昆明的味觉江湖 | A Flavor Montage of Kunming Delicacies
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
Morning is the busiest time for Kunming's farmer’s markets.
清晨的昆明农贸市场，烟火味最浓。
The thick white rice noodles are boiled for a few minutes and then put in a small bowl with a spoonful of beancurd jelly flavored with Chinese chives, pickles, and chopped peanuts. Voilà — this traditional Kunming breakfast is ready to be enjoyed. It is often taken together with soybean milk, served with ice on hot days and warm during the cold season. After breakfast, I grabbed a cake from a stand — made from potatoes with the choice of a floral filling — to eat while strolling.
清水烧滚后，白粗米线下锅烫几分钟，捞出放在小碗里，舀上一勺豆腐脑，韭菜、腌菜、花生碎，昆明人的早餐，豆花米线要“高低来一嘴”。伴一碗豆浆，热天加冰冷天温热。吃罢，小摊上再买个粑粑，或是土豆做的，或是包着鲜花馅儿的，边走边吃，边吃边逛。
The fish stand's catch is particularly fresh today, with carps in large basins and crucian carps in smaller ones. As soon as I paid for the fish, I had already figured out what to cook with them: the carp for hot pot, and crucian carp for bean curd soup.
鱼摊老板的鱼今日格外新鲜，大盆里装着鲤鱼，小盆里全是鲫鱼，大的煮酸汤火锅、小的煲豆腐汤，才扫完支付码心里就已经盘算好了做法。
Japanese banana flowers sprinkled with water, as fresh as if they had just been picked, can be blanched and served with dried ballonflowers, agaric fungi, fish mint and cucumber, topped with a sauce to make a refreshing and appetizing cold dish. And why not add some tomatoes? And cilantro too!
洒完水的芭蕉花像刚摘下来般新鲜，焯一道水连上贡菜、木耳、折耳根、黄瓜一同凉拌，爽口又下饭，再来两个番茄，调味甚好。还有，香菜可不能忘了。
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
The grand finale, of course, is the summer delicacy from the mountains — fungi. One spoonful of dry fungi (thelephora ganbajun Zang) sauteed with green peppers is enough to give flavor to a whole bowl of rice. It can also be frozen and stored and used in winter. Boletes cut into large pieces does not only provide a sweet and fragrant umami flavor, but also a perfectly crisp texture.
压轴的，自然是夏日山珍——菌子。青椒炒过的干巴菌，一勺能拌一碗，冰冻起来，到冬天都有得吃。切成大片状的牛肝菌，先是鲜甜后是香，嚼几口都是脆。
One bite is all you need to taste Kunming's summer.
尝一尝，夏日的昆明很有味。
In addition to crossing-the-bridge noodles, Dai cuisine has also provided Kunming with a dish perfect for entertaining guests.
除了过桥米线，傣味是昆明人用来招待客人的必选菜之一。
In the scorching summer, too much meat tends to make one's stomach heave. The best thing to neutralize greasiness is acidity. Whether it is grilled meat or a vegetable salad, when paired with something acidic, the greasiness of the food, even fatty cuts of pork, can be immediately counteracted.
夏日天热，肉吃多了容易让人觉得油腻。调和油腻感，最好的莫过于酸味。无论是烤的肉、还是生食菜，一同端上来的定有一碟作料。蘸一下连同肉菜送入嘴中，酸味立刻把油腻感中和，再肥的五花肉也能多吃几片。
The people of Kunming dry radish leaves and green vegetables in the sun, then rinse them to finally pickle them in jars. Acidity naturally appears during the fermentation process, which is intensified when boiled into a paste called “pickle paste”, a classic flavor of Yunnan barbecue. As the pork sizzling over the fire turns yellowish and fragrant it is ready to eat. Dipping it in pickle paste seasoned with cilantro and chili powder gives it that perfect hot and sour, and refreshing and appetizing flavor, bringing layers of flavor and leaving people begging for more. The pickle paste is perfect for cutting through the fattiness of meat.
