Dai-style sour meat

Dai-style sour meat

　　Dai-style sour meat refers to the skill of the Dai people in Xishuangbanna at curing sour meats. Among their preserved meats, the most distinctive are the sour beef tendons and sour beef head and feet, which are also standout local delicacies for travelers in Xishuangbanna.

　　The sour meats cured by the Dai people of Xishuangbanna include especially the sour beef tendons and sour beef head and feet, which are popular among local food offerings for tourists.

　　Xishuangbanna Sour Beef Tendons: Made from beef tendons (primarily the sinews), the process involves cleaning the tendons by removing fat, meat, and mucous membranes, then slicing the pure tendons into strips. The tendons are boiled until tender enough to chew, then removed, rinsed in cold water, drained, and cooled. They are then mixed with an appropriate amount of salt, chili, Xishuangbanna wild prickly ash, garlic cloves, and minced ginger, and sealed in an earthen jar to ferment. The dish is served once the tendons have developed a pure sour flavor. The result is clean white tendons, refreshing in appearance, mildly tangy, spicy and fragrant—making it a signature main dish of Xishuangbanna’s Dai-flavor restaurants and a unique offering among local travel foods.

　　Sour-Cured Beef Head and Feet: Typically made with one beef head and four beef feet as the main ingredients, the process begins by blanching the head and feet in boiling water, then scraping off all the hair (any remaining hairs are burned off before scraping). The bones are removed, leaving only the skin and meat, which are soaked in rice-washing water, thoroughly kneaded and washed, then rinsed in clean water. After boiling and drying, the skin and meat are sliced, and the tendons are cut into strips. These are mixed with salt, minced ginger, minced garlic, chili powder, tangerine peel, pepper leaves, wild prickly ash, and a small amount of congee, then sealed and fermented in a jar or bamboo tube for three to five days until the beef develops a pure sour taste. The cured beef head and feet have a slightly tangy and spicy flavor, with no greasy aftertaste, cool and refreshing—perfect as a summer cold dish.