The people of Xi'an are obsessed with lamb, and this is indeed true. The carefully cooked lamb has a strong sense of fullness, has an irreplaceable mellow and fragrant aftertaste, and is the most beloved delicacy of the simple and luxurious Xi'an people.
Speaking of this lamb, there is a legendary story. Legend has it that the Tang Dynasty poet Li He had a special love for lamb meat, and after his death, his wife Zheng was devastated. One night, Zheng Shi dreamed that Li He said to her: "I am a person of the Immortal Palace today, and My wife should not miss it, but only to provide a meal of lamb on Xiji Day, then it is enough." Although the history of wild lamb is not credible, the delicious taste of the lamb is so evocative, and it can also be seen from Li He's fascination with the lamb. For the Xi'an people who love lamb, the old tongjia lamb shop on West Avenue is inevitable to patronize.
Lao TongJia Lamb Shop has been operating beef and mutton since the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and has a history of more than 200 years. There is a large gold sign at the entrance of its shop, which reads "The Old Boy's Home of Renzhipo". Don't underestimate this plaque, it's a lot to come by.
In 1900, the Eight-Power Alliance captured Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled with the Guangxu Emperor in a panic. One day in Xi'an, she sat on the Imperial Palace through the city's bridge Zikou ramp Guangji Street, and suddenly a burst of meat wafted in, which made her mouthy. The empress dowager hurriedly stopped the imperial court and asked her retinue: Where is the delicacy? A: Cook lamb in the shop. Ask Fang for details, this flavor comes from the old boy's family of lamb. The empress dowager was salivating, sent people to buy, after tasting, she immediately felt that its flesh was fragrant and fragrant, and the aftertaste was endless, and she praised it one after another: "This meat has a good color and taste, it is a good folk product, if you can give the plaque Yongzhi, you will be able to bow down to the world." At that time, guangji street to the city god temple road into a slope, and it was stopped in front of the slope, Cixi ordered the soldier Shangshu Zhao Shuqiao's teacher Xing Tingwei to handwrite six big characters "The Old Boy's Home of the Slope" and made it into a gold signboard and hung it on the head of the old boy's shop. Since then, the lamb has been famous in the ancient capital and is well-known at home and abroad.
Since the reform and opening up, many Xi'an people with "overseas relations" will buy a few beautifully packaged lamb meat and mail them abroad during the New Year's Festival, conveying the distant thoughts of their relatives. In 1982, Lao Tong Jia La Lamb was rated as a high-quality product of Shaanxi Province; in 1984, it won the title of Quality Food of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China; in 1999, it was awarded the honor of Chinese Time-honored Brand by the Ministry of Domestic Trade; in 2004, it was included in the member enterprises of the China Federation of Commerce.
To this day, Lao Tong's lamb is still a famous delicacy, and even a must-visit place for many travelers to visit Xi'an. Good taste of food selection materials must be exquisite, the old boy's lamb is the use of fresh fat sheep, slaughtered with green salt, glauber's salt, star anise, cinnamon, grass fruit, pepper, cumin and other spices, the lamb skin surface opposite, folded discharge in a large vat, add well water, sprinkle in green salt, mango salt, marinate for 2-5 days. Cooking meat is also exquisite, first pour the secret old brine soup into the pot (more than 100 years of old soup), add an equal amount of water, put people seasoning packages, boil with high heat and then add green salt, put the marinated lamb into the soup with heavy weights, and then use low heat to simmer for 3-4 hours. The finished meat is bright and beautiful, the skin is as white as jade but not greasy, the muscle is red like Xiaxia but not greasy, mellow and delicious, and the taste is long.
Whether it's a crisp morning or a tired late night, whether it's a hot summer or a cold winter, Xi'an people need a delicious lamb in order to be satisfied in their stomachs. In addition, eating mutton in winter also meets the needs of health, the body is relatively weak when it is cold, the mutton is warm and sweet, it can be eaten and supplemented, and it can be eaten and treated, supplementing kidney aphrodisiac, muscle strength, and resisting wind and cold.