Dun, Daye, Huang, Shengye. The word "Dunhuang" takes the meaning of grand splendor and symbolizes the wish for prosperity. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carved out the western region, "according to the two passes, the four counties" has a history of more than 2,100 years, is the "first hub city" of the ancient Silk Road, and is also the historian Fan Wenlan pointed out that "the first and most accepted foreign cultures in the region". Dunhuang was praised by Mr. Ji Xianlin, a master of traditional Chinese studies, as the only place where the world's four major civilization systems meet. As the pearl in the crown of "Symphonic Silk Road and Ruyi Gansu", dunhuang's 2021 "East Asian Cultural Capital • China Dunhuang Activity Year" event held here from April 8 to 10 will surely drive Dunhuang's urban cultural construction, stimulate urban vitality, and expand Dunhuang's international popularity and reputation.
On the occasion of the upcoming "East Asian Cultural Capital - China Dunhuang Activity Year", first take you into the "East Asian Cultural Capital", enjoy the Silk Road Dunhuang, and taste dunhuang on the tip of the tongue.
People who have been to Dunhuang, later recall, in addition to the Long-lasting Dunhuang murals, the Crescent Spring of Shaming Mountain and the unfinished taste of street corner restaurants...
Dunhuang's cuisine, like Dunhuang's culture and art, carries a long history and a thousand years of affection.
Lamb stew
To say that Dunhuang's most authentic cuisine, donkey meat yellow noodles can only rank second, and Hu sheep stew cake is the most grounded Dunhuang cuisine.
In ancient times, Dunhuang was a nomadic land for ethnic minorities, and people collectively called them "Hu people". Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Han culture and Hu culture have been integrated, becoming a typical representative of the development of Dunhuang food culture, and evolving from the dietary customs and practices of the Hu people. When the lamb is cooked until it is almost cooked, the rolled pancakes are placed on top of the meat, and the raw dough cakes are covered with lamb one by one. Large pieces of lamb are spread over the plate, a slice of pasta is soft and smooth, and the sauce is full of color and rich flavor.
It is said that the stewed cake is also the best dish for the Dunhuang old man to receive the son-in-law, the first time to the door, if the old man entertains you to eat "stewed cake", then you two basically count this matter.
Donkey meat yellow noodles
"Dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the earth" is a very popular saying in the Dunhuang food industry. As one of the eight monsters, donkey meat yellow noodles, but you can't find it without Dunhuang!
The yellow noodles are named for their bright golden color, which is as thin as a dragon's whiskers, flexible and resistant to pulling, and has a strong taste. And the strong taste of the yellow noodles, fully resistant to the craftsmanship of the ramen master - only to see the ramen master dancing with his hands a piece of pale yellow dough weighing seven or eight pounds, sometimes pulling into a long strip, sometimes rotating and twisting into a twist shape, and the fan-like noodles were born.
Dunhuang ramen, a traditional food process, has existed more than a thousand years ago – there are murals of ramen in the Song Dynasty Caves of Mogao Caves 256, which were excavated in the late 10th century AD.
Red willow roast
Coming to Dunhuang and not going to shazhou night market to pick up strings, it will be a pity. Three or two people gathered around a table to roast the red willow and drink a few beers, and the trip to Dunhuang was complete.
Northwest people eat mutton, from the beginning to the end, from meat to bone, from internal organs to bone marrow are eaten, roasted, fried, steamed, boiled, stewed, stewed, marinated, stewed, fried and other "eating sheep Dafa", each of which is a different delicacy.
Dunhuang's red willow roast meat is another ingenious way to roast lamb. The red willow branches are carefully selected one by one, and then the ends are sharpened to skewer the meat. After the red willow skewers of lamb are grilled on charcoal, in the process of roasting, the fat rich in vitamins in the red willow flows out and seeps into the lamb, which not only increases the nutrients in the lamb, but also has a unique wood aroma.
When you come to Dunhuang, you have to "eat meat in a big mouth and drink in a big bowl" and enjoy the happiness brought by the uninhibited roughness of the northwestern people, which is perhaps the most comfortable time on this trip.
Lamb powder soup
Gansu's large regional span, each place's breakfast is different, Lanzhou people's day starts from beef noodles, while Dunhuang people's day starts from mutton noodle soup.
Choose the fat sheep raised in Dunhuang, slaughter, wash and cut into large pieces, and then cook in water. Beat the blood foam, when it is almost ripe, add a little fine salt, fish out the meat after cooking, shave the bones, then return the shaved bones to the pot, and boil them over a warm heat to make a soup.
When eating, first mix the bone broth with water, add the appropriate amount of ginger, pepper and other spices to boil, then cut the cooked meat into thin slices and cut into a bowl of vermicelli/vermicelli, scoop in the boiling soup, sprinkle with chopped coriander, leeks and green onions, minced chili peppers, etc. The view of red, yellow, green and white, fragrant, spicy and refreshing, fat but not greasy. It has the effect of tonic, fever and cold.
Longevity alkali noodles
A kind of poplar tree that grows in Dunhuang, known locally as the "plane tree". An edible sap alkali flowing from the tree, and when the noodles are added, they are made into noodles, which are characterized by flexible and strong, refreshing and comfortable stomach, the noodles are slender, thick and even, the soup is fragrant, commonly known as "alkali noodles", also known as "cheek noodles".
Alkali noodles since the Tang Dynasty Dunhuang people's hospitality, for the noodles as a staple food of Dunhuang people, the status of longevity alkali noodles is always high. Tim Ding imports to eat alkali noodles, every New Year's Festival to eat alkali noodles, symbolizing people's longevity, called "longevity alkali noodles".
Bubble oil cake
Bubble oil cake is an evolution of the Tang Dynasty's "see the wind and beauty", and has a history of at least more than 1200 years in Dunhuang. Initially, it was only popular at the banquets of the court and palace.
Bubble cream cake is named because of its yellow color, fluffy surface, and dense pearl bubbles on the surface. Bubble oil cake is more like a dessert, crispy like flying feathers, sweet inside like glutinous sugar, crisp and sweet to eat, refreshing in the mouth, in Dunhuang has become an indispensable dessert for all ages before and after meals.
Some people say that Dunhuang is not only a geographical term, but also a spiritual coordinate, a cultural highland, because it has engraved too many national cultural memories, Dunhuang has almost become a cultural gene passed down from generation to generation, this April, I am waiting for you in Dunhuang!