Lanzhou, 5 May (ZXS) -- Topic: "Barbecue Rivers and Lakes" in Jiayuguan on the Silk Road: Wei-Jin Flavor, Thousand-Year "Food Shang"

Written by Yan Jiao Ai Qinglong

If you want to add a firework to the desolate and tragic Northwest Gobi, it is the thousand-year-old "food fashion" of killing cattle and sheep and wearing skewers and roasting meat for visitors during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

In the past few days, Zibo barbecue has become the top stream in the Chinese mainland, and thousands of netizens have "entered Zibo to catch up with the exam", and various places have also fancy display barbecue skills. Located in Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province in the Gobi, the Wei-Jin flavor is also fragrant on the Silk Road.

Jiayuguan barbecue has a unique flavor and a long history, dating back more than a thousand years. In the local "world's largest underground gallery", archaeologists found portrait tiles painted with kebabs on the east and west walls of the front chamber of Tomb No. 6 of Wei Jin. The motif shows the slave skewering grained pieces of meat with tridents and grilling them on top of a fire.

The custom of eating barbecued meat in Jiayuguan has been carried down to this day, and gradually extended to a rich variety and a variety of eating methods. Just as Lanzhou people's day starts with a bowl of beef noodles, the night in Jiayuguan begins with a handful of barbecued meat. There is a local saying: "Except for wool, you can't bake, the rest are treasures." ”

Kebab is one of the delicacies that diners often order. The process of making kebabs is not complicated, but it is very testing the master's skills, and the time, heat, and ingredients must be mastered, and it is not possible to leave the master for three or four years.

The roast is pierced with an iron rod, and as it is grilled, the meat skewers gradually ooze the oil, making a crackling sound. At this time, accompanied by various spices such as cumin, chili noodles, pepper and salt, the oily meat is wrapped in fragrant seasonings, and the smell of roasted meat penetrates the nose, stimulating the taste buds and making people swallow saliva. Wait for the meat skewer to be served, take a bite while it is hot, and the gluttony will be satisfied immediately.

Walking on the streets of Jiayuguan, barbecue restaurants can be seen everywhere. As one of the popular barbecue meats in Jiayuguan, "Xiaodang Barbecue" has been in business for more than ten years and has opened a number of branches. Dang Fajun, the owner, said that when business is booming, a shop can sell at least ten sheep in one night.

Jiayuguan "post-90s" Xu Fei is a senior fan of barbecue. According to his recollection, when he was a child, the barbecue was all street stalls, and what he looked forward to most after school was to eat meat around the table with adults, and also order some "barbecue companions" according to personal taste, such as wide flour, potatoes, shrimp tails, apricot peel water, etc. After work, whenever friends come, he will also serve a barbecue meal, introduce the local barbecue culture, and tell friends the most authentic way to eat.

"Kiko Yakiniku" is loved by diners because of its unique taste and good quality dishes. Referring to the reason why Jiayuguan barbecue is delicious, Li Yongcheng, one of the partners of the store, said that most of the local raw materials used are "Qilian sheep", eating herbs, drinking sweet springs, and nibbling alkaline soil, so it is healthy, fresh meat, and has no smell, which is quite popular with consumers, "In the past, when the business was best on weekends, the daily turnover was 3,<> yuan (RMB)."

In 2009, Jiayuguan kebab roasting technique was listed as the first batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage protection lists in Jiayuguan City. "Jiayuguan barbecue has become famous with the rise of tourism, but 'food is still on the way'." Cai Changlin, head of the catering service food supervision section of the Jiayuguan Market Supervision Administration, said.

From April 4th to May 29rd, Jiayuguan held a barbecue cultural activity with the theme of "Millennium Flavor, Jiayuguan Barbecue", "Fashionable Jiayuguan, Delicious Barbecue Aroma" and "Millennium Barbecue Kebab, Eat 'Hi' Jiayuguan", setting up Internet celebrity check-in points to attract tourists to wear Hanfu, taste fine wine, eat barbecue meat, experience Weijin border culture, and "barbecue + culture" section to create a hot barbecue skewer scene.

The ubiquitous barbecue stalls and multi-day barbecue events have become "flavor temptations" for food lovers who have visited here. During the "May Day" holiday, Zhang Yun's family, who came by car from Lanzhou, enjoyed four or five barbecues one after another. At the outdoor barbecue stall, they enjoy a good time with beer and a breeze. (End)