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Yunnan Wild Mushroom Hot Pot
野菌火锅 · Yějùn Huǒguō
Clear chicken broth with 8–12 varieties of fresh wild mushrooms. June–October only; the seasonal Yunnan banquet.
Yunnan wild mushroom hot pot is a seasonal experience — June to October, when the wild mushrooms are in season. A clear chicken broth (sometimes with goji berries and Yunnan ham) is brought to the table with 8–12 varieties of fresh wild mushrooms (matsutake, porcini, chanterelle, milk-cap, plus many local species). Diners cook the mushrooms briefly in the broth. Some Yunnan species are mildly hallucinogenic; eat at well-established restaurants and cook thoroughly.
Where to try
Kunming, Dali, Lijiang in summer-autumn season. The Lao Fang Zi (老房子) chain specialises.
Dietary notes
Mushrooms; some species require thorough cooking. Vegetarian if broth is vegetable-base.
Other southwest dishes
- Baba Flatbread粑粑
Yunnan's daily flatbread — a thick wheat or rice-flour round cooked on a griddle and eaten plain or stuffed.
- Bang Bang Chicken棒棒鸡
Cold poached chicken shredded by hand, dressed in chilli oil, sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn.
- Boiled Fish in Chilli Oil水煮鱼
Fish slices submerged in a deep pool of chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Served bubbling.
- Chongqing Hotpot重庆火锅
The original mala hotpot — a simmering cauldron of beef tallow, Pixian doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn for communal dipping.