11 Traditional Tibetan Dishes and Foods

Tsampa is a Tibetan staple dish made by mixing roasted barley flour with butter tea. Thanks to its mix of sweet and nutty flavors, high nutritional value, and simple preparation, tsampa is one of the best Tibetan dishes for both locals and travelers.

This barley flour-based dish is also famous in Nepal, while Turkestan and Mongolian cuisines have a similar dish called zamba.

While tsampa is part of a typical Tibetan breakfast, it is also a staple food during the Losar (Tibetan New Year) since locals consider it a symbol of peace and prosperity. Many Tibetan Buddhist rituals also involve tsampa.

Lightly processed barley flour is the best ingredient for Tsampa. Some Tibetan dishes require tsampa, such as tsam-thuk (Tibetan soup with local cheese), gyabrag (Tibetan barley pancake), and masan (Tibetan pastry with cheese and yak butter).

Thukpa is a time-honored Tibetan noodle soup. It comes from the Amdo region in northeastern Tibet and is found at Tibetan tea houses all over Lhasa.

There are many variants of thukpa depending on the type of noodle used. A popular variety is thenthuk, which is made with hand-pulled noodles. Many Tibetans like to have thenthuk for dinner or lunch.

Another well-known type of Thukpa is thukpa bhatuk, whose main ingredient is a type of local gnocchi-like noodle called bhatsa.

Guthuk is a special thukpa bhatuk version reserved for Nyi-Shu-Gu (Tibetan New Year’s Eve). Meanwhile, gyathuk is a similar Tibetan noodle soup based on Chinese-style noodles.

Besides noodles, thukpa consists of mixed vegetables and meat, like yak, beef, or goat meat. Vegetarian thukpa leaves out the meat and uses vegetable bouillon.

Momo is a timeless type of filled dumpling in Tibet and one of the must-try dishes to experience local cuisine. There are steamed, fried, and boiled momos; steamed momos are the most popular variety.

The Tibetan dumplings have minced meat (like yak, mutton, and goat meat) or vegetable fillings, with sepen (a traditional Tibetan hot sauce) on the side.

A notable distinction of momos is their wheat flour composition, which lends them a sturdy exterior. This characteristic transforms momos into perfect finger food.

Outstanding momo varieties include kothey momo (pan-fried momo), xab momo (mutton or beef-stuffed momos), and xogoi momo (momo made with mashed potatoes and minced meat).

A popular origin theory says momos first appeared in Nepal’s Kathmandu valley in the early 14th century. The dumplings were introduced and popularized in Tibet when a princess of Nepal married a Tibetan king in the 15th century.

Outside Tibet, momos are easy to find in many South Asian cuisines, such as Nepal, India, and Bhutan.

Yak meat is a classic dish and food ingredient in Tibetan cuisine. Yaks were domesticated in Tibet thousands of years ago and gradually became a source of meat, wool, milk, cheese, and wool for locals.

Yak meat is suitable for various cooking methods: boiling, roasting, stewing, roasting, or currying. Dried yak meat is a staple food in Tibet. Crispy and flavorful dried yak meat is usually eaten right away or stewed in curries.

The high-calorie content of yak meat helps locals bear the region’s harsh weather, especially during winter when fruits and vegetables are scarce.

Besides consuming yak meat, people in Tibet also turn yak milk into butter, yogurt, and a unique type of cheese called chhurpi. Beloved Tibetan specialties made from these dairy products include butter tea, tu (cheese cake), and thue (cheese butter cake).

Sha phaley (or shabhalep) is a traditional Tibetan pastry made from bread stuffed with meat and cabbage before being molded into a semi-circle. It looks like an empanada, and the savory goodness it oozes out is just as addictive.

A perfect sha phaley is a mixture of crispy pan-fried exterior and succulent meat filling. Some versions replace the seasoned meat with vegetables to create a completely vegan Tibetan dish.

Sha phaley is a wonderful snack, fast food, and street food in Tibet. Locals love to enjoy the golden stuffed and pan-fried pastry with hot sauce for breakfast, but sha phaley is even better for lunch and dinner.

Shab tra, or shapta (literally “stir-fried meat), is a popular Tibetan stir-fried dish made with meat, simple vegetables, and a variety of spices.

Common meat choices for shab tra are yak, beef, pork, or mutton. Meanwhile, hot peppers, ginger, garlic, onions, soy sauce, and scallions deepen the flavors of the stir-fry.

Elevate your shab tra experience by pairing it with tingmo (Tibetan steamed bread) or rice. Non-Tibetan side dishes like rotis or Chinese steamed buns also pair well with this Tibetan meat stir-fry.

Tingmo is a Tibetan steamed bread made with soft and fluffy dough. This steamed bread dish has a close relationship to Momos: many people believe its name to be a fusion of “tinga” (the Tibetan word for “cloud”) and “momo.”

But unlike Momos, tingmo has no filling. Appearance-wise, this versatile Tibetan bread is highly similar to Chinese flower rolls.

Tingmo is a perfect accompaniment for an array of dishes, like vegetable stir-fries, noodle soups, meat stews, and more.

A few exciting dishes to pair with Tingo are qoiri (a mutton and cheese stew), gyurma (Tibetan blood sausage), drokpa katsa (tripe stew), and samkham papleg (Tibetan fried dough)

Dre-si (also spelled as dé-si or dresil) is a traditional Tibetan dish for Losar. It is also prevalent during weddings and Buddhist holidays, such as Saka Dawa (a celebration of Buddha’s birth and enlightenment).

Although called Tibetan sweet rice in English, authentic dre-si doesn’t always contain any type of rice. Instead, its main ingredients are droma (a tuber native to Tibetan mountains), sugar, and yak butter. Dre-si for Losar comes with extra servings of dried fruits and nuts.

Droma has a similar flavor to sweet potatoes and infuses dre-si with a gentle sweetness. Since this Tibetan tuber is challenging to find outside the region, many overseas Tibetans use other substitutes, such as rice.

Khapse, or khapsey, is a Tibetan biscuit with a long history and is available in many shapes and sizes. The long khapse, also known as a donkey’s ear (bhungu amcho), is a beloved variety.

The main ingredients of khapse are eggs, yak butter, and powdered sugar for garnishing.

Losar is the best time to try Khapsey when locals whip up a vast number of biscuits for offerings and gift-giving. Tibetan weddings and religious holidays are also more festive with khapse.

Laping is a popular cold noodle dish and street food in Tube. It is also popular in Nepal and appears to have been derived from similar dishes in Sichuan cuisine.

Laping noodles are often made from wheat, barley, or mung bean starch. These noodles are typically flat, translucent, and chewy, with a jelly-like, slippery texture.

In Laping, the noodles are served with a mixture of chili oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. The sauce sometimes includes herbs like cilantro and scallions.

Laping offers a spicy and complex taste and is highly refreshing during the summer months.

Balep korkun is a famous type of Tibetan fried flatbread that is especially common in Central Tibet. It has a similar look to naan in South Asian cuisine.

Balep korkun is traditionally based on barley flour and baking powder, but wheat flour is a staple ingredient nowadays.

Monastery bread is a familiar English name for balep korkun, which is made by many Tibetan monks. This trait shows the influence of Tibetan Buddhism, one of the defining factors of local foods.