Flavorful Origins

MUTTON

Gansu. Spanning more than 1,600 kilometers from east to west.

It's the same distance from Milan to Istanbul.

With different types of terrains and a variety of lamb breeds,

people in Gansu know how to modify their ways to suit their environment

and make the mutton taste delicious.

The meat of an eight-month-old lamb is very tender

and needs to be marinated and cooked carefully.

Stir-frying and braising them are the best ways.

BRAISED MUTTON

Dongxiang lamb has the perfect fat to lean meat ratio.

Just boil them, and they will be delicious.

Lamb over two years old should be boiled longer in order to taste better.

MUTTON NOODLE SOUP

JIAYUGUAN, GANSU

At 8 a.m., Huang Zhitao starts making suet.

In Jiayuguan, this is the base cooking ingredient in every household.

Extract fat from the lamb's body , and cook them slowly in low heat.

Then add spices to remove the mutton's gamey smell.

At a temperature lower than 40 degrees Celsius,

the oil begins to solidify and waits for its flavor to be unleashed.

Jiayuguan, where the main traffic of the ancient Silk Road was,

is now a progressive city in northwestern Gansu.

The people here are especially fond of a particular kind of mutton delicacy.

- Regular barbecued? -Okay, coming right up.

A seemingly ordinary barbecued lamb

needs to be handled using a unique method.

Exquisite and moist, like white jade,

this is the suet that was rendered eight hours ago.

As the suet is heated, it emits a complex fragrance.

The lamb skewers are pre-barbecued for a short time

in a special metal can and swiftly dipped in oil.

The rich fats quickly lock in the juices,

and also bring more flavor into the mutton.

With the suet's surface tension the seasoning can be evenly spread.

Afterwards, barbecue the meat skewers

until the surface becomes burnt and crispy.

With the suet as a buffer, the lamb remains tender and juicy.

JIAYUGUAN GRILLED LAMB

- Which room? -Xiongguan 12 Pillars. Serve it.

All right. Marrow, kidneys done.

All right, continue with the tripe. Go.

The entire lamb is cut into 20 different parts.

In the hands of people in Jiayuguan, every part can have different flavors.

The bone marrow's texture is very tender.

After grilling, it becomes as delicate as butter.

Lamb tripe, covered in suet and barbecued.

The oil sizzles; its texture is chewy.

The lambskin is crystal clear.

Its gummy texture is slowly contracting in the fire.

The lean meat is slowly barbecued at low heat. Fragrant and chewy.

Lamb chops are still the most enticing, where its fat and meat ratio are equal.

Take a chunk of fat off the meat.

It's very enjoyable.

Jiayuguan is a city of migrants.

With different regional backgrounds,

their different preferences reach an agreement

in a stick of lamb skewer.

800 km southeast, on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau,