Zhangjiajie Tujia Ten Bowls

Zhangjiajie Tujia Ten Bowls

　　Introduction to the Tujia Ten Bowls The Tujia Ten Bowls have been a tradition among the Tujia people for hundreds of years. These ten bowls are not something you can enjoy every day — they are only served during special celebrations such as weddings, the birth of a child, baby's first-month celebrations, housewarming banquets, and elders' birthday feasts. In the past, plates were not used at Tujia dining tables; instead, large blue-rimmed bowls were placed on the table, always in sets of ten. Over time, this style of feast came to be known as the “Tujia Ten Bowls.” When attending a Tujia celebratory banquet, all guests are treated to a congratulatory tea from the hosts. Families with better means might serve tea with boiled eggs, while those with more modest means offer fried rice as the congratulatory tea. To allow friends from all over the world to taste authentic and original Tujia cuisine, some specialty restaurants in Zhangjiajie have specially introduced the traditional and genuine Tujia Ten Bowls. This lets you discover that not only are Zhangjiajie’s mountains beautiful, but its authentic Tujia Ten Bowls are even more delightful. Tujia Ten Bowls Menu First, a bowl of “Tujia Congratulatory Tea” (Ingredients: brown sugar, fried rice, purified water) First Dish: Ink Fish Hometown Celebration Dish (Ingredients: cuttlefish, lean and fat pork shreds, daylily, sweet potato starch) Second Dish: Chicken Broth Thousand Sheets Celebration Dish (Ingredients: chicken broth thousand sheets, carrots, lean and fat pork shreds, green and red bell pepper shreds) Third Dish: Black Fungus Stewed Native Chicken (Ingredients: locally produced black fungus, authentic native chicken) Fourth Dish: Rural Braised Pork Belly Slices (Ingredients: fresh pig belly, white radish cubes) Fifth Dish: Rural Braised Pig Trotters (Ingredients: authentic streaky pork, lotus root cubes) Sixth Dish: Rural Grilled Fish (Ingredients: soybean hot pepper mix, grilled fish) Seventh Dish: Pot-Capped Pig Trotter (Ingredients: fresh pig trotter, evergreen herb) Eighth Dish: Tujia Braised Pork (Ingredients: streaky pork, black salted vegetables) Ninth Dish: Evergreen All Seasons (Ingredients: seasonal vegetables) Tenth Dish: Tujia Vegetable Tofu Mash (Ingredients: local small leeks, homemade tofu paste) Eleventh Dish: Tujia Leaf Rice Cake (Ingredients: tangerine leaves, glutinous rice flour, sticky rice flour, soybean flour) Twelfth Dish: Farmhouse Fruit Platter (Ingredients: seasonal fruits) Thirteenth Dish: Appetizing Bran Rice Tea (Ingredients: homemade bran rice, purified water) On more formal occasions, the number of dishes often exceeds ten, so the term “Tujia Ten Bowls” has gradually lost its strict numerical meaning.