When it comes to Minqin, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is the desert. But as an authentic Minqin person, you must still think of Minqin's mutton.
Minqin people have an indissoluble bond with sheep. In rural areas, it has become a tradition for every household to raise sheep, and almost every Minqin person's childhood is inextricably linked with sheep - shoveling grass to feed sheep, herding sheep, and eating mutton...... Sheep are the "pets" of childhood and the "delicious" on the table.
The influence of sheep culture on Minqin can also be traced back thousands of years. According to the research of the cultural relics "sheep-shaped bronze medallion" unearthed from the site of Minqin's "manhole culture", as early as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty more than 2,800 years ago, there were human beings who developed and multiplied nomadically in the Minqin oasis with abundant water and grass. At that time, the Xiongnu people lived here, and selected the meat sheep as a tribute as a gift for dealings with the Western Han Dynasty. In 1771, when the Mongol Turks returned to the motherland from Tsarist rule, the Qing government's preferred pasture for their leaders was Changning Lake in Minqin.
Mr. Ren Jizhou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an authoritative expert in grassland ecology in mainland China, investigated and found that Beihai, the hometown of Su Wu Shepherd, was in Minqin County, and published an article entitled "Examination of the Hometown of Su Wu Shepherd in Beihai" with Zhang Zihe and Chen Zhong, scholars of Lanzhou University. At the same time, experts and scholars have researched the stone tablet of "Hanzhong Lang General Su Wu Shepherd's Office" preserved in the Minqin County Museum, and also believe that the historical Minqin Baitinghai should be the hometown of Su Wu Beihai Shepherd in the Han Dynasty.
Many people frown at the mention of mutton because they can't stand the smell. However, Minqin is an exception, and many foreign diners believe that only by eating Minqin mutton can they truly taste the deliciousness of mutton. The reasons for this are none other than these points:
The environment "breeds" high-quality pastures. Minqin County is located in the hinterland of the desert, surrounded by sand on three sides, with good isolation conditions and low threat of epidemics, which has created extremely favorable conditions for the production of natural green meat. The soil in the county is rich in salt, alkali, phosphorus, iron, copper, potassium and other mineral components, coupled with water with high salinity, giving birth to more than 150 kinds of salt-rich, fragrant-smelling, nutritious and salt-alkali tolerant and cold-tolerant forages and fodder such as alfalfa, shallots, Suoyang, cistanche, licorice, corn, fennel, etc., which provide rich and diverse high-quality forage for the growth of Minqin meat sheep.
Grass "creates" unique qualities. Due to sufficient sunlight, large temperature difference, good isolation, special water, soil and climate conditions, Minqin meat sheep has created a strong physique, thick bones, plump muscles, full of essence, cold and drought resistance, so that the mutton has the unique flavor of "no fish, high protein content, moderate fat content in the meat, fresh and tender meat, fragrant and salty, mellow and delicious", which is favored by the market.
Quality "creates" extraordinary value. The mutton series set meal that can be boiled, stewed, fried and roasted has not only become the most important content of Minqin's food culture, but also left the reputation of "seeing the scenery of Hangzhou and eating sheep to Minqin" among guests and friends from all over the world. In 2008, Minqin County was listed by the Ministry of Agriculture as a county and district in the national sheep advantageous area, in 2009, it was identified as a large sheep county in the province by the Gansu Provincial Government, in 2013, it was named "the hometown of Chinese meat sheep" by the China Food Industry Association, in 2014, "Minqin mutton" was approved by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China as a geographical indication protection product, and in 2019, it was awarded the title of "Hometown of Chinese Suwusha Sheep Cuisine" by the World Federation of Chinese Cuisine Industry.
The unique geographical environment has created the unique delicious genes of Minqin mutton, and Minqin people have also taken the eating method of mutton to the extreme. From head to toe, from the inside to the outside, whether a sheep is steamed, boiled, stewed, roasted, or sauced, stewed, shabu-shabu, and fried, the industrious and intelligent Minqin people can use the common raw materials and techniques to cook them to the fullest.
Minqin mutton is delicious, and Minqin people are more willing to share the delicious taste with guests and friends from all over the world!
Based on the resource endowment and industrial base, and actively adapt to the needs of the modern market, Minqin County actively adjusts the structure, improves the quality, creates a brand, and takes "high quality, safety, ecology, and efficiency" as the goal to strengthen, expand, refin, and optimize the meat and sheep industry, forming a good situation of "the government attaches importance to support, the cadres and the masses care about it, and the whole society develops sheep raising". The county has built more than 500 large-scale sheep breeding communities, built 1 10,000 purebred lake sheep breeding farms, built 7 breeding sheep multiplication farms, developed 40 sheep breeding villages, more than 50,000 sheep farmers, and 60 10,000 fattening communities. In 2021, the county's meat sheep breeding capacity will be about 3.9 million, and the mutton output will be about 47,000 tons.
In the past, the Minqin mutton that was "raised in the depths of the boudoir and unknown to the people" has now begun to "touch the net and climb the clouds and go to the world". With the continuous development of mobile Internet and express logistics in recent years, the export of Minqin mutton has gradually broken through the geographical dilemma, and online and offline efforts have been made to make the delicious taste at your fingertips. Minqin mutton is not only a delicacy on people's tables, but also a gift full of rich desert characteristics after exquisite packaging. The Spring Festival is approaching, buy Minqin lamb, prepare enough supplies for the Chinese New Year's Eve meal, give the most precious gifts to relatives and friends, let Minqin lamb accompany everyone on Chinese New Year's Eve, taste warm, what are you still hesitating about?
Author: Jiang Xinwen
Source: Oasis Minqin client