Yunnan dishes popularized at CSA Expo

At the 6th China South-Asia Exposition (CSA Expo) November 20, the the pre-made Yunnan dishes for the cold-chain of high-speed trains were promoted jointly by China Railway Kunming Group, Kunming Tiantianxiangshang Catering Company, and Kunming University of Science and Technology (KUST).

The site of the activiy. (Photo by Yang Chunmei/Yunnan Daily)

Capturing the visitors’ attention, quite a few Yunnan dishes made a hit the exhibition: diced meat with sweet bamboo shoots, rice in steamed pot chicken soup, stewed chicken with morchella, and braised rice with jackfruit.

“Our idea is that we try to preserve the original taste of the food by less processing,” said Yi Junjie, the doctoral supervisor and professor from KUST. Safety of the food is secured by physical sterilization technology, while technologies helped the pre-made food have longer shelf life and with original taste.

The pre-made dishes on the exhibition. (Photo by Yang Chunmei/Yunnan Daily)

Yunnan has abundant food materials. However, the agricultural products are seasonal and thus have a short shelf life. Yi and her research team have been working hard in this field since 2018. The difficulty in preserving and sterilizing the dishes have gradually received solutions.

As the pre-made food for the cold-chain of high-speed trains were served from July, 2020, the dishes have enjoyed a remarkable lift.

“The number of pre-made boxed meals produced in 2021 has reached 900,000, ” said Li Xu, the vice manager of the Industry and Trade Company of China Railway Kunming Group.

“And this year, this figure could increase by 5%. After the opening of China-Laos Railway, we have already launched 5 new Yunnan dishes.”

Reporting by Yang Chunmei/Yunnan Daily; Trans-editing by Wang Yunya