Nai lao

Beijing yogurt is a traditional dish of Beijing cuisine.

Preparation

The traditional culinary method of this dish begins with the preparation of the main ingredient by heating the milk first and then adding sugar to it. Two types of nuts are mixed with raisins, and rice wine made of glutinous rice is poured in and thoroughly stirred. A special device called a yogurt barrel (lào tǒng, 酪桶) is used for further production processes, which is a barrel with a heat chamber in the center, providing the heat needed for baking. The milk is mixed with rice wine and sugar is rapidly poured into fifty small bowls. The bowls are then stacked along the inner wall of the yogurt barrel, heated for about thirty minutes, and later cooled.