Listen to this articleOverview
Chinese Name: 手抓羊肉
English Name: Boiled Mutton; Grasping Mutton; Hand-held Mutton
Category: Ningxia Cuisine宁夏菜
Main Ingredients: Mutton
Boiled Mutton手抓羊肉 is a medicated diet made of mutton waist and coriander. In addition, hand grasping mutton is also a traditional food loved by Mongolian蒙古族, Tibetan藏族, Hui回族, Kazak哈萨克族, Uyghur维吾尔族, and other nationalities in Northwest China. It is said to have a history of nearly 1000 years and is named after eating with hand grasping.
In September 2018, the hand-held mutton was rated as one of the top ten classic dishes of “Chinese cuisine” in Ningxia宁夏.
“Shuowen说文” says, “sheep are auspicious羊，祥也.” “Zhou Li Xia Guan Yang Ren周礼·夏官·羊人” records: “the people take charge of the sheep and animals, and all sacrifice and decorate the lamb羊人掌羊牲，凡祭祀，饰羔.” Sheep were endowed with auspicious symbols and important sacrificial food in ancient times. Compendium of Materia Medica本草纲目 also says that mutton is a tonic, which can be compared with ginseng人参 and Astragalus黄芪.
There are three ways to eat mutton by hand, that is, eat it hot (steam the mutton in a cage after slicing it and then dip it in oil), eat it cold (eat it directly with salt after slicing it), and eat it fried (fry the mutton in a pan and eat it while frying).
In Gansu甘肃, Dongxiang People东乡族人’s hand grasping mutton is a famous thing and is deeply loved by people. Hospitable Dongxiang People, no matter how poor and simple their life is, the most solemn ceremony for guests is to kill sheep during festivals or when guests come to the door. Grasping mutton is essential at their banquet. Eating mutton by hand is also very particular. We should chop the mutton with bone into two-finger wide strips or blocks, put it on a large plate, and everyone will sit around and eat it.
Grasping mutton is also a delicacy for the people in Qinghai Pastoral Areas青海牧区 to entertain guests, and it is also one of the indispensable staple foods in daily life. When you eat mutton for the first time, you will feel almost primitive. After many times of tastes, you will be more greedy and unforgettable. “Hand grasping” is a unique eating method on the Qinghai Plateau, and it has a good reputation in the country.
In pastoral areas, the cooking of hand grabbed mutton still maintains its original flavor: fresh mutton is stewed in a pot, and some only put pepper and ginger without salt; Some don’t put any seasoning. Stew the meat until it is seven or eight mature and then take it out for consumption. The host put the steaming mutton on a large delicate plate with a knife about 15 cm long beside it. This knife is full of national characteristics. And its handle is inlaid with carved patterns.
How to make Boiled Mutton?
Ingredients：
- 1000 grams of lamb chops
- 1 ginger
- 3-4 octagons
- 1 cinnamon
- 1 fragrant leaf
- 15 pepper
- 2 grams of salt
- 6 grams of raw extract
- 6 grams of aged vinegar
- 8 grams of white granulated sugar
- 1 garlic
Instruction:
- Step 1, Add ginger and water to the lamb chop. Boil the pot for two minutes and bring out the foam.
- Step 2, Take out the cooked lamb chops and wash them. Add ginger slices, star anise, cinnamon, fragrant leaves, and pepper.
- Step 3, Add water, and steam in a pressure cooker, and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Step 4, Add a little salt after stewing.
- Step 5, After stewing, take out the lamb chops and cut them into pieces.
- Step 6, Seasoning properly, add an appropriate amount of pepper according to your hobbies.
- Step 7, Chop the chili and garlic into small pieces, then heat the oil and pour it into it. Stir well.
- Step 8, Then add salt, aged vinegar, white granulated sugar, and raw soy sauce and stir well.
Tips:
- Mutton with garlic is the perfect match. White sugar in the seasoning can freshen and increase the flavor, which can not be omitted!
- Meat is soft but not rotten, tender but not firewood, fresh but not mutton is the best!
- It’s easier to chew the mutton by cutting it smaller, and this dish needs to be eaten while it’s hot.
- There is no need to put too much seasoning. What this dish eats is the freshness of mutton itself.
