TIBETAN FOOD YOU MUST TRY IN TIBET

09th Dec 2024 By Tennor

Tibetan food is an important part of Tibetan culture. Here is the Tibetan food you must try in Tibet.

The average elevation of Tibet is 3500 meters above sea level. The air in Tibet is cold and rarefied all year round. It isn’t easy to cultivate rice and vegetables in this extreme weather. 

Nowadays, many farmers in Tibet are starting to cultivate vegetables and fruits in greenhouses. But most of them are imported from other cities in China. 

In most of the cities in Tibet, you will find International cuisine (Western, Indian, Nepalese) with English menus. But you must try some local Tibetan foods while you travel in Tibet. 

What is Tibetan food?

1. The primary materials of Tibetan foods are highland barley, butter, yak meat and mutton. For example, Tibetan barley wine/beer and Tsampa from highland barley. Tibetan butter tea from butter, and drying the Yakmeat to make the Yak jerky.
2. The main cooking methods of Tibetan food are steaming, boiling, frying, drying, pickling, etc. For example, Tibetan dumplings can be cooked in steam and boiling, Yak jerky needs to be dried, and sour radish must be pickled.
3. All kinds of dairy products are desserts in Tibet. Like yoghurt, milk residue and “SangabhaLeb” (Tibetan cookies).
4. By religious traditions, Tibetans don’t eat meat on the 15th and 30th of each month according to the Tibetan lunar calendar. 
5. Special food celebrations are held during significant festivals. For example, at the Shoton festival (Yoghurt festival), people serve yoghurt to the monks, and everybody celebrates the festival by having yoghurt. And we have special noodles called “Gutuk” on the eve of the Tibetan New Year.

These five points are just a brief introduction to the Tibetan cousins. However the food culture in Tibet needs to be further excavated and learned.

What is authentic Tibetan food?

For most parts, it is pretty basic, serving a large amount of Tsampa (the roasted barley flour) and endless cups of Tibetan butter tea. They are the staple food of Tibet, and you will have a chance to taste them while you are in Tibet. 

Besides Tsampa and Butter tea, what do Tibetans eat? What is an authentic Tibetan meal? So here is a brief introduction to Tibetan cuisine and some of the Tibetan foods you must try in Tibet.

Tibet Food King Restaurant offers various Tibetan foods for tourist around the world.

What do Tibetans eat?

Tsampa:  Tsampa is the staple food and the main breakfast in Tibet and Tibetan areas. It has rich nutrition, and local people use their hands to make Tsampa dough with Tibetan butter tea.

Butter tea and Sweet tea are traditional Tibetan drinks. They are all made from dairy products. When a guest visits, the host will pour a cup of Butter tea hospitality. 

However, Sweet tea is more prevalent in local Tibetan restaurants nowadays because modern people are busy with their lives and work, and they don’t have time to make breakfast. So, people prefer to go to the Tibetan restaurant for sweet tea and Tibetan noodles.

Yak jerky: In the wintertime, we make Yak jerky. People buy a whole Yak or half from the nomads’ people. Then cut into strips and hang at the air outlet. Some prefer to apply chilli to the Yak meat for individual taste.

Momo: Momo is a famous Tibetan dumpling. There are many different Momos in Tibet, such as Yakmeat Momo, Vegetable Momo and Cheese Momo. There are many Yakmeat Momo restaurants in Lhasa called “Sha momo” in the Tibetan language. “Sha” means meat, and “Momo” means steamed bun. In Tibet, we serve “Sha Momo” with Yak bone soup.

What kind of food is in the Nomadic area?

Besides some of the big cities in Tibet, 2/3 of the areas were Nomads and Farmers. In these areas, the staple diet consists of Yak meat and mutton (fresh or dried). 

There are substantial different varieties of Cheese production. The cheeses come in soft and hard. The hard cube-dried cheese carefully be sucked to avoid damaging your teeth. This dried cube cheese is called “Chokum” in Tibetan. 

Drinks In Tibet:

The highland barley wine is called “Chang”, a type of distilled liquor from barley that tastes sweet and sour with low alcohol. Chang is primarily homemade and also offered for the protector deities in temples and monasteries.

Moreover, Lhasa beer is the most famous beer in Tibet, which is produced in Lhasa. Therefore, you will find Lhasa beers, soft drinks and mineral waters in most restaurants and shops in Tibet, but imported alcohol is available only in larger tourist hotels and restaurants.