The Yi People’s Land of Turnips
I just returned from a two-week odyssey in Yunnan that took me from Xishuangbana in the south to Zhongdian (Shangrila) in the north. My first stop was Mushan village, home of the Flowery Belt Yi (Huayao Yi 花腰彝) minority in Shiping county, south of Kunming.
I never expected that the local raw turnip, sliced about a half inch thick, would taste so wonderful--crisp and juicy with a slight sweetness, akin to eating a watermelon. Usually, cooked in soup, I was stunned by how good and refreshing these turnips were.
“We dug the turnips this morning,” said a villager, a member of my host family. As turnips lose their juice and crispiness if kept too long, it’s best to consume them within a day or two after being picked.
I was surprised to find that turnips are the the main crop of this village. Every family has a patch or several patches growing turnips in addition to corn, mustard cabbage, peanuts, and oranges.
The following is a common scene at Mushan village in mid-January: villagers are busy harvesting the mature turnips, piling them up at the edge of the field, and then washing off the brown earth with water running from gutter between the fields. Afterwards, the skin is peeled off and then the turnips are grated into strips to be hung on lines in neat rows. They initially look like a beautiful snow white jade with avocado-like green tips, and when color changes to beige and is half moist, the air-dried turnips are then tied into small bundles which are stacked neatly into bamboo baskets, piling up into a mound, the peak guarded by the basket handles on both sides. I was told these turnips are for export.
The turnips are also pickled by simply adding salt and chili flakes, another specialty of Mushan village.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to experience these amazing turnips unless you travel to Yunnan. It's worth the trip.
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