腌菜膏，以萝卜叶或青菜为主料，晒洗干净装坛腌制，发酵后的蔬菜自然发酸，熬成膏状酸味更浓。腌菜膏是云南烧烤的味觉标签。五花肉放在炭火上烤到滋滋冒油，微黄焦香，香气扑鼻时，蘸上调入香菜辣椒面的腌菜膏蘸料。酸香麻辣，解腻开胃，口感丰富，两腮微酸却欲罢不能。这一碟，让油脂也变得爽口。
The delicious pickle paste has a variety of uses. Also, the organic acids and micronutrients in the paste are great for the digestive system.
除了好吃、万能这两个名头，腌菜膏还含有多种有机酸和微量营养物质，是开胃助消化的绿色发酵食品。
In addition to pickle paste, tomato Nanmi is another amazing seasoning.
与腌菜膏同样让人惊艳的作料，还有一碟番茄喃咪。
Nanmi comes from the Dai word for “sauce”. In addition to the sweet and sour flavor of nutritious tomatoes, tabasco peppers, cilantro, and garlic are also added to give it an acidic and spicy taste.
喃咪是傣音，意为酱。番茄本身的酸甜比用调料调制出的味道更加自然、顺口，营养也十分丰富，再加入小米辣、香菜、大蒜等，又酸又辣。
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
Different from pickle paste, tomato Nanmi is used to season vegetables, vermicelli and other vegetarian ingredients to bring out the fresh and sweet taste of the food.
与腌菜膏不同的是，番茄喃咪多用来蘸蔬菜、粉丝一类素食，更能激发食物的鲜甜之味。
In summer, people naturally want to enjoy sweet foods. Sweet soy sauce is an indispensable part of Kunming cuisine. With its salty and treacly flavor, it can not only be served with braised noodles and cold rice noodles, but also be used to season cold boiled chicken and beef slices. It has a strong local flavor and a long history in Kunming.
夏日，自然是要吃甜的。在昆明人的调味品中，甜酱油是必不可少的。这种甜咸兼备、咸中偏甜的调味品，能拌卤面、凉米线，能蘸凉白鸡、牛肉片，它具有浓重地方风味，在昆明已有悠久历史。
In the Ming Dynasty, Han people from the regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui swarmed into Yunnan, bringing with them the habit of adding sugar to food. Since then, sweetness has gradually been integrated into the dietary habits of Yunnan people. That's why traditional Yunnan home-style dishes, such as Qianzhang pork, eight-treasure rice pudding and candied floss sweet potatoes, all taste like honey.
明朝时，来自江苏、浙江、安徽一带的汉族大量涌入滇中，他们把在食物中放糖的习惯带到云南，这些甜味美食便逐步融入滇中人的口味习惯里，这也就是千张肉、八宝饭、拔丝红薯等都带甜味的原因，这些菜色也成了传统的滇味家常菜。
Another reason is the people of Kunming's rice-heavy diet, as plenty of rice products including rice noodles, rice noodle rolls and peameals are produced in and around the city. Yet, these delicacies are not easily paired with chili, salt, or vinegar during the cooking process. Instead, people in Kunming started adding maltose to soy sauce to enhance the freshness of rice products and enrich the flavor.
另一个原因，就是昆明的饮食以稻米为主，这就产生了如米线、卷粉、豌豆粉等米制品，这些美食在烹饪调味时，辣椒、盐巴、酸醋不容易入味，于是，聪明的老昆明人就用麦芽糖发明了甜酱油，放入米制品中，增鲜提味，丰富食品的口感。
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
Brown sugar syrup is another local favorite that is as thick and flavorful as sweet soy sauce.
与甜酱油一般浓稠又独具风味的，还有红糖稀。
The recipe is simple, you just need to heat up water and brown sugar to turn it into a thick syrup. During Dragon Boat Festival in Kunming, brown sugar syrup with rose petals is the preferred seasoning for rice dumplings, giving them a wonderfully luscious and fragrant flavor of the chewy sticky rice and the sweet brown sugar.
红糖加水熬制成粘稠状即可，做法非常简单。再加一些玫瑰花瓣，是昆明人端午时节蘸粽子的首选。弹牙的糯米伴着甜蜜的红糖，齿颊留香。
In the past, in order to preserve brown sugar syrup for a longer time, the people of Kunming used to boil a pot of syrup and put it in a large porcelain vat for cold storage. In the following year, people can eat rushan (lit. “dairy fans”) and steamed buns dipped in the syrup, providing sweetness throughout the year.
