Three Sours of Maonan Ethnic Group

Dietary Feature: Preference for Sour Flavors（饮食特色：百味不离酸）

The Maonan nationality（毛南族）is well-known for its distinctive dietary custom of a hundred flavors dominated by sour tastes. Among various sour food creations, the most representative are the traditional Three Sours of the Maonan people, namely Nanxing（南腥）, Wengwei（瓮味） and Suofa（索发）, all transcribed from the Maonan language.

Nanxing: Pickled Sour Meat（南腥：酸腌肉）

Production Method

Nanxing refers to pickled sour pork or beef. The making process is elaborate. First, cut fresh meat into slices, mix well with fine salt and cure for two to three days. Steam glutinous rice until fully done, then air-dry it. Combine the dried fragrant glutinous rice with the salted meat thoroughly, and press the mixture tightly inside an earthen jar. The dish will be ready to eat after around three months of sealed fermentation.

Eating Method & Cultural Meaning

To serve Nanxing, place the pickled meat in a bowl and steam it. Rich oil will ooze out during steaming. Mixed with staple rice, it delivers an inviting aroma and mellow sweet taste.

In ancient times, this pickling technique was mainly used for long-term meat preservation. Moreover, whether a household stored Nanxing or not was once regarded as a standard to judge family wealth in Maonan communities.

Wengwei: Sour Pickle Brine & Assorted Pickles（瓮味：酸坛卤汁与杂酸）

Basic Production of the Brine

Wengwei stands for the traditional sour brine jar, which serves as the base for various pickled vegetables and meat. To make the original sour brine: boil water and dissolve salt inside, then let the salt water cool down and filter it into a jar.

Put Jiaotou（藠头） — a type of allium soaked in lime water and sun-dried — into the jar, together with dozens of raw soybeans, then seal the jar tightly. The Jiaotou and soybeans will ferment naturally and produce a strong sour flavor, forming the core sour brine of Wengwei.

Diversified Pickled Ingredients

A Wengwei jar can hold a wide range of ingredients. People commonly pickle green peppers, turnips, fresh kidney beans, cucumbers and ginger in the sour brine. When the sour taste fades, add more Jiaotou and soybeans to refresh the flavor; if the brine reduces, supplement with salted water.

Fatty pork, pig head meat and pig tails are also popular choices for pickling. The finished meat, named Nanqing（南清） in the Maonan language, tastes sour, crisp and fragrant with no greasy aftertaste. Pickled pig head meat is a classic side dish that helps stimulate appetite and relieve drunkenness at feasts.

Suofa: Sour Spiral Shell Soup（索发：酸螺汤）

Cooking and Fermentation Process

Suofa is a traditional sour spiral shell soup, made with large stream snails native to local mountain brooks.

First, clean the spiral shells thoroughly and stir-fry them with lard until fully cooked and aromatic. While still hot, transfer the shells into a jar. Add roasted pork marrow bones, polished glutinous rice and an appropriate amount of water, then seal the jar completely. The soup is ready after three months of natural fermentation.

Daily Consumption and Functions

When scooping the soup, avoid taking solid residues. People need to replenish rice water into the jar regularly to maintain the fermentation. Before eating, season the soup with chopped scallions, chives, tomatoes, green peppers and a pinch of salt.

This savory sour soup is an ideal accompaniment for rice. In hot summer days, it can clear summer heat and relieve minor acute discomforts, winning great popularity among local people.