Shigatse boasts several local dishes. There are, for instance, Tibetan sausage, high-land barley wine and yak butter, beef and mutton, tongue of yak that served cold and dressed with sauce, tsampa, various kinds of cookies and sweat tea, milk tea, yoghurt, roasted sausage, dried meat, shapu (smashed meat) and so on. All these dishes can be found served in the night fair near the bus station, where the delicious Tibetan flavor would never disappoint you.
Tsampa
Traditional staple food of Tibetan is Tsampa, roasted barley flour mixed with Tibetan yak-butter tea. Tibetan usually get some flour with salted butter tea in a bowl, rotate the bowl with the left hand and mix the food with the fingers of the right hand, roll it into small lump, then squeeze it into the mouth with the fingers.
Actually, these are the daily foods of all families in Shigatse. You can also enjoy them in most of the restaurants in Shigatse.
Yak Butter
Yak Butter, refined from the milk of yaks, is the daily food of Tibetans. It has very high value of nutrition. The way of Tibetans to refine yak butter is very intriguing. Tibetan nomads usually refine milk in the primitive segregators manually.
Beef and Mutton
Tibetans like to eat beef and mutton because meat can provide enough energy to withstand coldness in the high elevation areas. Usually Tibetans boil beef and mutton with salt, ginger and spices. They take the meat in hands and cut them with their knives. Some Tibetans like to eat dried beef and mutton.
Sweet Milk Tea
Besides salted yak butter tea, sweet milk tea is also popular among Tibetans and Shigatse. Hot boiling black tea filtered is decanted into a churn, and mixed with fresh milk and sugar. Many teashops in Tibet serve the sweet milk tea. It is worth of trying it on the trip.
Thenthuk (Tibetan Noodle Soup)
A typical Tibetan noodle soup can keep the nomads withstand the coldness during winter time. It can be made either with vegetables or meat.
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