Water basin mutton is a famous traditional Han snack in Shaanxi. It is a dish with mutton as the main ingredient. It is made from water basin in Dali, Pucheng and Chengcheng counties of Weinan City, Shaanxi Province. Mutton is the most famous, among which Dali’s water basin mutton is the most authentic. Water basin mutton is an excellent warming and strengthening agent. In this issue, Shaanxi Culture is introduced to you.

Dali Shuipen mutton is the most famous. Shuipen mutton evolved from the "mutton mutton" in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was called "mutton meat", and in the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was also called "mountain boiled sheep". The book "Shan Jia Qing Gong" describes the technique of cooking mutton soup and points out: "The sheep are made into gizzards and put in a casserole. In addition to the green onions and peppers, there is a secret method. Just beat a few almonds, boil them in running water, and cook them until they are bone-like. "It's also rotten."

There is a story in "The Book of Song", the general idea is: During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars continued and the people suffered. A man named Mao Xiuzhi was captured because of his cooking skills. Emperor Wu of the Song Dynasty offered mutton soup, which was delicious. He was promoted from a prisoner to an eunuch, and later to the Duke of Nanjun. After the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan dynasties, people of all ethnic groups migrated and exchanged. Many people entered the hinterland to live, and the original folk customs "gradually changed into old customs."

The mother of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, Empress Dowager Dou, was from Xianbei, and his queen, the eldest son, was also from Xianbei. Various ethnic groups intermarry with each other, so their food customs are bound to be affected. Guanzhong is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains and is relatively close to pastoral areas. It has historically been an ideal market for cattle and sheep trading. Historical street names such as Dongyang City, Xiyang City, Niushi Lane, and Luoma City in Xi'an all prove the formation and development of Shuipen Mutton.

Mutton is originally a warming food in autumn and winter, but Shaanxi chefs who are good at cooking beef and mutton have created water basin mutton to meet people's summer needs, so it is mostly available in the sixth month of the lunar calendar. , people praised it as "June Fresh". At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng, king of Chuang, led a peasant uprising army and was preparing to leave Shaanxi to attack Beijing. The people in Guanzhong fed the rebels with mutton in basins. The rebel soldiers were inspired and invaded Beijing in one go, overthrowing the corrupt rule of the Ming Dynasty. When eating water basin mutton, the most authentic way is to pair it with two Dali special crescent-shaped sesame cakes, one for filling the meat, and the other for soaking the steamed buns. It is served with fresh garlic or candied garlic. For the seasoned spicy oil, you need to use mutton. Just add a splash of oil, then the meat will be rotten and the soup will be clear, fat but not greasy, clear and delicious, and have a unique flavor.

When Shaanxi people eat water basin mutton, they often eat it with sesame cakes, accompanied by fresh garlic, hot sauce or sugared garlic. You can soak the buns in the soup and eat it with a bowl, or you can take a bite. The steamed buns are eaten with soup. The most authentic water basin mutton in Dali County, Shaanxi Province is eaten with a crescent moon cake. A bowl of mutton is served with two crescent cakes. The fat and lean mutton slices are sandwiched between the freshly made crescent cakes. In the middle, another sesame seed cake is soaked in the mutton soup. In the hometown of Dali, Pucheng, Chengxian and other state capitals, the mutton in the water basin is called mutton steamed buns, and the mutton steamed buns in Xi'an are called boiled steamed buns. The characteristics of Dali's "Water Basin Mutton" are "the soup is fragrant, the meat is crispy and tender, and the cake is browned". The biscuits served with it are basically round or crescent-shaped. They are all made from winter wheat flour produced in the Weibei Plain. Due to the long growth period, the flour is white and strong, and the biscuits produced are crispy and delicious.

Nutritious and nourishing, essential to protect against cold in winter. Mutton is sweet in taste and warm in nature, and enters the spleen, stomach, kidney, and heart meridians; it warms and nourishes the spleen and stomach, and is used to treat nausea, body weight, and chills caused by deficiency of the spleen and stomach; it warms and nourishes the liver and kidneys, and is used to treat kidney yang deficiency. It can treat soreness, weakness, coldness and pain in waist and knees, impotence and other symptoms caused by it; it can nourish blood and warm menstruation, and can be used for cold abdominal pain caused by postpartum blood deficiency and cold menstruation. Ancient Chinese medicine believes that mutton is a good product for supporting yang, replenishing essence and blood, treating lung deficiency, relieving strain, and warming the stomach. It is an excellent warming and strengthening agent.