu-erh tea which is traditionally grown in Simao; as well as Xuanwei ham, which is often used to flavour stewed and braised foods in Chinese cuisine, as well as for making the stocks and broths of many Chinese soups.