During the search for food in Yunnan, in addition to food, the most surprising and memorable thing may be this group of "fishing hunters" ospreys.
Three years ago, ospreys could still enter the Erhai Sea, but fishing is now prohibited in the Erhai Sea, and ospreys are restricted to performing in fixed areas that are allowed locally.
The range of activities becomes smaller, and if the fishing results are not good, farmers buy their own fish to feed them.
Just as the people on the plateau raise cattle and sheep as if they were family, the osprey farmers here will also regard the osprey as their own family.
"Even if you don't eat meat, feed them."
"An osprey is life."
"Even if you take 200,000, you won't sell it."
It is also because of this that the fierce hunters who fish in the sea will instantly become intimate partners in front of them, and they will also lie to the fishermen.
We were also lucky enough to eat the fish caught by ospreys and taste them with the most characteristic local cooking method, "sour and spicy fish".
The purchased papaya must be chopped and dried to become the ingredient for the sour and spicy fish, and there must be sugar, pepper to remove the fishy taste, and finally add pepper and pepper salt to freshen.
Wait until the fish has absorbed the flavor of the soup, then add tofu and potatoes, which are delicious and beautiful, and when they come out of the pot, they are full of appetite.
In fact, the most traditional sour and spicy fish is still made of fish from the Erhai Sea, but in order to protect the Erhai Sea, fishing is prohibited, and the most traditional sour and spicy fish are also indirectly lost (I hope that one day the environment of the Erhai Sea will return to the past, and we can still eat the most authentic sour and spicy fish)
However, even so, the sour and spicy fish in Yunnan, because it is farmed in the sea with clean water quality, tastes fresher than the sour and spicy fish outside. Locals told us that there are many shops outside that are not called sour and spicy fish, but in fact, they do not sell authentic sour and spicy fish.
The local sister told us that the dish of sour and spicy fish, as long as they are during the New Year's Festival, will be made by every household in Yunnan, which is something that has been handed down here for hundreds of years.
Often a bite of Yunnan sauerkraut fish, is a sour and spicy taste that we have never eaten before. When watching them cook, only a little papaya is used, which is the most traditional cooking of the old Bai people, but a little papaya can make the sour taste of the whole fish instantly stimulated, very appetizing, very fresh and prominent, in Jiasheng's words, "sour taste like a hot air balloon going up" is very appetizing.
Every time I come to an ethnic minority area and sit around with them, even if the most traditional dishes are on the table, I feel very satisfied, listening to them explain the local customs, food culture, and listening to them sing to us in the local language, I want to stop at this time.
Nature has given them unique geographical conditions, they live in such an environment, using the excellent ingredients given by nature to cook unique cuisine.
Although now, because of the control of the Erhai Sea, the most traditional dish in Yunnan, sour and spicy fish, can no longer be truly "original", but I believe that one day, the Erhai environment will become better, and we will still have the opportunity to taste this delicacy. In the same way, we also hope that man and nature can find a balance and develop together, so that we can eat more food