Yummy Eats - Xinjiang

Xinjiang cuisine

The variety of food represents a part of the Central Asian culture and reflects the different ethnic groups where their cooking styles though rustic are unique. The Uyghur is the largest ethnic group in this region. 

Traditionally, meat and dairy products are the mainstays of their diet. Roasted mutton, milk and yoghurt are most popular though now they have added flat bread (nang) and noodles as well. Fresh fruits such as the famous Hami melon and the amazing variety of grapes, dried fruits and nuts are in abundance. 

A typical starter meal consists of seasonal fresh fruits, dried fruits, nuts, fried snacks and sweet milk tea. This is Uyghur meal at a restaurant in Urumqi.

Traditionally in the villages, meat is seasoned with salt, prepared by putting the cut meat and all body parts in pure boiling water with no spices added to it at all. When the meat is done, it is usually served with raw onions, and nang. The meat is naturally flavoured and succulent to taste.

Thanks to our Mongolian chieftain; we visited a local ethnic family to join them for an authentic homemade meal followed by music and dancing. 

We were welcomed with a generous spread over ten different kinds of snacks -- dried fruits, nuts, fresh fruits, homemade cheese and sweet milk tea. The host family prepared the popular big plate chicken and braised lamb served on huge plates accompanied with the best local rice wine. After dinner, the family members danced and I joined them in merrymaking.

A popular local dish is the “big plate chicken” (dapanji).

It is a spicy hot chicken stew served on one huge plate – the whole chicken along with the neck, head, and feet together with capsicums, potatoes, chillis, onions and spices cooked in a tasty sauce. After the chicken has been eaten, wide flat hand-pulled and stretched noodles are added to the gravy.

You could choose to have it with noodles or rice; spicy or non-spicy. The difference in taste is in the sauce and spices added to make this yummy rustic meal!

Another cooking method of the 'big plate chicken' -- the kitchen at a small family-owned eatery. My big love is the variation of the whole happy free-range chicken, all parts added with capsicum, herbs, garlic, ginger, onions, spices and a little chilli. A must-have is to add the authentic hand-pulled noodles -- the flat and broad variety to soak in the slurpy lip-smacking gravy!!


Uyghur fried noodles (Sanzi) sweet snack to enjoy anytime anywhere. They are skilfully twisted, fried and decorated in a heap full to welcome guests. Just snap off and enjoy! On this trip, I savoured a simple, fried stick variety at a village. 

A unique style seen in this alpine village prepared by four local ethnic women folks. After the kneaded dough has been rolled into a consistent texture of round-shaped, they are cut into about two inches length.

They are then cut into thin stripes...

and rolled into circular stripes...

 

This is an interesting variety of deep-fried noodle sticks made in this quiet village in a yurt. Simple, yum and addictive to want more of them!

Dairy produce is a part of Xinjiang must-have food culture – fresh milk is one of the mainstays added to drinks and desserts. They are fresh milk, milk tea, milk wine and yoghurt as well as in cheese,”naipi’ (milk skin), milk candy and butter. Horse milk and camel milk are also popular.

Visit to an ethnic family-owned farm in the highlands -- the heavenly taste of fresh camel milk experience

The best quality camel yoghurt in an earthen jar!

Xinjiang Street Food
What better way to enjoy authentic local eats than to walk the streets to try out the amazing range of street food available in Urumqi, Yili and in the small towns we stopped over for breaks. A one meal dish average about 15 Yuan (without meat) or more depending what kind of meat you add to your dish.

A popular hangout in Yili

A neat line of kazakh food stalls selling everything from A to Z though largely a wide variety of lamb dishes.

Kebabs -- the best street food are chunks of mutton, other body parts, beef or chicken thread on skewers and roasted over charcoal. The kebabs are flipped constantly and basted frequently. When they are almost done, salt, pepper paprika and cumin are sprinkled on them. Kebabs are crispy outside and tender inside, slightly salty and hot. They are sold in the streets and bazaars throughout Xinjiang. 

