A Complete Guide to Xilingol Delicacies_Special Local Snacks and Foods in Xilingol League Introduction
The Xilin league is located in the northern part of China, at the forefront of Western Development, and is the nearest grassland pastoral area to the Jingjin region.
Features Local snacks Include: delicious roasted whole lamb, correct blue flag milk skin, Inner Mongolia sausage, Luan river whole fish feast, Inner Mongolia flatbread Mongolian buns pot tea, fried glutinous rice cake, Xiwu creamy butter, Xiwu yogurt Xiwu roasted lamb shoulder, Inner Mongolia stewed young goat meat, Sunite yellow hemp flower vegetable and more. Dried
mutton description
Dried mutton, also known as "air-dried
mutton jerky" or simply "mutton jerky".The vast Inner Mongolia grassland is a natural pasture. Rich in water and lush grasses, the livestock are well-fed. Mongolian nomads have a long tradition of air-drying mutton jerky.to its history, since Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire, there has been an inseparable connection between Mongol cavalry and dried beef jerky."Only horse milk or roasted lamb meat can be consumed when on the move."
Mongols can sustain themselves with water and grass for livestock; a cow can yield only 10 to 15 pounds of dry meat after being slaughtered, which can then be carried and easily rehydrated.
During military campaigns, Mongol cavalry relied heavily on their animals as a means of supply. This reduced the logistical burden significantly during troop movements. Air-dried beef jerky played an important role in long-distance expeditions. Cattle herders have traditionally air-dried beef jerky to entertain distinguished guests, reserving it for special occasions only. Beef (select cuts from the hind leg) 400 gramsSpices: salt 3 grams, garlic 20 grams, ginger 10 grams, white sugar 20 grams, peanut oil 1000 grams and other ingredients in appropriate quantities.1. Remove the sinew from the selected beef and slice it into long strips. Mix salt, garlic, ginger, and sugar in a small bowl and marinate the meat.2. After 12 hours, hang the meat on an iron rack in a well-ventilated area; depending on the region and season, it may take 1 to 3 days of drying.
Inner Mongolia regions require less air-drying time.
3. Cut the dried strips into four or five centimeter pieces.Heat a wok over medium heat and add peanut oil. When the oil is about four-fifths hot, fry the dry beef slices for about 3 minutes (do not heat too high).Remove from the oil, drain well, and cook until fully done. Serve on a platter. Proper storage involves keeping it in a cool, dry place; avoid damp areas as refrigerators can cause mold growth.Milk tofu
descriptionMilk tofu, also known as "hulida," is a common dairy product among Mongolian nomads. Made from milk, sheep's milk, or horse milk after condensation and fermentation. It has a similar texture to regular tofu but can taste slightly sour or sweet with a rich milk aroma. It is often enjoyed with milk tea or taken as a snack on long journeys for its thirst-quenching and hunger-satisfying qualities. It can also be made into fried milk tofu, which forms an exquisite dish with its chewy texture that breaks into threads. Milk tofu generally refers to cheese or dairy cakes. Fully dried milk tofu is called milk kumis. Traditional milk tofu preparationUse the leftover whey from milk skin extraction or the remaining curds after butter making, allow it to ferment for a few days until it solidifies into blocks. Drain excess moisture using cheesecloth. Cook the solidified portion in a pot over low heat while stirring until it becomes sticky. Then press and shape into form. Traditional raw milk tofu preparationLet fresh milk sour, then cook it to form block-like tofu. Drain the liquid from the cooked mixture by squeezing through cheesecloth and mold into desired shapes.
Milk skin cream
description
Milk skin, Mongolian for "chagan idi," is a favored dairy product among several ethnic minorities including the Kazakhs, Uighurs, Mongols, and Sibe people. It refers to the layer of fat and protein that floats on top of cow or sheep's milk. It has a pure milk aroma with a slight sweetness and is very palatable.To extract it, milk is typically collected in the evening and left overnight; the next day, the floating oil at the surface is skimmed off as "milk skin." Milk skin is nutritious and delicious when served with tea, fruit pieces, or fried millet. It has been a traditional delicacy for receiving guests.Due to regional variations in preparation methods, there are several types including milk skin, cream, cheese, and milk tofu. PreparationTo make milk skin, fresh milk is filtered through cheesecloth multiple times to remove any impurities.Pulling threads Nai doufu, its soft and resilient strands that can be pulled apart, is a delicacy on festive banquets.
