Highland barley, buckwheat and potato are the main food of Tu. Tu people also like mutton and pork and have the tradition of drinking milk tea and barley wine made by their own.

Tu always keep their door open to the guests and visitors. They believe the visitors can bring good luck. As the guests enter, are seated and join the dinner, the host will propose three toasts respectively. If the guests do not drink, they just need to dip their fingers in the wine and have three flips into the air. Dahuer, a kind of baked cake, is the special food for entertaining the guests.

Qinghai lies in the northeast of Qinghai and Tibet plateau and is the cradle of yak. The yak yoghurt made by Tu women in Datong County is famous in Xining City. Tu women boil the yak milk and then add a spoon of yoghurt after it cools off and ferment it for 40 minutes. And the yak yoghurt is done. It tastes good and feels daintily. It is suitable for summer time.

Cuoyuer is a special local paste food in Qinghai countryside and now it becomes popular in cities. It is made from the lumps rubbed into short strips around 5cm with ends thinner than the middle, looking like small fish. Then boil the strips and mix with sauce and condiments.