Yak Meat Hot Pot 牦牛肉火锅
Yak Meat Hot Pot is featured among the local specialties of Tibet (Xizang).
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Yak Meat Hot Pot (牦牛肉火锅) is the Tibetan-style hotpot (藏式火锅) eaten in Lhasa (拉萨), in which sliced yak meat cooks in a yak bone broth. A Tibet Daily feature on winter travel in Lhasa names a meal of Tibetan hotpot, with a cup of butter tea, among the everyday pleasures of the city, and calls it a dish visitors to Tibet should not miss.
How it is made
According to the Tibet Daily, Tibetan hotpot differs from ordinary hotpot in its pot, which is usually made of copper, and in its base: a yak bone broth simmered for several hours until it is rich and full-flavoured. The pot is filled with slices of yak meat and meatballs, together with mushrooms and other vegetables, which cook in the boiling broth.
How it is eaten
Pieces are dipped in a Tibetan-style chilli sauce made for the purpose, and diners also drink a bowl of the broth. The same feature says hotpot restaurants are easy to find along the Barkhor (八廓街), on Beijing East Road (北京东路) and in Lhasa's shopping centres, and that many of them stage performances during the meal, such as costume shows and songs in Tibetan. It also suggests eating hotpot in the evening while looking out over Lhasa at night.
Guangming Daily reporters describe a newer, adapted style of Tibetan hotpot that uses modern cooking methods and mixes meat and vegetables for a fresh, rich taste.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-25. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.