Li Ziqi is a famous Chinese blogger and YouTube personality specializing in videos depicting Chinese cuisine, Chinese traditional culture, as well as a simplistic and nature-oriented approach to living. Li Ziqi has been recognized by the Chinese government for sharing the intangible side of Chinese cultural heritage with the world and is adored by millions of fans who admire her specific skills and personal attributes.
李子柒 (Lǐ Zǐqī) Li Ziqi
Li Ziqi is one of the most famous bloggers in the realm of Chinese cuisine and promotes Chinese culture by granting easy access to more and more foreigners through social media. Her videos are branded as an inviting sneak peek into the more peaceful atmosphere of the countryside as a way to reduce stress from the hustle and bustle of city life. Get to know what makes her so special and see what life is like in the countryside for millions of Chinese people.
An episode of a day in the life of Li Ziqi ranges from raising ducklings to later collect their eggs for a recipe to foraging for flowers to make homemade lipstick. She carries herself with an air of grace while displaying great strength as well. She is a true testament that a woman can be both lovely and hardworking.
(Image sources from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
Donning a red cloak while riding a horse through the woodlands, she displays a sort of liberal temperament, similar to chivalrous woman or heroine in adventure novels.
She then leads her followers to witness moments where a woman can be fragile yet resilient, for instance, being in the frozen weather while maintaining a strong fortitude, not shying away from hard work.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
Among dense forests, bright peaceful views, and simple but sincere relationships between people, it conveys a sharp contrast to the noise and fast-paced life of the city. These are the scenes that the overworked and stressed city dwellers crave. And that is exactly the content that Li Ziqi delivers her audience. Some of her most popular entries include homemade farm to table meals.
These radiating smiles are a testament to the joy a made-from-scratch meal can accomplish.
(Fānqié tāng dǐ huǒguō) — Tomato Hotpot
Hotpot is a traditional Chinese cuisine with a long history. Typical hotpot ingredients include a variety of meat, seafood, vegetables, soy products, mushrooms, eggs and more. Hotpot is made by adding these ingredients into a boiling soup base. After it simmers for a moment it’s time to enjoy it.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
Li Ziqi has featured this same tomato hotpot with fresh tomatoes and also adds some Chinese herbs to the pot to make the soup healthier.
(Guìhuā jiānguǒ ǒufěn) — Osmanthus Nuts Lotus Root Starch
The main ingredient of this kind of “Chinese dessert” is lotus root. Lotus root becomes sticky when the root is processed into clear-starch. It tastes sweet and nutritious at the same time. Li Ziqi adds nuts and osmanthus flowers to make the lotus root starch flavor richer.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
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(Fótiàoqiáng) — Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, also known as Buddha’s Temptation, is a variety of shark fin soup in Fujian cuisine. Since its creation during the Qing dynasty, the dish has been regarded as a Chinese delicacy known for its rich taste, and special method of cooking. The process of making this dish is very complicated. There are more than ten raw ingredients, and most of the ingredients are expensive. To fully express the taste and characteristics of each ingredient, she makes them separately into individual dishes, then gathers them together, adds stock and Shaoxing wine, and then simmer them for more than ten hours.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
(Mǎ nǎi jiǔ) Koumiss (Wine produced from mare’s milk)
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
Koumiss, one of the intangible cultural heritages of Haixi Prefecture, is the way Mongolians host their friends warmly. Li Ziqi takes the mare’s milk as raw material, then goes through the various steps involved in the fermentation process for one-week, making it ready for storage and distillation.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
(Kǎo quán yáng) — Roast Whole Lamb
This is also a local specialty, combining many herbs, spices, and other condiments (pepper, cumin, salt, ginger, scallion, garlic, soy sauce, etc.) before marinating.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
After marinating she starts the process of roasting and then she prepares an iron box under the stove to collect any of the mutton oil that may flow out during baking. This process takes about 3-4 hours.
(Image source from Li Ziqi’s Blog)
Li Ziqi can be seen as a Chinese culture representative as she showcases exquisite traditional meals, genuine interpersonal relationships, the intangible side of cultural heritage as well as a lovely, fragile, but a strong woman born and raised in China.
The Hidden Treasures of the Chinese Foodie World That Visitors Shouldn’t Miss! (Part Two)
A.番茄汤底火锅 (Fānqié tāng dǐ huǒguō)
D.烤全羊 (Kǎo quán yáng)
Chinese Culture
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