Rubing

Rubing (simplified Chinese: 乳饼; traditional Chinese: 乳餅; pinyin: rǔbǐng) is a firm, acid-set, non-melting, fresh goat milk farmer cheese made in the Yunnan Province of China by people of the Bai and Sani (recognized as a branch of the Yi in China) minorities.^[1] Its Bai name is youdbap, meaning "goat's milk".^[1]

Fried rubing (乳饼) goat's cheese in Kunming (昆明), Yunnan (云南), China.

Production

Rubing is made by mixing heated goat's milk and a souring agent, traditionally a mixture called năiténg (奶藤; lit. 'milk vine') made from a cultivated vine.^[1] Rubing is a staple of the Bai and Yi ethnic minorities’ cuisines and is celebrated as one of Yunnan’s most distinctive dairy products.

Preparation and serving

Rubing is most often steamed with local ham or salt beef, or sometimes served pan fried with salt and chilli. It may also be stir fried with vegetables (typically a mix of broccoli and carrot), in a similar manner to how other mainland Chinese rural cuisine tends to stir-fry harder forms of tofu.^photo It is also pan fried and served with alternative flavourings such as dry chilli powder, salt, and Sichuan pepper powder.

Relationship to other cheeses

Rubing is roughly similar to paneer and queso blanco, but with the aroma of fresh goat's milk. Its flavour profile is also comparable to Halloumi, sharing a similar flavour characteristic, mild saltiness, slightly tangy notes, ability to be grilled without melting.

See also

• Yunnan cuisine
• Rushan (cheese)
• List of goat milk cheeses