Cuisine of Xinjiang
Encyclopedia
Xinjiang cuisine reflects the region's many ethnic groups, and refers particularly to Uyghur
cuisine . Signature ingredients include roast mutton, kebabs, roast fish and rice. Because of the Islamic population, the food is predominantly halal
.
Xinjiang cuisine is found throughout much of China, as migrants from the region often open Xinjiang restaurants or food stands in other regions.
in Xinjiang use chopsticks
while Kazakhs
eat with their hands. Ceremonial foods for certain groups include horse milk for the Kyrgyz and sheep entrails for the Xibe
. The dishes of the Dongxiang people
are prominent in Xinjiang-style restaurants. Signature Dongxiang dishes are noodles boiled in thick mutton soup and steamed twisted rolls.
, chicken, goose
, carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, celery
, various dairy foods, and fruits.
Uyghur-style breakfast is tea with home-baked bread, hardened yogurt, olives, honey
, raisins, and almonds. Uyghurs like to treat guests with tea, naan and fruit before the main dishes are ready.
Sangza
(Uyghur
: ساڭزا) are crispy and tasty fried wheat flour dough twists, a holiday specialty. Samsa (Uyghur
: سامسا) are lamb pies baked using a special brick oven.
Youtazi
is steamed multilayer bread. Göshnan (Uyghur
: گۆشنان) are pan-grilled lamb pies. Pamirdin
are baked pies with lamb, carrots, and onion inside. Xurpa
is lamb soup (Uyghur
: شۇرپا). Other dishes include Tohax
, a different type of baked bread, and Tunurkawab
.
: لەڭمەن), Shou La Mian is a special type of handmade noodle, made from flour, water and salt. The dough is divided into small balls and then stretched by hand. The noodles are boiled until very soft and then served topped with stir-fried meat, vegetables (bell peppers, hot peppers, cabbage
, onion
, tomato
es), in meat stock.
Other dishes include soups made of lamb or chicken
; shish kebabs of lamb or beef; and polos (Uyghur
: پولۇ) (rice platters also known as pilaf
or plov, with lamb or chicken). Bread
is the Central Asian-style baked flatbread known as naan
(Uyghur
: نان), using sesame seeds, butter
, milk
, vegetable oil, salt, and sugar
.
Kebabs, seasoned with chili powder, salt, black pepper, and ziran
(cumin), are eaten with the skewer
parallel to the mouth, gripping the kebab closest to the end with one's teeth and sliding it off the pointed edge into one's mouth.
Another popular Xinjiang dish is Da Pan Ji (大盘鸡), which is literally translated as 'Big Plate Chicken'.
s include cumin
seeds, red pepper
flakes, salt
and pepper
, sultanas, and the fat
of the meat is used for flavoring.
black tea
, Kvass
(a honeyed nonalcoholic drink), and other drinks available in other areas of China (bottled).
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
cuisine . Signature ingredients include roast mutton, kebabs, roast fish and rice. Because of the Islamic population, the food is predominantly halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
.
Xinjiang cuisine is found throughout much of China, as migrants from the region often open Xinjiang restaurants or food stands in other regions.
Ethnic composition
Ethnic groups in Xinjiang generally have different cooking and eating methods. Han peopleHan Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
in Xinjiang use chopsticks
Chopsticks
Chopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China and its diaspora, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some...
while Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
eat with their hands. Ceremonial foods for certain groups include horse milk for the Kyrgyz and sheep entrails for the Xibe
Xibe
The Xibe or Sibo are a Tungusic ethnic group living mostly in northeast China and Xinjiang. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.- History :...
. The dishes of the Dongxiang people
Dongxiang people
The Dongxiang people are one of 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China...
are prominent in Xinjiang-style restaurants. Signature Dongxiang dishes are noodles boiled in thick mutton soup and steamed twisted rolls.
Uyghur food
Uyghur food (Uyghur Yemekliri) is characterized by mutton, beef, camelCamel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
, chicken, goose
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
, carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
, various dairy foods, and fruits.
Uyghur-style breakfast is tea with home-baked bread, hardened yogurt, olives, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, raisins, and almonds. Uyghurs like to treat guests with tea, naan and fruit before the main dishes are ready.
Sangza
Sangza
Sangza is a popular snack in Xinjiang consisting of deep-fried noodles in a twisted pyramid shape. The snack is made by pulling wheat flour dough into thin ropes, which are deep-fried. Bunches of the ropes are then shaped into rings, which are stacked into a pyramid.Sangza is also eaten in other...
(Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: ساڭزا) are crispy and tasty fried wheat flour dough twists, a holiday specialty. Samsa (Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: سامسا) are lamb pies baked using a special brick oven.
Youtazi
Youtazi
Youtazi is a type of steamed multi-layer bread. It is consumed within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.-References:*...
is steamed multilayer bread. Göshnan (Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: گۆشنان) are pan-grilled lamb pies. Pamirdin
Pamirdin
Pamirdin is a type of pie, consumed within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The pie contains lamb, carrots and onion.-References:*...
are baked pies with lamb, carrots, and onion inside. Xurpa
Xurpa
Xurpa is a type of lamb soup. It is consumed within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China....
is lamb soup (Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: شۇرپا). Other dishes include Tohax
Tohax
Tohax is a type of baked bread. It is consumed within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.-References:*...
, a different type of baked bread, and Tunurkawab
Doner kebab
Doner kebab is a dish made of roasted meat cooked on a vertical spit. It is also known regionally as gyro , shawarma, and al pastor . It consists of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats roasted on a spit. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage...
.
Primary dishes
The primary dishes include Shou La Mian (UyghurUyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: لەڭمەن), Shou La Mian is a special type of handmade noodle, made from flour, water and salt. The dough is divided into small balls and then stretched by hand. The noodles are boiled until very soft and then served topped with stir-fried meat, vegetables (bell peppers, hot peppers, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es), in meat stock.
Other dishes include soups made of lamb or chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
; shish kebabs of lamb or beef; and polos (Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: پولۇ) (rice platters also known as pilaf
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
or plov, with lamb or chicken). Bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
is the Central Asian-style baked flatbread known as naan
Naan
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
(Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
: نان), using sesame seeds, butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, vegetable oil, salt, and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
.
Kebabs, seasoned with chili powder, salt, black pepper, and ziran
Cumin
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.-Etymology:...
(cumin), are eaten with the skewer
Skewer
A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. They are used while grilling or roasting meats, and in other culinary applications....
parallel to the mouth, gripping the kebab closest to the end with one's teeth and sliding it off the pointed edge into one's mouth.
Another popular Xinjiang dish is Da Pan Ji (大盘鸡), which is literally translated as 'Big Plate Chicken'.
Spices
SpiceSpice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s include cumin
Cumin
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.-Etymology:...
seeds, red pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
flakes, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, sultanas, and the fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
of the meat is used for flavoring.
Beverages
Beverages include ChineseChinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
black tea
Black tea
Black tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas. Two principal varieties of the...
, Kvass
Kvass
Kvass, kvas, quass or gira, gėra is a fermented beverage made from black...
(a honeyed nonalcoholic drink), and other drinks available in other areas of China (bottled).