Tujia Oil Tea Soup

Tujia Oil Tea Soup

　　Tujia Oil Tea Soup is a type of tea-like soup snack that is fragrant, crispy, smooth, and savory—delicious and refreshing. It is a traditional delicacy beloved by the Tujia people, as reflected in the local saying: “Without a bowl of oil tea soup, one feels uneasy,” and “Three big bowls a day keep you strong for work.” At the same time, drinking oil tea soup is also a traditional way for the Tujia to entertain guests. Whenever honored guests visit, the Tujia will serve them a steaming bowl of oil tea soup.

　　Legend has it that oil tea soup was invented by Tujia children herding cattle in the tea mountains while playing house. They gathered a handful of camellia seeds, fried them in a clay pot to extract the oil, then added picked tea leaves to fry in the oil, mixed with mountain spring water, and threw in some roasted corn they had brought along. They found it delicious and over time, drinking oil tea soup became a habit among the Tujia people.

　　The method of making Tujia Oil Tea Soup involves first frying an appropriate amount of tea leaves in cooking oil until they turn golden yellow, then adding water to a pot along with natural seasonings such as ginger, scallions, garlic, and pepper. Once the water boils, it is ladled into bowls and topped with pre-fried (or pre-popped) “soaking ingredients” such as puffed rice, popped corn, tofu crisps, walnuts, peanuts, and soybeans. The key to making good oil tea soup lies in the quality of the tea leaves and the frying temperature, while the choice of seasonings and soaking ingredients can be adjusted according to the guests’ preferences.

　　Tujia Oil Tea Soup is one of the representative culinary culture phenomena of the Tujia people in Enshi Prefecture and is considered a unique gem in Chinese tea culture with a long history. To this day, it remains especially popular throughout the prefecture, particularly in areas like Xianfeng and Laifeng. In 1992, the “Laifeng County Tujia Oil Tea Soup Tea Art Troupe” participated in China’s first Tea Culture Festival held in Hangzhou, earning praise with the saying “Laifeng’s Famous Tea Travels a Thousand Miles, Tujia Oil Tea Fragrance Spreads Across the Land.” Later, relevant departments refined and organized the Tujia Oil Tea Soup into a standardized tea ceremony format known as the “Four Teas” (namely White Crane Tea, Puffed Rice Tea, Oil Tea Soup, and Egg Tea), along with oil tea ceremony performances. During the 2005 China Selenium-Rich Tea Culture Festival hosted by the China Tea Association, the elegant and exquisite “Four Teas” tea ceremony performance became a highlight, helping to promote the essence of Tujia tea culture—oil tea soup.

　　Tujia Tea Customs

　　Tujia Oil Tea Soup is a type of tea-like soup snack that is fragrant, crispy, smooth, and savory—delicious and refreshing. It is a traditional delicacy beloved by the Tujia people, as reflected in the local sayings: “Without a bowl of oil tea soup, one feels uneasy,” “Three big bowls a day keep you strong for work,” and “A day without oil tea soup makes even a table full of meat and wine tasteless.” At the same time, drinking oil tea soup is also a traditional way for the Tujia to entertain guests. Whenever honored guests visit, the Tujia will serve them a steaming bowl of oil tea soup.

　　Tujia Oil Tea Soup is the most exquisitely prepared and highest form of hospitality among the traditional Tujia Four Teas (White Crane Tea, Puffed Rice Tea, Oil Tea Soup, and Egg Tea). Serving this soup to guests is the highest form of respect that the Tujia people have upheld for thousands of years.

　　The Tujia people are known for their hospitality. Whenever guests arrive in the village, the hosts warmly welcome them and invite them to sit in the main hall of the stilted house. While the host chats with the guests, the hostess goes to the stove room, sets up a pot on the square hearth edged with bluestone slabs, and fries a bowl of walnuts, puffed rice, sesame seeds, peanuts, soybeans, and popped corn using tea oil or lard. Once the food is fried, it is served on the octagonal table in the main hall. The hostess then pours an appropriate amount of tea oil into the pot. When the oil begins to smoke, she adds a small handful of tea leaves along with seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorn, pepper, shredded ginger, and salt, stir-frying briefly. She then adds a small ladle of cold water to the pot, stirs and presses with a spatula, adds a bit more water, and simmers for a few minutes before sprinkling in some chopped scallions and garlic. Once the soup boils, it is poured over the fried foods in the bowls, creating a steaming, aromatic bowl of oil tea soup. Drinking oil tea soup does not involve chopsticks or spoons—the broth and solids are consumed together. Drinking it requires some skill; otherwise, you might end up with all the solids left at the bottom of the bowl and have to use your hands, which could be awkward. Those skilled in drinking oil tea soup manage to consume the fried tea leaves, popped corn, and walnut pieces along with the soup. The trick is to keep the soup “moving” as you drink, allowing the solids to float up so they can be easily scooped up.

　　During the Tujia New Year, blood tofu is an essential addition to the oil tea soup. Blood tofu is made by mixing fresh tofu, fresh pig’s blood, minced pork, Sichuan peppercorn, and chili powder, then smoking it until dry. It is usually fried before eating.

　　Tujia Oil Tea Soup is not only loved by the Tujia people but also greatly enjoyed by other ethnic groups living in Tujia regions. The soup is not only filling but also a valuable green food and beverage with high nutritional value. It helps prevent and treat illnesses, and regular consumption is believed to strengthen the body and prolong life.

　　Historical Origins

　　Since the Tujia people have only spoken language and no written script, there are various legends about the origins of oil tea soup. One story says it was invented by Tujia children herding cattle in the tea mountains while playing house. They gathered a handful of camellia seeds, fried them in a clay pot to extract the oil, then added picked tea leaves to fry in the oil, mixed with mountain spring water, and threw in some roasted corn they had brought along. Finding it delicious, the children often made this primitive version of “oil tea soup” in the mountains. Later, adults heard about it and began refining the method using iron pots, tea oil, and tea leaves. Over time, it evolved into the oil tea soup commonly drunk in Tujia regions and has been passed down ever since. Another tale suggests that around the Ming Dynasty, the Tujia people were frequently harassed and besieged by the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty. On New Year’s Eve, when households were left with only coarse tea leaves, tea oil, corn, and garlic sprouts, they used these ingredients to make a pot of “oil tea soup” to celebrate the holiday. This custom has continued to this day. Yet another theory claims that oil tea soup originated in the Han Dynasty. It is said that General Ma Yuan of the Han Dynasty, stationed in Youyang, used local ingredients like tea leaves, evodia fruit, and sesame ground into powder, mixed with salt to make a soup for soldiers to guard against miasma. Local people later imitated the practice, which gradually became a custom and evolved into today’s “oil tea soup.” The Longshan County Annals, compiled in the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1819), also contains a clear record: “There is something called oil tea, made by stir-frying soybeans, corn, sesame, puffed rice, dried tofu, dried pine mushrooms, cured meat, etc., in fat oil, then lifting them out; water is added, and tea leaves are added to the oil in the pot, boiled for several minutes, poured into bowls, and served with the soaked ingredients to show respect to guests.”

　　Later, local people began to imitate the practice, which gradually became a custom and evolved into today’s “oil tea soup.” The “oil tea soup” is delicious, serving both as a filling food and an energizing drink. A Tujia folk song goes: “The Tujia people love to sing because they’ve brewed oil tea soup…”