Today finally ushered in the cold wave in Guangdong. The cold wind was blowing, and people walking in the street were wrapped in a tight layer. My colleague told me that I really want to eat roast lamb chops and mutton hot pot. Cold weather is the best.

winter tonic, how can you lose delicious mutton?

in our opinion, mutton is a common food. Even ordinary foods have different tastes under different cooking methods, such as instant mutton, roast lamb chops, mutton hot pot, stewed hand-grabbed sheep, kebabs, mutton hand-grabbed rice, mutton paomo, mutton soup, etc. In cold weather, instant mutton and mutton soup are always preferred.

There are several different origins about instant-boiled mutton. Everyone must be curious, which dynasty did instant-boiled mutton begin to appear? The origin of instant-boiled mutton

As we all know, there was a dynasty called Liao and Song in history. The earliest origin of instant-boiled mutton is found in the early Liao frescoes unearthed in Aohan Banner, Zhaowudameng, Inner Mongolia. The picture shows the shape of instant-boiled mutton eaten by Qidan people 11 years ago: three Qidan people sit around a steaming boiler. Even if the shape of the unearthed mural is unclear, it can still be recognized that someone is holding chopsticks to rinse mutton in the pot, and there are small pots of mutton and plates and rice bowls with good ingredients on the table in front of the boiler.

the second origin is from the Yuan Dynasty after the Song Dynasty. Mongols conquer the world on horseback, animal husbandry is developed, and there are many cattle and sheep. Compared with the first one, I prefer instant-boiled mutton, which originated from Kublai Khan's cook.

why do you say that? Yuan Shizu Kublai Khan led the army to the south. At that time, there was constant war, lack of food and grass, and soldiers had no food, so they could not afford to fight mentally. At a loss, Kublai Khan remembered that he had eaten a stewed mutton in his hometown and immediately ordered the cook to slaughter the sheep.

But the cook had just slaughtered the sheep and was about to cut it, when the spy rushed into the tent and loudly reported that the enemy was approaching. If you approach again, you must fill your stomach before you have the strength to fight! In desperation, Kublai Khan ordered his subordinates to leave and asked the cook to speed up. He wanted to eat mutton.

The cook knew that it was urgent to make mutton, but it took time to stew mutton, so he used his quick wits to slice the mutton into thin slices. It happened that the water in the pot boiled, and all of it was poured in and rolled for a few times. When the mutton changed color, he immediately took it out, added some salt and handed it to Kublai Khan.

Kublai Khan wolfed down several bowls of soup and water, and immediately led his men to fight against the enemy. As a result, his morale soared and he returned victorious.

When preparing for the celebration banquet, Kublai Khan specifically told the cook, "Don't forget that mutton slice, this is our' hero'."

Last time, it was done in a hurry. This time, the cook chose the meat of young sheep, cut it into thin slices, and served it with various spices. After eating it, the generals applauded. Someone asked, what is the name of this dish? The cook replied that he didn't have a name yet, so he might as well ask the marshal to give him a name.

Kublai Khan thought for a moment and replied, "Or' instant-boiled mutton'!" From then on, "instant-boiled mutton" became a famous dish in the court of the Yuan Dynasty, and began to spread among the people, spreading thousands of miles.

counting further, the last origin comes from the Qing dynasty. There is a record in "A Hundred Stories in the Old City":

Mutton pot, the most common delicacy in cold years, must be eaten in mutton restaurant. This kind of eating method has evolved from the study of the nomadic heritage in the north, forming a special flavor.

during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, there was a classic dish in the grand "Thousand Feasts", that is, mutton hot pot and stewed rotten mutton, which became the food people expected at this banquet.

However, the Millennium Banquet is only for the elderly over 6 years old, so mutton hot pot has not been completely spread among the people. It was not until the Guangxu period that the big shopkeeper of Donglaishun mutton restaurant in Beijing bribed the court eunuch, who stole the seasoning formula of "instant-boiled mutton" and then cooked it by the chef of Donglaishun mutton restaurant, and this dish was available for ordinary people to enjoy together. This makes this dish spread to the people, and this dish can be sold in famous urban restaurants for ordinary people to enjoy.