为了能长时间保存，老昆明人常常熬制一锅红糖稀，用大瓷口缸盖好放进冷藏，接下来的一年，就可以用糖稀蘸乳扇、蘸馒头吃，寓意一年都甜甜蜜蜜。
When it comes to bitterness, many might choose to stay away from it. Bitterness, one of the five tastes, is explained in the dictionary as a taste “similar to goldthread and bile”. In traditional Chinese medicine, bitter food is often associated with "heat-clearing and dryness-relieving".
提到苦，很多人都会远离，它作为五味之一，字典中给的解释是：似黄莲、胆汁的味道。而苦的食物又常常与“清火降燥”关联。
The diversity of plant species and the heightened risk of getting inflammations in summer have made the foodies in Kunming skilled when it comes to cooking bitter food. The premise is to remove the astringent flavor in order to turn the bitterness into sweetness.
植物种类的多样性，加之夏日易上火，让爱吃的昆明人也善于“吃苦”。当然，“吃苦”的前提是去除“涩”味，让苦变为回甘。
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
Repeatedly washed and blanched, Japanese banana flowers can be mixed with vinegar, white sugar, and soy sauce and enjoyed as a cold dish, or braised with bouilli, or fried with Chinese chives to give it a crispy texture resembling bamboo shoots.
芭蕉花反复清洗后焯水，加入醋、白糖、酱油等凉拌，或与红烧肉炖煮在一起，或与韭菜一同干炒，口感偏脆，似吃竹笋。
Manyprickle (Acanthopanax senticosus) has gotten its name from its sharp, serrated leaf edges. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine for its beneficial effects on vital energy, the spleen and the nerves, and also served as a cold vegetable dish with its serrated leaf edges removed. For the people of Kunming, it is just like any other cooling, heat-clearing vegetable. It is frequently served with houttuynia cordata, known as "fish mint" in Kunming. As a favorite of some, fish mint is often mixed with potatoes, agaric fungus and other vegetables as a side dish, or mixed with fermented bean curd to be used as a seasoning. Moreover, Kunmingers love drinking water boiled with fish mint for its effect of clearing heat and detoxifying.
刺五加，因边缘有锐利重锯齿而得名，具有益气健脾、安神的功效，常用于中药。但在昆明人眼里，它与其他清凉降火的蔬菜一样，去除锯齿后就能凉拌上桌。常与它拌在一起的，还有鱼腥草，昆明人叫做“折耳根”，不爱吃的望而生畏，爱吃的顿顿得有。若为辅菜，鱼腥草常常与土豆、木耳等菜拌在一起，若为调料，又与乳腐结伴。因为有清热解毒的功效，昆明人也常用来煮水喝。
Kunmingers could live without alcohol and meat, but not without fermented bean curd. As a household necessity, it has endless uses. Fermented bean curd can be used to season noodles, soups, meat dishes or even small pieces of rice-flour cake to enhance the spiciness and make the whole thing more delicious.
对于昆明人来说，可以不喝酒，可以不吃肉，但不能没有乳腐下饭。作为每家必备，乳腐在众多调料中占有一席之地。或放入米线面条，或加进汤菜肉食，就算是用饵块蘸上一筷头，也嚼得香辣。
The enthusiasm for fermented bean curd has been integrated into the daily life of Kunmingers, who make this delicacy with their own culinary intuition. It is made by fermenting and drying a piece of bean curd, before it is pickled in a jar with chili, salt, sesame oil and Sichuan pepper. After a month or two, you end up with a spicy, salty, tender, and smooth bright-red oily fermented bean curd.
对乳腐的热爱已经融入了昆明人的生活。昆明人凭借自己对美食的直觉，将一块豆腐通过发酵、晾晒，再加入辣椒、盐、香油、花椒，经老坛腌制一两个月，一道红油锃亮、咸香四溢，入口软绵润滑又带辣味的乳腐就做好了。
Some kids even like to put it in the palm of their hands and enjoy it with a toothpick, just like a snack. If they find it too salty, they will have a drink of something to counteract the saltiness.
