When I was in college, I almost traveled all over China. As a barbecue enthusiast, I basically ate barbecue from all regions.

I think it is enough to simply divide barbecue into north and south. In my opinion, it should be divided into four styles: southeast, southwest, northeast and northwest.

Barbecue in the southeastern region, especially in coastal areas such as Guangdong and Hainan, mainly focuses on seafood. If you come to a barbecue stall here and ask what the sign is, eight out of ten will tell you that it is charcoal grilled. Oysters.

In addition, there are grilled squid, grilled fish, grilled shrimp, grilled conch, etc. The taste is fresh and the ingredients are not heavy.

The southwest region is dominated by the barbecue styles of the Yunnan and Guizhou regions mentioned above. The barbecue in Yunnan is rich in the unique style of ethnic minorities, with special spices and various barbecue materials. You can also see strange bugs and even roasted pig gums and pig sphincter.

The barbecue in southwest China left a unique impression on me, as well as Guizhou. Grilled brains in tinfoil, grilled fish with tofu curd, and Houttuynia cordata, which is loved by Guizhou people, have a unique flavor.

Barbecue in the northwest region is mainly based on Xinjiang, Ningxia and other regions. Large skewers of beef and mutton are added with cumin spices. Satisfied, the disadvantage is that the dishes are few and relatively simple.

Northeastern barbecue is a typical style based on the Northeastern region, Shandong, etc. Northeastern people are world-famous for their love of barbecue, mainly beef and mutton, with sheep trotters, tendons, kidneys, whips, and noodles. As a supplement, cold beer, peanuts, pimple soup, garlic.

Northeastern barbecue has a strong smell, as if you can smell the aroma wafting from several streets away. And the barbecue scenes I have seen elsewhere have never been as pyrotechnic as the barbecue stalls in Northeast China.

In my eyes, it is the most typical representative of Chinese barbecue culture.

So I want to talk about northern barbecue in detail.

In the few barbecue stalls I went to, I found an interesting phenomenon, that is, northerners never seem to need a menu when ordering barbecue. He just called the boss over and started ordering skewers, with his typical northern accent, which made him look bold and bold.

This made me not ask for the menu afterwards, but just decide what I wanted to eat directly from the communication with the boss.

I have eaten several barbecues in the north that impressed me deeply.

One is mutton skewers.

The northern mutton skewers are generous and thick. Therefore, when grilling, it needs to be grilled over high fire for a certain period of time. After everything is cooked, the outside will be slightly charred, and the outer skin will be roasted to give a dizzying aroma. Combined with various spices on the surface, the salty aroma will be charred and crispy. The mutton inside is tender and blanched, containing rich juice. Once you take a bite, you can hardly bear to swallow it too quickly.

The second is the milk box.

I heard that roasted milk boxes are a specialty in Siping. Of course, I did not eat the milk boxes in Siping.

I have always loved trying new things. As long as something can arouse my curiosity, I will be eager to try it. The same goes for milk boxes. I was attracted by the name, and upon further inquiry I found out that it was meat from the udders of cattle and sheep.

The first time I ate it, I actually couldn’t accept it. It was too tough and the texture was strange. But when I ate it again, I could taste a little bit of fat and milky flavor.

Later, I always thought of this dish. I felt that it was similar to the beef breast that is popular in Chaoshan, Guangdong.

The third is the roasted chicken rack.

I have never seen grilling a whole chicken rack in the south. The only time I ate it was when I was in the north, a friend took me to eat it. This makes me still remember, after the whole chicken rack is grilled, it is served to you directly.

You eat with gloves. There is not much meat on the chicken rack, which allows the salty aroma of the marinade and barbecue spices to penetrate into every bit of meat. It is really delicious. Delicious.

The fourth is roasted tendon skin.

I still can’t figure out which part of the cow it is, but the point is that it is so delicious. After I tried it once, I have been thinking about it to this day. The texture and taste make me sincerely admire the creations of northern barbecue gourmets.

There is so much to say about northern barbecue. If you think about it carefully, there are so many kinds that are worthy of making people swallow their saliva late at night.

In addition to these dishes, I also have a sense of human touch towards barbecue stalls in the north.

People say that northerners are cheerful, enthusiastic and informal. Before I went there to really feel it, the concept had always been very vague. It wasn’t until I continued to travel abroad and went to the north many times that I truly realized this.

Da Liu has a saying that is widely circulated: "There is nothing that cannot be solved by one barbecue. If there is, then two meals."

This sentence makes the barbecue in the north impossible. Cultural expression is vivid. Northerners go to the barbecue table, and after a few glasses of wine, they can start chatting with each other.

The atmosphere of northern barbecue stalls is naturally different from that of southern barbecue stalls. If you taste them carefully, you can find the difference.

Southerners tend to be introverted. Although the barbecue table is also noisy, most of the conversation is concentrated around the table, making them seem quiet in comparison. Northerners are bold and straightforward, and they like to eat at barbecue stalls best. It is said that we often talk about our hearts and minds at home, have fun with wine and meat, and enjoy the joy of getting together. They have always regarded the barbecue stall as their own courtyard. Many intimate words that they would never say easily on weekdays can be said out loud at the barbecue stall. Those words that make people feel extremely heart-warming are also blessed by alcohol and atmosphere. , but it still makes people feel the deep homely care. I personally think that the three words "human touch" are most vividly interpreted at the barbecue stalls in the north.

In comparison, southern barbecue stalls lack such a meaning. Because I always go to barbecue alone, I have a deep understanding of this. In the south, eating barbecue alone is just eating barbecue, but in the north, eating barbecue alone seems to be experiencing a love-hate separation at the next table. This is probably what it feels like.

What impressed me deeply about this was that once I went to the north alone and spent a night in a small county town.

That night I went to have a barbecue, and one person occupied a table. After a while, three big guys came, all of them really wearing white vests, shirtless and round-headed. The boss informed them that there were no seats left, and they happened to be standing next to me. I heard them talking in an angry tone, and I was a little afraid of getting into trouble. Unexpectedly, one of them grinned at me with an expression that was even brighter than the smile of the sun in Teletubbies, and asked my little brother if he could share a table with me.

I said yes, let’s sit together.

That night, I, a young boy from the South, chatted with three big guys from the North about current affairs and gossip for several hours. Their hearty laughter, heroic words, and Mandarin full of northern flavor made me, a lonely traveler in a foreign country, feel extremely friendly.

Both barbecues have different textures and flavors due to differences in the selection of materials, grilling ingredients, dipping sauces, and techniques. North and South, each has its own eye-catching charm. The unique barbecue atmosphere culture formed due to local culture, temperament, tradition and other factors has added other connotations of barbecue besides filling the stomach. In this regard, I really like the unique smell of rivers and lakes and human fireworks in northern barbecue stalls.