Dirt hearth in China

In the part of America I live in, many people have expensive kitchens. A kitchen might cost one-hundred thousand dollars, or even more. Yet, in the end, cooking comes down to a sharp knife, a chopping block, and a source of heat. This kitchen it similar to early European kitchens, including the kitchens of ancient Greece and Rome.

This hearth from the tropical region of Yunnan, China, is separated from the wooden floor by a layer of dirt the thickness of the wooden molding that surrounds the hearth. The smoke rises through the roof, first passing through a rack from which meat can be hung to smoke. Further north in Yunnan, in the Tibetan region, yak cheese smokes above the fire, in addition to meats. While there is no chimney this house is designed for hot weather so there is plenty of air circulation. The primary fuel source is sticks gathered in the nearby forest.

The hearth is built near a door that leads to a deck where most of the food preparation takes place. The house itself is on stilts — the animals live underneath the house. The rack hanging over the hearth is used to smoke meat.

The distinctively shaped ceramic pot with lid you see behind and to the left of the fire is filled with salted bamboo shoot. Every house has at least one of these pickle jars.

Day and Night

Detail of a simple hearth showing a cooking pot on an iron tripod.

These two photographs of the same hearth, with one taken in the day, and the other at night. Note the ferocity of fire. Chinese cooking often depends on comparatively short bursts of high heat. Smaller woks and pots are supported by metal tripods while very large woks and pots are supported by the three rocks positioned around the fire.

This is the same view as the picture, above, but taken at night.