The history of mutton buns can be traced back to the 11th century BC.

The Western Zhou Dynasty listed yams as a "ritual food" for kings and lords. According to the Book of Song: Mao Xiuzhi in the North and South Dynasties, because of offering yōkan to Emperor Wu the best flavor, Emperor Wu even appointed Xiuzhi as a magistrate, and later promoted to the Shangshu Guanglu Daifu. More than 1,400 years ago in the Sui Dynasty, in Xie Yi "food scripture" in a beautiful food called "fine for no hu sheep soup". According to the documents, the Tang dynasty court imperial food and marketplace are good at making soup. "Three days in the kitchen, wash your hands to make soup". Sheep soup is a soup cooked with mutton, that is, the prototype of today's beef and mutton steamed bun. According to legend, when Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Song Dynasty, was not yet ambitious, he was living in poverty and living on the streets of Chang'an (now Xi'an). One day, only two pieces of dry bread left on the body, because it is too dry to bite, is unable to swallow and sorrow, it happens, there is a mutton store on the roadside is cooking mutton, he went to plead for a bowl of mutton soup, hoping to soak the bread soft and then eat. The shopkeeper saw his poor, let him break the bun, poured a spoonful of mutton soup is rolling soaked bubble. Zhao Kuangyin took the soaked bun, ate it with a big mouthful. Eat his body heat, head sweating, hunger and cold all away, the spirit of doubled. After eating, he thanked the shopkeeper and continued his journey.

Ten years later, in 960 A.D., Zhao Kuangyin became the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty and was called Taizu. Although the palace has all the delicacies of the sea, but he always felt that it does not smell good. Once he went on a tour of Chang'an, passing by that year's lamb store, store is cooking meat, the aroma is overflowing, Zhao Kuangyin can not help but think of ten years ago to eat lamb soup steamed buns of the scenario, then order parking, order the owner of the store to make a bowl of lamb soup steamed buns, the owner of a panicked, a store does not sell steamed buns with a 么 soak it? Secondly, because the emperor came to eat, non-trivial, busy wife immediately branded a few cakes, to be a good cake, the owner of a look is dead (dull) surface, and not too cooked, for fear that the emperor ate sick, they will break the buns (bai) broken, burned on the soup and boiled. Above also put a few large slices of mutton, carefully prepared seasoning on the end. I did not expect the emperor ate praised, and immediately ordered his entourage to give silver hundred taels to the shopkeeper. This story spread, and soon spread all over Chang'an, then there are curious people also want to try. Once they tasted it, the flavor was good, and more and more people came to the store to eat the steamed buns. Due to the booming business of the steamed buns, sometimes the supply of mutton was not enough, so beef was used instead, and the "shopkeeper" broke the buns by the customers themselves, and over time, it formed a unique flavor food in Chang'an. Su Dongpo, a great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, once praised the poem "Longzhuan has bear wax, and Qin cooks only goat soup". As for the seventeenth year of Ming Chongzhen (1644 AD), Xi'an specializing in beef and mutton steamed buns "Tianci building" opened in the bridge mouth, by the famous chef Ma Jianxing spoon, diners, business is booming, reputation of the ancient city. In 1900, when the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beijing in the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an with Emperor Guangxu, and came here to taste and praise the restaurant. The British expatriates who assisted in the postal work in China at that time also often came to eat here. For more than three hundred years, after "Tianci House", "Tongshengxiang", "Lao Sun's House", "Yixiang House", "Yiyuxiang House" and "Yiyuan House" have emerged successively. After "Tianci House", there have been more than ten restaurants such as "Tongshengxiang", "Lao Sunjia", "Yi Xianglou", "Yilou", "Dingxingchun", "Lao Tongjia", etc., which are competing with each other and have their own specialties, thus perfecting the technique of cooking steamed buns. In 1989, "Tongshengxiang" beef and mutton steamed bun won the State Ministry of Commerce Golden Tripod Award.

In 1936, before the Xi'an Incident, General Yang Hucheng, the general of the Northwest Army, invited Chiang Kai-shek to a banquet with mutton steamed buns in Xi'an. 1947, when the Kuomintang was running for the National People's Congress (NPC) representatives, they used mutton steamed buns to fight for votes, and at that time the newspaper headline was: "If you want to run for the National People's Congress, invite the guests to have mutton steamed buns first," which was used to exchange one vote for a bowl of mutton steamed bun. In the 1950s, the beloved Premier Zhou Enlai, Vice Premier Chen Yi and Comrade Li Da, respectively, hosted a banquet in Xi'an with mutton dumplings for the former King of Nepal, Mahendra, and President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam. British Marshal Montgomery tasted it and said happily: "I have enjoyed the Chinese food civilization once again today". Later, beef and mutton steamed buns settled in the capital city of Beijing, where the Palace of National Culture and the Xi'an Dining Hall in Xinjiekou both dealt with beef and mutton steamed buns. Xi'an restaurant of beef and mutton steamed buns, but also by Chairman Mao Zedong, Marshal Peng Dehuai's favor, had gone to taste. 1986, the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing invited Xi'an technician to teach the skills of steamed buns, so that the local flavor of beef and mutton steamed buns among the ranks of the state banquet, the value of doubled.

Beef and mutton steamed buns and general meals are different, it not only requires the chef in the branding, cooking meat, cutting meat, cooking buns and other crafts such as skillful, meticulous, and requires diners and chefs to work closely together, pay attention to the "will break the bun", "will eat".

Before the meal, the waiter will be sugar garlic, cilantro, chili sauce and sesame oil were placed in small dishes, placed on the table. Customers according to their own preferences, their own choice, put people in the bowl, eat can not be stirred back and forth to avoid diarrhea. Only from one side of the little by little "nibbles", so as to always keep the fresh flavor unchanged. At the same time, accompanied by sugar and garlic. After the meal, but also drink to the original soup with fans cooked from a small bowl of soup, and then drink two cups of Hunan Anhua strong tea, suddenly feel relaxed and happy, the aftertaste full of mouth, aftertaste.

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