No matter how many times the practice of instant-boiled mutton or stewed mutton has been passed down, it will never leave people's wisdom and fireworks. Tips for mutton selection

Learning to choose good mutton can add icing on the cake to the cooked finished product. Choosing mutton should focus on three aspects, namely color, smell and feel.

first, look at the color. You can tell whether mutton is fresh or not by its color. The color of fresh mutton is bright red and bright, with a fresh sense of blood, rather than dull reddish brown (stale, has been put for some time), white or gray meat. In addition, the fine grain, uniform distribution of fat and thin, and red and white are also signs to judge whether mutton is fresh or not.

the second is smell. Mutton from different regions and different breeding methods has different tastes. If the mutton is kept in captivity, the smell will be heavier, and the smell of the stocked sheep will not be so heavy. When buying mutton, if you smell it is very pungent and there is a rancid smell, it may have been stored for a long time, or it has not been stored at a cold and fresh temperature in time. Don't buy it.

finally, feel. Before buying mutton, you should touch the meat quality of mutton, which is elastic and has no moisture. Press it tightly, indicating that sheep usually exercise more and have not been injected with water. If the touch is sticky, and the water comes out as soon as you press it, it is usually filled with water, and the taste is not good after cooking. It is recommended not to buy it. Recommend three kinds of mutton soup

sugarcane mutton soup

Sugarcane should be cooked with mutton in season, which is sweet and moist, and it is just right to eat in dry season.

preparation of ingredients: 1 kg of mutton, 2g of sugarcane, 3-5 red dates, a handful of Lycium barbarum, green onions, ginger slices, salt and cooking wine.

Practice:

1. Peel the sugarcane, cut it into small pieces and then cut it into three-dimensional triangles. Remove the core from the red dates and set aside.

2. Cut the mutton into small pieces, blanch it in a pot with cold water, add ginger slices, cooking wine and green onions at the same time, skim off the floating foam after boiling, take it out and wash it for later use.

3. Put mutton, sugar cane, red dates and ginger slices into the pot, add enough water, and simmer for 1.5 hours after the fire is boiled.

4. Ten minutes before turning off the fire, add Lycium barbarum and add appropriate amount of salt to taste.

Angelica mutton soup

Ingredients preparation: mutton 3g, ginger 2g, Angelica 2g, five red dates, and appropriate amount of salt and cooking wine

Practice:

1. Cut the mutton into small pieces, blanch it in cold water, add ginger slices and cooking wine at the same time, skim off the floating foam after boiling, and take it out and wash it for later use.

2. Angelica sinensis can be sliced. If it is not sliced, soak it in warm water for half an hour and then slice it.

3. put mutton, ginger, angelica sinensis and red dates (without core) into the pot, add enough water, simmer for 1.5 hours after the fire boils, and finally add appropriate amount of salt to taste.

mutton radish soup

eating radish in winter and ginger in summer is a well-known folk proverb that eating radish in winter is good for your health. Radish and mutton are the perfect match for making soup in winter.

preparation of ingredients: one catty of mutton, one radish, and appropriate amount of ginger, cooking wine, salt, scallion, coriander and fermented bean curd

Practice:

1. Cut the mutton into small pieces, blanch it in a pot with cold water, and add ginger slices, cooking wine and scallion to boil, then skim off the floating foam, remove and wash it for later use.

2. Peel the radish and cut it into hob blocks, and set aside.

3. Add enough water to the pot, add mutton and ginger slices to boil over high fire, then simmer for 1 hour, add white radish and simmer for 3 minutes.

4. finally, sprinkle some coriander and salt to taste, and serve. You can mash a piece of fermented bean curd and dip it in mutton with homemade sauce. Conclusion

In winter, your hands and feet are cold. Eating mutton often can keep you warm. Recommend three soups, which can add warmth, remove cold, warm and nutritious mutton to everyone in the cold wave that strikes from time to time. Let's do it together!