Tengchong Pea-Flour Porridge

Xidoufen is made from dried yellow peas ground fine, sifted and then simmered slowly in water with constant stirring until thick and silky, a tender yellow with a clean pea fragrance, one of Tengchong's commonest breakfasts.

Pea-flour porridge is found across Yunnan, but Tengchong's version is set apart by local peas and old-style slow cooking, served with erkuai baba, fritters, chilli oil, garlic water and coriander; it appears beside Tengchong ersi at local heritage events and is woven into generations of Tengchong mornings.

A steaming bowl is dressed with Sichuan-pepper and chilli oils, garlic water, coriander and scallion, then dipped into with pieces of erkuai baba or a fritter, the thick smooth porridge meeting crisp crunch — the typical Tengchong street way.

The clean pea fragrance, the smooth, almost gruel-thick body, and the row of chilli-and-garlic condiments are the clearest marks of Tengchong pea-flour porridge.