Ningxia is located in the northwest of China, adjacent to Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Gansu. Its geographical environment consists of three parts: the Yellow River irrigation area in the north, the arid area in the middle and the mountainous area in the south. It is rich in tourism resources, full of deserts, lakes, grasslands and ancient cities, and has the reputation of "being on the south of the Yangtze River". According to records, this reputation existed as early as the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
Compared with Shaanxi and Gansu, Ningxia's tourist popularity is not so high, but in the eyes of foodies, Ningxia's food is really enjoyable.
"The Yellow River rushed out of Helan Mountain and shaped the Ningxia Plain".
Almost all gourmets in China think the mutton here is the most delicious. So, where is the best mutton in Ningxia? When it comes to salt ponds, no one objects.
Many people are impressed by Wuzhong's delicious food, especially Wuzhong's mutton. But since I went to Wuzhong, why not go deep into Yanchi? The material for Wuzhong's hand-grabbed mutton must be 1-2-year-old Yanchitan sheep.
Yanchi, located in the east of Ningxia, is a county under the jurisdiction of Wuzhong, a thousand-year-old city with the reputation of "Great Wall Museum". Raising sheep has a long history, which has been recorded in county annals since the Qing Dynasty (Qianlong period). It is said that the best mutton in China is here.
"Speaking of catching, I think of Ningxia."
Ningxia's hand-grabbed mutton is famous all over the country, and Yanchi is the hometown of beach sheep. The texture of mutton here makes countless gourmets and foodies flock to it. Yanchitan sheep has tender meat, no peculiar smell, delicious taste and even fat distribution.
When cooking, cut the whole lamb into three pieces, soak the whole lamb in blood, skim off the floating foam, add spices such as pepper and ginger slices, cook over low heat for more than 4 hours, take it out and let it cool. When eating, grab and tear with your hands, be informal, let go of your throat and swallow mountains and rivers.
Among them, mutton neck and mutton ribs are the most respected by local people, and they are especially favored by diners. Many tourists who don't eat mutton come to Yanchi and can't put it down. Even if they have eaten mutton in Yanchi, they are not used to mutton from other places.
In addition to grasping by hand, the eating methods of Yanchitan sheep are also diverse and rich, which brings together four major practices: stewing, steaming, roasting and rinsing. For example, soup is stewed with sheep bones and natural spices. Besides fresh and delicious meat, it is also necessary to drink soup. Mutton soup tastes smooth, without any fishy smell and impurities.
At the same time, mutton paomo is also a major feature. The mutton bread in Ningxia is coarse in meat, and there is no aniseed and soy sauce in the soup, just to show the original flavor of Ningxia mutton. This is lighter than Xi 'an's mutton bread in soup.
Then roast whole sheep and leg of lamb, full of color and flavor, crisp outside and tender inside, crisp but not greasy. When I was traveling in Yanchi, I met several Cantonese people who came here to eat whole sheep roasted in Yanchi.
Eating in Guangdong, Guangdong's food is world-famous. But there is no Yanchitan sheep in Guangdong, and there is no such delicious roast whole sheep. Those Cantonese diners said, "They come to Ningxia to eat mutton almost every year." .
Why is Yanchitan sheep so delicious?
Ningxia, located in the northwest, is hot in summer, not too cold in winter, with long sunshine time and large temperature difference between day and night, which makes forage nutrient rich and rich in animal husbandry resources.
There are 175 kinds of high-quality forage grass such as licorice and Sophora alopecuroides, which not only bring sufficient nutrients to Tan sheep, but also make its meat more tender. In the local words, the sheep in Yanchitan "eat Chinese herbal medicines (licorice, Sophora alopecuroides, etc.). ) and drinking ditch spring water ",so its meat flavor ranks first in China.
In addition to the unique natural conditions, Yanchitan sheep also has a more surprising growth environment: listening to music and running every day. This can not only adjust their mood, but also help their bodies to exercise, so that the fat distribution in the body is more uniform.
Just like this, Ningxia mutton is famous all over the country, and Yanchitan sheep has become an excellent variety and has been listed as a national second-class protected variety by the Ministry of Agriculture. At the same time, these sheep not only have delicious meat, but also have more beautiful fur. The fur produced by these sheep is one of the "five treasures" in Ningxia, and it is also the first of the "three treasures" in the world-famous Yanchi.