Nai doufu generally refers to what we usually call cheese. It is also known as dairy cake. Completely dried nai doufu is called nai gadu. The traditional method of making nai doufu can be quite challenging, but simpler and delicious methods have since been developed.
Method
Traditional cooked nai doufu preparation
Place the leftover milk from boiling milk skin or the residue after extracting clarified butter for a few days to ferment naturally. When the milk or residue solidifies into blocks, use gauze to filter out excess moisture. Then, cook the solid parts in a pot over low heat while stirring until they become sticky. Transfer it back into gauze and squeeze out the yellowish liquid. It can then be molded and formed using dough molds or cut into various shapes on a wooden platter.
Traditional raw nai doufu preparation
Ferment fresh milk to turn it sour, then cook it in a pot until it forms a shape like old tofu. Squeeze out the water content in gauze and mold it into form. Milk skin
Introduction
Milk skin, Mongolian language calls “chagan id,” “wuri ” or “wumuo.”
In Chinese, this means "white food."Milk skin is a dairy product favored by the Kazakh, Uighur, Mongolian, and Xibo minorities.
Milk skin refers to the mixture of fat and milk protein that floats on top of cow or sheep milk. It has a milky aroma and a slight sweetness, making it very delicious. Extracting method: Milk is typically separated in the evening from cows or sheep. After leaving it undisturbed overnight, skim off the floating layer of cream the next morning. This layer resembles a skin on the milk, hence its name.Milk skin has a pure aroma and rich nutrition. When served with tea and other dairy products like nuts, fried millet, it is considered an excellent treat for guests and was once called the "best of all foods." It's indispensable in domestic meals or formal banquets. Due to regional differences, there are varying types and production methods.
Milk skin includes varieties such asbuttermilk cheese, milk tofu, etc. Method To make milk skin, fresh milk is required. One kilogram of milk skin needs about eight kilograms of fresh milk. As a result, it's rarely made in households due to its cost.
When making milk skin, strain the fresh milk several times through gauze to remove any impurities.
During cooking, use a thin wooden stick to test for doneness. The skin is considered fully cooked when the color of the wood on the stick turns from raw to well-cooked. After cooking, it resembles an extended turtle lying quietly. Mongolians do not serve whole milk skins to guests as they believe it would bring bad luck. Therefore, it's typically cut into thin slices before serving. Then, pour the fresh milk into a large iron pot. When the milk begins to boil slightly, use a spoon to stir it continuously until a lot of silver foam rises to the surface.
Hand-pulled meat
Introduction
Hand-pulled meat is a type of red food. Mongolian people call meat food "red food" in Mongolian, " ". As the name implies, "hand-pulled meat" means grabbing meat with hands.Lamb is a traditional food for Mongolians that has been passed down for thousands of years and is part of their daily meals. To make hand-pulled meat, cut the bone-in lamb into pieces about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. Do not add salt or any other seasonings; instead, cook it in clear broth over a high flame until it's well done. Mongolians generally have this dish for dinner. Visitors to the grasslands should eat hand-pulled meat at least once to fully experience its flavor and fun.
Preparation
Main ingredients: bone-in lamb : milk, celery,carrot,cumin,fennel,pepper powder,salt, chicken essence,vinegar, soy sauce,chili oil, sesame oil.Cooking method: 1. Chop the bone-in lamb into pieces about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide, soak them in clear water, then chop the scallions and ginger into fine pieces, slice the carrot thickly. 2. Mix a small bowl with soy sauce, vinegar, chicken essence, pepper powder, salt, sesame oil, and add some water to make a seasoning.3. Add enough water in the pot and put the soaked lamb inside; bring it to a boil over high heat, remove the foam, then add prepared scallions, ginger pieces, carrot slices, fennel, cumin, milk, cover the pot with lid, switch to low heat until the meat is tender. Before serving, add salt and chicken essence, take out the meat and put it on a plate.
Mongolian blood sausage Introduction The Mongolian people usually fill the intestine with sheep's blood and flour to make sausages. They are generally simmered in broth for 10-15 minutes when eating. There are different types of sausages like small intestines, fat intestines, and stomachs.Small intestines, also called fine intestines or rolled intestines, get their name from the blood that is mixed with flour. Their shape resembles a coiled rope, hence the name "rolled intestine."
Fat intestines are also known as thick intestines or meat sausages.
They are named after their filling material.
