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You can never say you’ve been to Zhangjiajei in Hunan Province until you’ve tasted Tujiacai, the special dishes of the Tujia ethnic group. Hunan dishes feature the spicy flavor, and Tujiacai is no exception. In addition, Tuijia dishes are also famous for the smoked pork and pickled food. You may either eat at downtown or in the scenic areas, but the latter costs you more money.
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Let me first introduce to you the most well-known dish in Zhangjiajie, namely Sanxiaguo, literally means three ingredients that are stewed in hot pot. If you want to try it, I recommend you to go to a restaurant called “Hu shi fu (Cook Hu) sanxiaguo” which is near the Fengwan Bridge. It’s delicious but doesn’t cost much. Better still, local appetizing snacks are offered before your hot pot is served.
Another famous dish is stewed chicken with shi’er (shi’er is like black fungus, but it grows in cliffs, so it’s hard to pick, hence very precious). This dish is nutritious and extremely delicious.
There are other tasty dishes that you need to taste by yourself. Every night, you can see countless food stalls in the night markets, especially the one near the People’s Cinema. There you can definitely taste authentic Tujia dishes. Here’s a tip: sit at the most crowded food stall if we want to eat the most delicious dishes.
In the scenic spots, you can try the boiled coins and wild Kiwi fruits. If you live in a countryside-style hotel, you are lucky enough to eat some specialties such as sour-flavored coins stir-fried with eggs.
In addition to the dishes, Tujia people make a lot of snacks. Tuansan is a prime example. They steam sticky rice, and then put the rice in a mould to form a certain shape, then they carve auspicious coins in the rice. The rice cakes are dried and stored. They fried Tuansan whenever they want to eat. Tuansan is a special food for the Spring Festival or other festivals.
Besides, you can also enjoy other snacks like sesame lollipops, Chinese chestnut cakes, lotus seed cakes, to name just a few. You can drink rice wine, lantern fruit wine etc.
Don’t hesitate anymore! Zhangjiajie is a fantastic world of food, and more, for you to explore.