Gang Gang Style: Let the Good Times Roll with this All-Natural, Traditional Yi Spirit
This post is sponsored by Asiniuniu, Beijing's most unique Sichuan restaurant serving the distinctive cuisine of Sichuan’s Yi Minority.
From Kalahari Bushmen of Africa to reindeer herding Siberian nomads, just about everyone loves a good drink. The Yi of Liangshan, Sichuan are no exception, and for them, getting loaded and letting loose is a strictly communal affair – Yi festivals are filled with communities gathering around massive barrels to sip the good stuff through long bamboo straws as they sing and dance in celebration.
The Yi’s spirit of choice is Gang Gang Jiu (杆杆酒), a fresh, bitter local spirit made from a special kind of black wheat indigenous to the prefecture. The wine is about 22 percent alcohol and is typically served at festivals, birthdays, family reunions and weddings, which are typically capped off by a “game” in which the bride’s family symbolically “attacks” the groom’s side with a variety of household objects before treating them to Gang Gang wine and meat after the scuffle.
Jiliyige, a young Yi waiter at Asiniuniu, a Sichuan restaurant in Sanlitun specializing in Liangshan Yi cuisine, touts the distinctively organic nature of Gang Gang wine. “It’s not like industrial wine, which has a lot of chemicals and additives. It’s entirely natural, made from black wheat and a lot of other grains, so it’s healthier for the body.”
His colleague Mao Wendong adds that the spirit is a prominent part of the Yi people’s annual Torch Festival, which is held every summer. “During this festival all the people in the town get together and dance around the torches while passing them back and forth. Everyone takes part and you’ll see complete strangers dancing and drinking together.”
The Yi torch festival is rooted in a legend recounting their triumph over great adversity. In ancient times there was a man with superhuman strength named Atilaba who challenged Sriabi, the strongest deity in heaven, to a wrestling match. Atilaba was so strong he ended up killing Sriabi, which so enraged the gods that they unleashed swarms of locusts and worms to lay the Yi’s crops to waste. To ward off this plague Atilaba instructed his people to make torches out of pine and wild wormwood branches, which were lit in the fields on the 24th night of the sixth lunar month. The measures worked and from then on the Yi celebrated the ‘Torch Festival’ on that same day each year.
Lili Zhang, Sales and Marketing at Asinuniu, fondly recalls how, as a young girl, she and her Han family would often join their Yi neighbors in these celebrations, which helped her develop a taste and tolerance for Gang Gang wine. “Now I can drink a whole bottle of Gang Gang Jiu,” she says with a laugh.
If you’re curious to try some Gang Gang wine, you may want to start a bit slower than Mz Zhang and get a few friends together to split a 500ml jug of the good stuff, which sells for RMB 128 at Asiniuniu, one of the few places in Beijing which serves the spirit. The restaurant also sells the wine in 2.5L jars for RMB 199, while 6L jars go for RMB 558 – which is roughly equivalent in price to a decent bottle of wine, but with a lot more bang for your buck. Zhang recommends pairing a glass of the wine with the house specialty Yijia Tuotuo Zhurou (彝家坨坨猪肉), a traditional Yi pork dish, but it should go well with just about any savory dish with strong flavors. So next time you’re in the Sanlitun area and feeling a bit more adventurous with your dinner and drinking plans, swing by Asiniuniu and give Gang Gang wine a try.
Photos: Uni You