Since fat intestines are thick and straight, they can be filled with blood paste or meat mince.When filled with meat mince, they are called meat sausages. The process of making all types is the same.After slaughtering a sheep, wash the intestine with salty water. Shepherds generally do not use modern cleaning agents like dish soap to clean the intestines. Clean and cut the small intestine and fat intestine separately; mix the blood from the sheep's body with wheat or white flour, break up any clumps of blood into a paste, add salt and chopped scallions as seasoning, then fill through the opening. The sausages cannot be cooked together with lamb. They need to be boiled separately.
Boil until the blood sausage is fully cooked; it resembles an outstretched turtle lying down. Mongolian people do not serve whole small intestines to guests, as they believe it will take away good luck.Thus, they are usually sliced thin before serving. The taste of the sausages depends on how well the blood paste is prepared and reflects the skill of the housewife; it's also a symbol of cooking prowess in the pastoral area.Preparation 1. Making small intestine sausagesThe work to make sausages usually takes place on the sheepskin as it's smooth, making it less likely for the intestines to break.
Usually requires two people working together. Cut off the ileum (known as "bitter intestine"), which is connected to the small intestine. Remove the fine and fat intestines. Fill the fine intestine with water from the cut end, use a funnel formed by the large intestine to help fill the small intestine. One person applies pressure while another squeezes out feces into a waste bucket.
Repeat until the small intestine is cleaned thoroughly; stuff a piece of lung in, fill and squeeze out again, then rinse with water two or three times before making sausages. The blood from the sheep's body, usually enough to fill its own intestine, is mixed with flour, chopped fatty meat, salt, seasonings, scallions, etc. From the cut end, ensure it isn't too full and not too flat. Cut the long small intestine into four or five sections for easier cooking; do not remove the oil around the intestinal wall.These oils serve to secure the sausages. When stuffing, make sure the intestines are straight without twisting. When cooked, they will be coiled up like in their natural state.
If there are too many small intestine sausages during a lambing season and cannot all be eaten, freeze them for later use until Qingming Festival when they can be enjoyed again. The quality of the blood mixture determines the texture of the intestines. It is a mark of skill in women's cooking and an important part of their culinary artistry. Method1. Making small intestine sausage
Work on fresh sheepskin as it's smooth, making it less likely to break.
Usually requires two people working together.
The fine intestine is connected to the cecum (known as "bitter intestine"), which in turn connects to the fatty intestine.
Cut off the fatty intestine and use water to flush out its contents. The large cecum acts like a natural funnel. Fill it with water, and one person squeezes while another rinses the inside with their hands. Continue until the small intestine is mostly cleaned. Insert a piece of lung into the small intestine, fill it with water, and squeeze out the contents. Rinse again if needed before ready for stuffing. Use the blood from the sheep's body, which fits perfectly to fill the intestines. Crush any clumps in the blood, mix it with buckwheat or white flour, chopped fat, salt, spices, garlic and onions, and pour into the intestine. Do not overfill, as this will make them too flat. Divide the small intestine into two to three sections for easier cooking. These fats help keep the intestines together while stuffing; ensure they are placed straight without twisting. When cooked, it forms a bundle like its natural state in the stomach.
If there are many sausages during sheep slaughtering season that cannot be consumed immediately, they can be frozen and used for cooking on Qingming Festival.2. Making fatty intestine sausageCut off the connection between fine and fatty intestines, leaving only the fatty intestine. SaltMethod: 1. Mix flour and yeast with warm water to make a dough; add an appropriate amount of alkali and mix well into a dough sheet, then create various patterns on one side. Because, oatmealMethod: 1. Use boiling water to knead the dough until smooth 2. Chop finely the scallions and ginger, use this as the filling for the dumplings 3. Make the wrappers by dividing the dough into small portions 4. Form a bowl shape with each wrapper by pinching it carefully 5. Fill in the stuffing and seal properly 6. Steam in boiling water for about 15 minutes.
It can be served after steaming.
Pot pancakeWater flows in from one place, rinsed afterward, the sky meat, flower belly, and thin fatty intestines are all cut into fine long strips as long as the fatty intestine.
3 small belly
The part between Baizhe and the small intestine is commonly known as water belly (stomach). To distinguish it from the large belly connected to the red sausage (reticulum), it is called the small belly. Leave a bit more of the small intestine (about three feet) when cutting, cut off at the place where Baizhe connects, empty out the feces, wash several times, flip over so that the inside faces outward. Pour the blood slurry used to stuff the small intestine into the cut-off part, fill it until slightly full, insert a chopstick and tie up the cut. When flipping, only the head of the small intestine comes out at the place where it connects with the small belly; the rest is drawn out from the opening where blood was injected, tied in an infinity sign around the chopstick to allow cooking or making frozen small belly. Cooked small belly shrinks in volume. Due to being flipped over, it has wrinkles on top, resembling a turtle carrying something on its back.
