Traditional Tibetan food culture includes its people’s culinary traditions and age-old practices. Borrowing influences from the neighboring lands of India, Nepal, and China, Tibetan food is oriental but adapted for the harsh landscape and to help battle the extreme conditions of the high altitude plateau.
Animals and plants that have adapted to the Tibetan climate are at the heart of the country’s cuisine. Goat, yak, mutton, dumplings, cheese, and noodles, often made from yak bones, are staples in the Tibetan diet. Barley is also widely popular and favored over wheat as it can survive harsh winters and high altitudes.
This yogurt, pictured above, has been a tradition in Tibetan food culture for thousands of years and is usually served during religious celebrations like the Buddhist Shoton Festival. If you’re visiting Tibet in August, get involved in Shoton and make trying this snack the starting point.
What culture is Tibetan?
Tibetan culture boasts distinct art, literature, and music that are all closely linked to prevailing Buddhist beliefs but that which have adopted their own form in Tibet. Most Tibetan are Buddhists, and they practice a specific variety of Tantric Mahayana Buddhism called Vajrayana. The pre-Buddhist Bon religions influence traditional Tibetan folk law, and the culture relies on shamanic belief systems, where spirits, spells, and exorcisms take precedence across the country.
Tibet is also often associated with being part of Chinese culture as a member of the extensive Chinese nation. However, Tibetans have developed their own distinctive traditions from hundreds of years of exchanges with other ethnic groups and their own climate and lands. This may look like the yogurt you can find in all your local stores, but Tibetan yogurt is made only from fermented yak milk without any additives. The result is a sour and popular pastime snack that you can find in restaurants and at street stands, sprinkled with raisins or fruit.