Beijing Muslim History: Old Halal Notes from the Southern City (Part 1 of 5) — Section 2 of 2 — Block 2 of 3
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Muslim History: Old Halal Notes from the Southern City is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Chongwen:. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Muslim History, Southern Beijing, Hui Muslims while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source. This final block is 2 of 3.
Block 2 of 3
At the west entrance of Menkuang Hutong, there was a lamb head meat stall in front of the Yuxing Restaurant that was considered a famous local snack of the area. The vendor arrived every day near dusk. He brought his own light bulb and wire, which he connected to the restaurant's power to light up his stall. He used a special knife, one foot long and five inches wide, to slice the cheek, tongue (xinzi), and eyes for customers to enjoy with their drinks. When he sliced the cheek, he made it so thin it was almost transparent. He laid it on white paper, sprinkled salt and pepper from a long-necked glass bottle, mixed it by hand, and then wrapped it up. It tasted delicious. Customers loved the taste of the meat and admired the vendor's skill. Every night when the lights came on, a crowd would gather at the intersection of Langfang Second Alley and Menkuang Hutong to watch him slice the meat. People traveled from far away to Menkuang Hutong just to eat this lamb head meat. I once asked about that Hui Muslim vendor. I only knew his surname was Ma and he lived on Niujie. He likely passed away after the Cultural Revolution, and I do not know what happened to him.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
3. Yitiaolong Mutton Restaurant outside Qianmen
Yitiao Long Lamb Restaurant processes its meat carefully and slices it very thin. After slaughtering and skinning the lamb, they select only the hind legs. They place the meat on a clean surface with natural water, cover it with a reed mat, place an oilcloth over the mat, and put a block of ice on top. This is called pressed meat (yarou). The meat is pressed for a full day and night to draw out the blood and impurities, which makes the meat firm and easy to slice. This pressed meat (ya rou) is better than frozen meat because frozen meat, like frozen cabbage, breaks down the lamb's texture and makes it lose its tender, savory flavor, which makes it taste bad. Yilong is just like Zhengyanglou; they slice the meat thinly and serve it on plates according to the cut. The seasonings are complete.
When eating hot pot lamb (shuan yangrou), people usually eat sesame flatbread (shaobing) as their staple food. The sesame flatbread (shaobing) at Nanhengshun (Wang Dongsi: Yilong's original name is Nanhengshun) is also different from other places; for every basin of dough, they use ten jin of flour, with nine jin of plain flour and one jin of leavened dough. Ten jin of flour requires one jin and two liang of sesame paste. The sesame flatbread (shaobing) is first seared on a griddle, then baked in an oven, searing the bottom first and then the sesame-topped side (just for a quick touch). This kind of sesame flatbread (shaobing) has plenty of sauce, is cooked through, and is perfectly flaky and crisp.
When customers are almost full, they order a bowl of Nanhengshun's homemade, thin and uniform mung bean mixed noodles (lvdou zamian) served dry. Mung bean mixed noodles (lvdou zamian) are great for cutting through the greasiness of meat; a bowl of these noodles absorbs the floating oil from the hot pot and cleanses the palate, making these thin and uniform noodles another specialty of Nanhengshun.
Miscellaneous Talks on Old Beijing by Wang Yongbin.
4. Ai's steamed rice cake (aiwowowo) stall on Menkuang Hutong outside Qianmen
It is currently the first lunar month, the time when ai'ou wowos are on the market. Beijing's ai'ou wowos are similar to Fengtian's cool rice cakes (lianggao) and are both sold during the first lunar month, but ai'ou wowos are soft and delicious, and cannot be compared to cool rice cakes (lianggao). Cool rice cakes (lianggao) are made by steaming glutinous rice flour, using it as a wrapper, filling it with sesame and white sugar, and sprinkling it with rice flour. On the surface, they look like ai'ou wowos, but they are essentially just a variation of sticky rice cakes (niangao); after a while, when the wind blows on them, they still get hard.