Milk cake
Introduction
Solid dairy product (milk cake) is rich in protein, vitamin B group, calcium and various beneficial trace nutrients for the human body. It is the most nutritionally valuable dairy product. Its suitable population is very wide, including children and teenagers with rapid development, pregnant women, perimenopausal women, as well as elderly people who need to replenish energy or those with weak constitutions.
Preparation
Main ingredients: 2 cups (500 grams) of regular flour, 750 milliliters of milk, 75 grams of butter. Assistant ingredients: a small spoon of baking soda, 2 teaspoons of fine sugar.Sugar 2 tablespoons of eggs.Olive oil.Blue Raspberry A few raspberry slices. Blend the flour, baking soda, and sugar in a bowl.
Add milk, melt butter, mix into batter (use an electric mixer to get a finer and more uniform batter).Heat a flat-bottomed pan. Pour one spoon of batter into the hot pan, cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface.Flip the pancake to another side, also cook for 2-3 minutes. This should yield about 12-16 thin pancakes. Decorate with fruit; you can use Banana Strawberry, etc. Mongolian fried rice
Introduction
Fried rice, Mongolian for "Mongolian lebardada," means Mongolian rice.
It is made through multiple steps including steaming, frying, and grinding. Mixed with yogurt and sugar, it provides both hunger relief and thirst quenching; it is a traditional food with unique flavor. Fried rice is often eaten for breakfast by most nomads, paired with creamy tea with butter and a little bit of salt.Nomads carry a small bag of fried rice when going out to pasture. By noon, boil the tea and serve the fried rice; it is very convenient. PreparationSelect good sand for frying rice. Sift through the sand with a sieve after collecting, then use a basket to remove any soil again.
If not clean enough, wash in water once more, dry and sift over one last time.
Fry the sand until it is red-hot. Pour out the dried rice into the hot sand; when steam starts coming up, quickly pour the mixture on a sieve with a bowl underneath to catch them. Shake the sieve so that the sand falls in the bowl while the fried rice stays on top. Pour back the sand and heat until red-hot again. Add new dried rice, repeating this process many times to produce much more fried rice. Store the sand in a bag for next use. Mongolian flatbreadIntroduction， ，， ，
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Kangxi's imperial snack -- pot pancake: According to legend, Emperor Kangxi once stopped at the Duhun County Erdenge Spring area during a military campaign. Tired and hungry, he was offered oatmeal pot pancakes by a local family.： ， ，
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Pot pancake is cooked on one side steamed and the other side grilled. Its ancient kitchenware (large pots about 1 meter in diameter) and fuel are key to its preparation. Experience Emperor Kangxi's journey by making your own at Duhun!7. 8. ，9. ，10. ， ， 11. 15Method Roughly 3000 grams of flour (including 1000 grams of leavened dough). Seasoning: 10 grams of baking soda, 15 grams of salt, and 20 grams of vegetable oil.
Steps:
1. Mix the flour, yeast with warm water to form a dough; add alkali to mix well into a dough sheet. Make various patterns on one side.
2. Place this patterned side down in a heated flat pan and apply a little vegetable oil, then gently cook until it turns light yellow. Flip the pancake over and cook with slightly higher heat until it turns light yellow. Use an iron ring to prop up the pancake while covering it to slowly bake through the bottom. Enjoy this authentic imperial snack! Pot pancakes are steamed on one side and baked on the other, using ancient cooking equipment (traditionally a large pot with a diameter of about 1 meter), which requires specific fuel. If you want to make pot pancakes yourself to experience life as an emperor touring the borders, come to Dolon!
Method
Ingredients: 3000 grams of fine flour (including 1000 grams of yeast). Seasonings: 10 grams of baking soda, 15 grams of salt, 20 grams of bean oil.
Steps: 1. Mix the flour and yeast with an appropriate amount of warm water to form a dough, add an appropriate amount of alkali and mix evenly to form a dough.2. Place the round pancakes flat side down in a hot flat pan, brush a little bit of bean oil, and slowly cook until lightly golden brown, then flip the pancake and use slightly stronger heat to cook until lightly golden brown again. Then use an iron ring to lift the pancake, cover with the pot lid, and bake over low heat until fully cooked.