更有嘴馋的小娃，蘸一坨乳腐放在手心，用牙签挑着吃，吃咸了，又喝几口饮料，乳腐似乎还成了一种零食。
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
Pickled fruit is also a classic summer afternoon snack for the people of Kunming. Fruit is pickled in salt and chili paste, which help retain the sweet and acidic flavor of the fruit, while also introducing salty and spicy notes, which can all be enjoyed in one bite. In addition to mangoes and pineapples, Kunmingers, who are becoming more and more enthusiastic about this palatable snack, also like to pickle other fruits, such as strawberries and plums. Finally, the sweating brought by the spice and acidity helps people cool down in the summer heat.
昆明人的夏日下午茶，还有一道泡水果。把水果用盐巴、糊辣椒腌制，在保留水果酸甜的同时，混入咸辣之味，这一口酸甜咸辣，可谓五味俱全。泡芒果、泡菠萝，越吃越“起劲”的昆明人干脆把草莓、李子等水果能“泡”就“泡”。吃到最后，辣味、酸味激出来的汗，连同这炎热的夏日就被吹散到大街小巷了。
In Kunming, fungi are art.
吃菌，是昆明人在夏日的一门“艺术”。
Kunmingers know all about fungi and have divided them into a strict hierarchy. Matsutake, a high-end ingredient known all over the world, is one of the superior varieties of wild fungi. However, matsutakes are not the only fungi Kunmingers love. Termite mushroom filled with umami and sweetness, thick and tender bolete, crisp and fragrant dry fungi as well as fragrant truffles are all first-class fungi, with prices ranging from one or two hundred to thousands of yuan. In addition, there are also morchella, tiger-palm fungus, bamboo fungus, and russula virescens. Lower-level fungi, that is, the common "miscellaneous fungi", include russula, chanterelle, and lactarius volemus.
懂得菌子之道的昆明，对菌子有着相当严格的等级划分。世人熟知的高端食材松茸，就属于野生菌中的高端品种。但昆明人心尖上的菌子可绝不止松茸一种，鲜甜可口的鸡枞、肉厚肥嫩的牛肝菌、异香干脆的干巴菌、气味浓郁的松露是菌子里的上等，价格通常从一两百元至数千元不等。除此之外，还有羊肚菌、虎掌菌、竹荪、青头菌，再往下就是如红菇、鸡油菌、奶浆菌等较为日常的“杂菌”。
Simple dishes — soups, stir-fries, and hot pot — bring out more of the fungi's umami flavor. Wild fungi, a favorite of many foodies in Kunming, make foodaholics and gourmands salivate.
煲汤、生炒、煮火锅，做法越简单，越能保留菌子最原始的鲜味。野生菌是昆明众多吃货的至爱，它让老饕们口舌生津，也让美食家津津乐道。
Kunming cuisine. File photo
昆明美食。资料图
"When the rainy season comes, the air is filled with the smell of fungi. They are available to everyone, rich or poor." Wang Zengqi, who studied and lived in Kunming for seven years, still remembers the fungi in Kunming, forty years after he left. Beyond that, he frequently writes about fungi and his life in Kunming. It is clear that Yunnan fungi really captured the heart of this educated foodie.
“雨季一到,诸菌皆出，空气里一片菌子气味。无论贫富，都能吃到菌子。”在昆明学习生活了七年的汪曾祺，在离开之后的四十年中，仍念念不忘那里的菌子。不仅如此，他还不时在自己的文章里回忆在昆明的时光，为菌子立传。可见云南菌子是真正虏获了这位吃货文人的心。
Others might find Kunmingers’ obsession with fungi entertaining, and this part of the local cuisine truly is fascinating. Every summer, the "fungus feast" is the most popular choice for family gatherings or to entertain friends and guests from afar. For travelers coming to Kunming during the rainy season, enjoying a fungus hot pot is the most direct way to digest the local culture.
昆明人吃菌，虽年年“闹出笑话”，但都抵挡不了这一道美食的吸引力。每年夏季，赶赴一场场“菌子宴”就成了昆明人家族好友聚餐、招待远道而来的客人的最佳选择。而在雨季里到达昆明的旅行者，直接去吃一顿菌子火锅，是融入当地文化最不拖泥带水的方式。
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