Summary: Beijing Muslim History: Old Halal Notes from the Southern City is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Chongwen:. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Muslim History, Southern Beijing, Hui Muslims while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source. This final block is 2 of 3.
Block 2 of 3
At the west entrance of Menkuang Hutong, there was a lamb head meat stall in front of the Yuxing Restaurant that was considered a famous local snack of the area. The vendor arrived every day near dusk. He brought his own light bulb and wire, which he connected to the restaurant's power to light up his stall. He used a special knife, one foot long and five inches wide, to slice the cheek, tongue (xinzi), and eyes for customers to enjoy with their drinks. When he sliced the cheek, he made it so thin it was almost transparent. He laid it on white paper, sprinkled salt and pepper from a long-necked glass bottle, mixed it by hand, and then wrapped it up. It tasted delicious. Customers loved the taste of the meat and admired the vendor's skill. Every night when the lights came on, a crowd would gather at the intersection of Langfang Second Alley and Menkuang Hutong to watch him slice the meat. People traveled from far away to Menkuang Hutong just to eat this lamb head meat. I once asked about that Hui Muslim vendor. I only knew his surname was Ma and he lived on Niujie. He likely passed away after the Cultural Revolution, and I do not know what happened to him.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
3. Yitiaolong Mutton Restaurant outside Qianmen
Yitiao Long Lamb Restaurant processes its meat carefully and slices it very thin. After slaughtering and skinning the lamb, they select only the hind legs. They place the meat on a clean surface with natural water, cover it with a reed mat, place an oilcloth over the mat, and put a block of ice on top. This is called pressed meat (yarou). The meat is pressed for a full day and night to draw out the blood and impurities, which makes the meat firm and easy to slice. This pressed meat (ya rou) is better than frozen meat because frozen meat, like frozen cabbage, breaks down the lamb's texture and makes it lose its tender, savory flavor, which makes it taste bad. Yilong is just like Zhengyanglou; they slice the meat thinly and serve it on plates according to the cut. The seasonings are complete.
When eating hot pot lamb (shuan yangrou), people usually eat sesame flatbread (shaobing) as their staple food. The sesame flatbread (shaobing) at Nanhengshun (Wang Dongsi: Yilong's original name is Nanhengshun) is also different from other places; for every basin of dough, they use ten jin of flour, with nine jin of plain flour and one jin of leavened dough. Ten jin of flour requires one jin and two liang of sesame paste. The sesame flatbread (shaobing) is first seared on a griddle, then baked in an oven, searing the bottom first and then the sesame-topped side (just for a quick touch). This kind of sesame flatbread (shaobing) has plenty of sauce, is cooked through, and is perfectly flaky and crisp.
When customers are almost full, they order a bowl of Nanhengshun's homemade, thin and uniform mung bean mixed noodles (lvdou zamian) served dry. Mung bean mixed noodles (lvdou zamian) are great for cutting through the greasiness of meat; a bowl of these noodles absorbs the floating oil from the hot pot and cleanses the palate, making these thin and uniform noodles another specialty of Nanhengshun.
Miscellaneous Talks on Old Beijing by Wang Yongbin.
4. Ai's steamed rice cake (aiwowowo) stall on Menkuang Hutong outside Qianmen
It is currently the first lunar month, the time when ai'ou wowos are on the market. Beijing's ai'ou wowos are similar to Fengtian's cool rice cakes (lianggao) and are both sold during the first lunar month, but ai'ou wowos are soft and delicious, and cannot be compared to cool rice cakes (lianggao). Cool rice cakes (lianggao) are made by steaming glutinous rice flour, using it as a wrapper, filling it with sesame and white sugar, and sprinkling it with rice flour. On the surface, they look like ai'ou wowos, but they are essentially just a variation of sticky rice cakes (niangao); after a while, when the wind blows on them, they still get hard.
