The "lamb stew cake" that Xinjiang people love to eat, how did it come about?

Lamb stew is related to two historical figures, one is Genghis Khan and the other is Ji Xiaolan.　　

I see the matter related to Genghis Khan as a "walk in", and the lamb stew has become a food dish through the spread of Genghis Khan.

When Genghis Khan led his troops to fight, because the war was urgent, eating became a problem.

One day, he encountered an urgent military situation, and he urgently ordered his men to cook and ensure that the soldiers were full and put into battle.

The man did not dare to be idle, and chopped the slaughtered sheep into pieces and stir-fried them in the pot. The lamb was quickly cooked, but the cakes that had been prepared earlier were dry and hard to nibble because of the heat.

The man then put the bread in the lamb and simmered it for a while, and then came out of the pot together for the soldiers to eat. After Genghis Khan ate it, he felt that the meat cake was soft, so he gave it the name lamb stew.

After that, when the military situation was urgent, he asked his brother-in-law to make lamb stew. Because this dish is convenient and easy to make, it is used for pre-war feeding, and the efficiency and effect are remarkable. Genghis Khan's team was thus able to react quickly and never missed the fighter.

　　

On the way back, two old men could not move due to old age and physical decline, and after receiving permission, they stayed in Dushan City.

They improved the pancakes in lamb stews to thin skins, which greatly improved in form and taste.

The locals smelled the aroma and asked about how to make it, and the two passed on the method of making lamb stew to the locals.

Dushan City is today's wooden base, today's wooden base of lamb stew, with lamb delicious, thin noodles, strong flavor and famous, many people to the wooden base must eat, so many restaurants have.

But few people know the origin of mully lamb stew, and no one will think that a generation of genghis Khan has left a delicacy for this place.

The second historical figure associated with lamb stew is Ji Xiaolan. Lamb stew passed through him and became a dish for "going out". At that time, Ji Xiaolan had a very high position in the imperial court.

One day, when he learned that one of his relatives would be strictly investigated, he asked his subordinates to send cigarettes and tea, implying that the relatives would be "strictly investigated."

Later, when the incident was revealed, he was demoted from the capital to Urumqi, and when he passed through Barikun, the local Zhixian county respected him and wanted to entertain him warmly.

Helplessly, Ji Xiaolan was a person who wore a crime, and he knew that the county was not good at public hospitality, so he had a plan and covered the mutton with a layer of stickers, which seemed to outsiders to be just a large plate of cakes.

Ji Xiaolan was deeply impressed after eating it, and when his fate changed in the future, he strongly recommended lamb stew cake, and a delicacy spread from here.

Ji Xiaolan lived in Jiujiawan in Urumqi and wrote many poems here, especially the ghost stories in the Notes on Reading Wei Caotang. My first winter in Urumqi also happened to live in Jiujiawan, when I read Mr. Ji's masterpiece, which made my scalp tingle and I felt that there seemed to be ghosts flying through the snow.

Today's Xinjiang people like to eat lamb stew cakes, which are more common at the family table. Some people also call it "beacon meat", especially in the Hami area who insist on this statement.

If you think about it, "beacon meat" is also the meaning of "sealing fire meat", that is, the meaning of sealing the lamb with cakes and cooking it.

No matter what it is called, the method is the same: first chop the bone meat into small pieces, braise for a while, add water to simmer, and at the same time roll out the cakes the size of a pot, and roll them out as thin as paper, one by one smeared with clear oil and stacked up, when the meat is almost cooked, spread the cake on the meat, cover the pot, and then cook and steam over medium heat. The panned bread is soft but not sticky, oily but not greasy, thin but not broken. Then pour the original broth to create a different flavor.

In Qitai, people refer to lamb stew as "lamb seal cake".

I originally thought that the aroma of Qitai lamb and the tendons of the cake were hidden in some kind of trick, until I saw a person making this dish in Qitai, and I didn't know that stewing was completely different from sealing in the method.

The average person is to boil the cake layer by layer on the lamb, cover the pot lid, use steam to steam the cake, the person does not add water when the braised lamb, the cake is rolled out and only put one piece each time, steamed and then changed another, and each time with chopsticks to tie a small hole, pour the original juice of the sheep soup into it, both to ensure that the lamb is not burned, but also to make the cake into the taste.

The most important thing is the word "seal" they say, that is, to seal the lamb tightly with bread, so that the lamb and the cake taste good.

The doorway of "stewing" and "sealing" is different, and what you want is actually your favorite taste.

The man was proud of his excellent cooking skills and did not want to talk more about the details of the sealing of the cake. In fact, watching from the sidelines for a while will also be enough, and doing it a few more times can also reach his level.

But it was surprising to see him slaughtering lambs for the sake of bread. Originally, lamb seals were made only with the ribs or front leg meat of a one-year-old lamb, and its taste and texture were the best.

That day he caressed the head of the lamb, and a soft chanting sound came from between his throats, and the lamb listened so addictedly that he lay down beside him to meet the death of life.

After the slaughter, the man said a word: the fate of the horse is to be ridden by the old man, and the fate of the sheep is to be eaten. A sheep that fulfills its earthly devotion.