Local specialties in Shilin mainly include goat cheese, fermented tofu, Gutoushen, oiled Termitomyces albuminosus Heim, and Luoshitang tea, etc.

Shilin fermented tofu is among the best in Yunnan pickles, having the same reputation as Xuanwei ham. Shilin fermented tofu has been available for over two centuries. It takes tofu as raw material and uses traditional techniques for marinating with salt, chili powder, aniseed powder, and Sichuan pepper powder. Shilin fermented tofu is good table pickle for its neat shape, red and bright color, golden inside, mellow state, delicious taste, and excellent integration of color, fragrance, and taste. Varieties of Shilin fermented tofu are: liquor-soaked fermented tofu, oil-soaked fermented tofu, fermented tofu with Termitomyces albuminosus Heim, and fermented tofu with Thelephora ganbajun, etc. Each has its own characteristics. There are various packaging specifications and different brands. They are available in local grocery stores and shopping malls in Shilin, and can serve as gifts.

Shilin Meng’s fermented tofu

Goat cheese is a traditional cuisine of Sani people in Shilin. It is made of pure and fresh goat milk with pure taste and strong aroma as well as good nutrition as containing various minerals, amino acids, lactic acid and enzymes. There are many cooking methods - pan frying, frying, steaming, and boiling. Traditional Shilin dishes include water pan fried goat cheese and steamed goat cheese with ham. Traditionally, goat cheese is sold in cloth parcels and available in various traditional agri-product markets while vacuum-packed goat cheese developed in recent years with modern techniques for freshness and sterilization is easier to carry and keep, making it the first choice for tourists.

Goat cheese

Gutoushen: this is a traditional pickle that Sani people in Shilin eat every day. It has typical ethnic features. Fresh and delicious, it tastes fragrant, sour, sweet, spicy, and salty. It is rich in nutrients such as calcium, fat, and protein. Every year before Spring Festival, families in Sani village kill pigs. For a pig, fat will be smelted into oil and pork will be marinated into bacon. The remaining bones, organs, and oil residue will be finely chopped, showing pink and white colors. Ingredients such as ginger, onion, garlic, chili powder, corn liquor, and salt will be added for mixing, and the entire mixture will be marinated in ceramic jars. Gutoushen can be steamed, boiled, fried, stewed, and served as a cold dish - all taste good. Containing calcium and a variety of nutrients, it can promote healthy growth of children and help treating chondropathy if eaten often.

Gutoushen

Wild edible fungi: Shilin is located in a plateau with mountains, forests, mild climate, and abundant rainfall - all these provide extremely favorable natural conditions for growth and reproduction of wild edible fungi. There are many kinds of wild edible fungi in Shilin, including Termitomyces albuminosus Heim, porcini, Thelephora ganbajun, Russula virescens, Pleurotus citrinopileatus, and Agaricus deliciosus, etc.

 Cooked in different ways, all the fungi taste fresh and delicious with rich nutrition. Every harvest season, the locals pick the fungi for food and usually have surplus for sale, and canned oil Termitomyces albuminosus Heim also have been developed in recent years for sale.

Luoshitang tea

Featured merchants:

Meng’s fermented tofu - Meng’s fermented tofu started in the 5th year of Guangxu era in Qing Dynasty (1879) and has a history of more than 100 years passing down four generations. Meng’s fermented tofu has careful selection of raw materials and excellent production. It was listed as one of the “three treasures” of Shilin County before liberation, and Shilin squires’ first choice for gifts when going to Kunming. Its keeps workshop-style production, strictly abides by ancestral process, and keep all steps hand-made including material selection, soaking, making tofu, and pickling, etc.in the manufacture room. It takes 100 days that finished products are ready for sale after fermentation twice. With clear, bright, and soft fermented tofu with demand usually exceeding supply, the factory has been rated as “Consumer Trustworthy Enterprise” for many times. Current products are: liquor-soaked fermented tofu, oil-soaked fermented tofu, pungent and spicy oil fermented soya beans, and Gutoushen.

Address and general distributor: Meng’s fermented tofu Factory, No. 18 Xiaodongmen, Shilin County (near the former County Committee), Tel: 0871-67798528. Specialized agents: 0871-67746035 for agent at Conference Center, 13354461071 for agent near Traffic Police Team.

Shilin Naizha Pickle Factory - “Sanmei fermented tofu”, one of the factories with the best reputation, has changed its name into “Nima fermented tofu”, it also produces and sells chopped chili, fermented vegetables, Gutoushen and other pickles with Shilin features. Founded over 20 years ago, the factory has kept choice materials, excellent skills, family operation, and semi-automatic production methods to maximally maintain the original flavor of Shilin fermented tofu.

Addr: No.156 Houjie, Baozi Village, Shilin County

Tel: 0871-67796663, 67795592

Agent at county town: 13518734658, 13888597949

Shilin Pengcheng Animal Products Co., Ltd. - it processes and sells wild goat milk and goat cheese. Products include vacuum-packed goat cheese, steamed goat cheese with ham, etc. The company also sells Shilin native products including goat cheese, fermented tofu, native eggs, egg noodles, and Gutoushen.

Addr: near Nanyuan Community, Binhe Road, Shilin County, Tel: 0871-67790927, Contact: Manager Shen, 15087190317, 13078769918.

Shilin Hongxin Ecological Farm - it produces and sells Hongxin brand Shilinchun, Caiyunchun, and Yongcui series of green tea. Products are made of the fresh tea leaves from the valley in the wilderness of Luoshitang Village, Shilin at an altitude of above 1900 meters. When boiled, the tea is green, clear, mellow, bright, and durable without limescale, helping people refresh if drunk often.

Addr: Ma'anshan, Luoshitang Village, Beidacun Township, Shilin County.

Shop in county town: Hongxin Tea House opposite to Dongcheng District Youth Activity Center

Tel: 0871-67792723, 13908869168

Fuzhen Convenience Store - it sells various native products of Shilin: Nima fermented tofu, Gutoushen, native eggs, Mingcheng goat cheese, oil Termitomyces albuminosus Heim, and noodles, etc. Addr: No.52, Nanyuan Community, county town, opposite to Quanyou Furniture.

Tel: 13987684830, 13888098400

Yangnaima goat cheese - Tel: 0871-6778777.

Green-shell egg - Shilin Desheng Animal Husbandry Products Development Co., Ltd., Tel: 13888685466, 13888448874