[suspenseful music]
[narrator] Eliminating the badfrom the good
has always been mankind’s process in food discovery.
[rustles]
[upbeat music]
[narrator] But somehow, there are alwayssome smaller eating preferences
and living habits
that previous generationshave retained and passed on.
[calm music]
[narrator]High in the western region of Yunnan,
the Nujiang Valleylies surrounded by tall mountains
forming steep canyon wallsand fascinating highlands.
There are almost no placeswhere farming is possible.
However, this is also the habitatof one of the oldest cash crops in China,
the Chinese lacquer tree.
It has a sturdy trunk,
and the sap that flows from its barkmakes a good quality lacquer.
But for the people of Nujiang Valley,
there’s a more important part to the treethan just its lacquer.
[suspenseful music]
[leaves rustling]
[narrator] Without any safety equipment,
Xiao Li climbs the 20-meter tall treein half a minute.
He’s in search ofthe lacquer tree seed bushels.
[rustling]
[upbeat music]
[rustling]
[narrator] Each seedis about 30 percent consumable fat.
Previously, transportation was limited.
The seeds were the only sourceof plant oil for locals.
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter continues]
[narrator] But consuminglacquer tree seed oil
can be quite tricky sometimes.
Urushiol is an allergen that’s foundin the lacquer tree seeds.
The Nujiang Valley peoplehave slowly become immune to urushiol,
and they also found waysto process the lacquer tree seed oil.
[seeds rattling]
[rasping]
[narrator] Machines grind downthe lacquer tree seeds into a powder,
then powder is stir-fried in water.
[sizzles]
[narrator] During the heating process,the allergens in the seeds evaporate,
which eases the process of oil extraction.
Modified tree seed grinding machineshave a secret property.
[creaking]
[narrator] Exploiting simple physics
the hydraulic jack multiplieshuman strength a few times over.
Under the pressureof more than 1,000 kilos,
the seed cell walls break open,
gradually releasing their brown oil.
[oil trickling]
[calm music]
[narrator] Lacquer tree seed oil containsvast quantities of edible paraffin wax.
At a temperature of 47 degrees Celsius,the oil quickly solidifies.
It can be preserved for a whole year.
Due to its low freezing point,
lacquer seed oilis usually used for cooking stews.
Cooking it with eggs
enhances the oil’s flavor.
It is fragrant and tastes smoothwhen it’s used to make porridge.
When it’s used to cook pork stew,
the rich scent of fat is accompaniedby a unique fragrance.
This is the dish of Nujiang Valley.
[Xiao Li ululating]
-[ululating continues]-[chickens crowing]
[narrator] Every year, when lacquer oilis freshly produced,
Xiao Li will use itto make a unique delicacy
to comfort his family’s taste buds.
[indistinct chatter]
[narrator] A home-raised highland chickenis grilled on high heat.
An aromatic, burnt outer layeris added onto the chicken skin.
This retains the chicken’s juiciness.
[sizzling]
[narrator] Nujiang localsappreciate this modest flavor,
because it has botha strong essential flavor from the oil,
and a nuance aroma from cooking
at the same time.
[suspenseful music]
[narrator] Freshly produced lacquer treeseed oil has the strongest flavor.
Under high heat, the oil’s indescribablepiquant fragrance is released.
[sizzles]
[narrator] Chicken is stir-friedover a high flame.
So that the amino acids and sugars react,
producing a burnt aroma.
Any other ingredients are superfluous.
All that is neededis a slight touch of salt.
Once the room is filled with its flavor,water is added to stew the mix.
Chicken releasessoluble amino acids and nucleotides
which elevate the dishes flavor.
[fire crackling]
[calm music]
[narrator] November is lacquer tree seedharvest season.
Gudang Village’s main source of incomecomes from harvesting lacquer seeds.
Xiao Li’s neighborjust got home from work.
And Xiao Li’s chicken stewhas already been stewing for half an hour.
[upbeat music]
[bubbling]
[narrator] The chicken has absorbedthe essence of the soup.
The distinct lacquer oil fragranceinfuses the chicken,
and every taste bud it encounters.
LACQUERED CHICKEN
[upbeat music]
Although lacquer oilcan be preserved for a year,
the chance to taste its freshnessremains only ten days after production.
[light music]
[narrator] Any Nujiang folk who know howto enjoy food use fresh lacquer oil
with only the most quality ingredients.
[birds chirping]
[narrator] Pu Ahde has been foraging woodsfor an entire morning.
The ingredient he’s looking foris hidden in the deep forest.
[insects buzzing]
[buzzing continues]
[upbeat music]
[narrator] During timeswhen protein is hard to find,
wild bee larvae are oneof the few protein choices
left for people living in the woods.
But as of late, it has turnedinto an interesting snack.
[upbeat music]
WHITE LACQUER SEED OIL
[narrator] In Pu Ahde’s opinion,
white lacquer oil produced by machine
can barely be called tasty.
But black lacquer oil,which is entirely handmade,
under low temperatures,has the purest flavor.
The only ingredient good enoughto be cooked with the bee larvae.
[sizzling]
[sizzling continues]
[calm music]
[narrator] In the black lacquer oil,
bee larvae are frieduntil they are golden.
The heat from frying facilitatesevaporation of the oil’s allergen,
but to entirely pull out its flavor,
one more ingredient is needed.
[sizzles]
[narrator] Adding a vast amountof rice wine
is a unique cooking techniquefound only in Nujiang.
In the Nusu language,this technique is called “Xiala.”
“Xia” means meat,
and “la” means wine.
Any kind of meat can be used,
but the use of lacquer oiland rice wine remain unchanged.
[rasping]
[narrator] In just five minutes,
every crispy larvae has absorbedthe rice wine’s sweet and mellow flavor.
The richness of the lacquer oiland the bee larvae
is elevated by the use of rice wine.
When the alcohol evaporates,
a sharp fragrance is released.
[upbeat music]
FRIED NATIVE BEE PUPA WITH WINE
[Pu Adhe] Let’s cheers.
The three of us.
It’s not easy to find a beehive.
[narrator] When drinkingthe bee larvae mix,
a combination of a crispyand smooth texture
will explode in your mouth.
Accompanied by a sharp tastefrom the lacquer oil.
Wild ingredients that can onlybe found in the woods
make for the highest quality of food
in Nujiang Valley.
[light music]
[light music continues]
[narrator] In this mountainous area,
mankind has slowly fallen in lovewith lacquer oil.
This exemplifies human adaptation.
Now, this dish no longer serves
as a necessity for the survivalof Nujiang’s inhabitants,
it has, however,
become an interesting attraction for many foreigners.
[closing theme music]
Subtitle translation by Coleen Chua