My favourite lamb kebab was at this small local eatery, a freezing night in Bayinbuluke town in the highland plateau. The popular blackhead sheep meat threaded on skewers roasted over charcoal -- grilled to a yum crisp dark brown on the outside and succulent on the inside! 

Chucks of clean and neatly arranged lamb meat and body parts to enjoy as a soup meal

Rich, spicy tasty broth

Lamb body parts -- the head, stomach, heart, shank and other interesting parts

Stir frying a hot spicy meal with spices, chilli and dried herbs

Uyghur Palif, also known as ‘shouzhuafan’ is a popular must-try local comfort food.

The mutton is blanched in hot water before cooking with rice, added together with diced carrots, onions, raisins and dry apricots. You can opt to eat with your hands or wooden scoop! Fun and tasty!

Nang or flat bread is the staple diet of the Uyghur’s. There are over ten varieties of nang; baked in a mud and earthen oven. The ingredients include wheat flour, corn flour or sorghum flour, with seasoning such as sesame seeds, onions, eggs, vegetable oil, butter, milk, salt and sugar. 
The plain mildly savoury nang with sesame seeds topping is one of my favourites -- the outer thicker rim tasted soft and chewy; the inner part, thin and crispy!  I bought one at 3 Yuan at this stall in a small town and went back again to get more to take away to enjoy on the road!

An stall vendor making Hoshang dumplings with mutton stuffing in Urumqi

Uyghur steamed buns stuffed with minced mutton – best taken piping hot to enjoy the juice oozing out of the bun!

Pomegranate is the most popular freshly squeezed fruit juice found at most street corners in major cities and towns. While you wait, the fruit is placed on this interesting metal device to squeeze the juice into a glass to enjoy or transfer the juice into a plastic bottle to takeaway. If the fruit is not totally ripe, it would taste rather tart.

Xinjiang pomegranate is known to be of the best quality. The season starts from August through December or January. 

I prefer to enjoy the whole ripe fruit anytime; fun to knock the seeds out, pop a mouthful to chew on the sweet tasty fruit and swallow the seeds! Yum!


Xinjiang bazaars are incredibly colourful with so much going on; often a place not to be missed to hope to get a glimpse of the local lifestyle. 

A bazaar in a local town -- there were numerous shops and stalls lined up on both sides selling everything from A to Z. 

A short walk behind the bazaar was a wet market selling meat and poultry. A variety of fish have been skilfully sliced, cleaned, salted and hanged to dry in the sun. 

A bustling and colourful bazaar in Urumqi

Xinjiang dried fruits, nuts, tea leaves and other dried provisions are in abundance throughout the year available in bazaars or along the streets in cities and towns. 

Xinjiang dried fruits and nuts galore -- the raisins, wolfberries, apricots, red dates, walnuts and almonds have been my must-have enjoyable munchies on this journey!

Xinjiang red dates or dried jujubes are packed with natural goodness. 
This fruit has been cultivated since ancient times and used in traditional medicine to help alleviate ailments. This is a 'yang' energy fruit. According to the locals, taking two to three a day keeps you in the best of health!
They are also used in soup,  dessert or enjoyed as a refreshing beverage.

My big love is the dried fruit. My weakness is overindulging in this particular variety of unprocessed, all natural Ruoqiang jujube in Xinjiang. It has a distinctive difference in the light sweet scent, firm texture and the incredibly natural sweetness that does not have the sugary sting effect to taste. The Hetian jujube may be world renown but the Ruoqiang jujube is largely enjoyed by the locals in Xinjiang. 

I travelled two weeks from mid-October, 2013 covering over 3000 kilometres to have learned so much from the warm and welcoming ethnic folks of this awe-inspiring land. A fresh fruit platter of the Hami melon, grapes, nuts and yoghurt have been part of my daily diet. This journey has been nothing short of amazing that felt so much like Central Eurasia. My insatiable appetite and curiosity to this wondrous region has charms that still allure... 
(November 2013)