Yang Rou Chuan Is The Best Street Food To End A Boozy Night Out In China
A hearty snack after a night of revelry seems to be an experience shared by partygoers and barflies all over the world. In the huge metropolises of China, it's common to see skewers of lamb and other meats waiting for customers as they exit clubs, bars, and other late-night venues. These are called yang rou chuan, a kebab-esque street food that is covered in cumin, pepper flakes, and other spices and grilled over hot coals. The savory, slightly spicy treats are best enjoyed either during or after drinking a couple of cold ones.
The Great Wall of China was built to guard against the nomads of the Western steppe, but yang rou chuan is one export that has managed to break through the barrier into China's capital city to become a staple street food there. The dish is popular throughout the country — although it's especially prominent in Beijing thanks to vendors who set up shop along streets where nightlife is active and hungry. Aromatic smoke wafting from the grills is guaranteed to catch the attention of passers-by, and it's worth shelling up some petty yuan to grab a bite.
The allure of lamb skewers
Yang rou chuan originated in China's Westernmost, highly Muslim-influenced province, Xinjiang. Lamb flavored with cumin is a common cuisine within the culture of the Uyghur people (as opposed to the non-halal pork, common in the rest of China), and yang rou chuan is called "kawap" in its native Uyghur tongue. The dish isn't always prepared with lamb, either; beef, chicken, and seafood are all viable options, and vegetarians can feast on meatless sticks.
Ironic for a dish stemming from Islamic culture, the salty, savory taste of yang rou chuan pairs well with or after a round of cold beer. Grilled meats like American BBQ, German bratwurst, and Japanese yakitori are all often accompanied by a brew, so it only makes sense that lamb skewers are particularly enjoyable with beer. That's probably because meat undergoes the same chemical changes when it browns as barley grains do when they malt, a process known as the Maillard reaction.
Recipe for yang rou chuan
The busy Gui Jie Street in Beijing, known for its insomniac 24-hour eateries, is where these skewers reign supreme, as they do along the shopping street of Wangfujing. Government mandates that have curtailed street vending, supposedly due to air pollution (critics argue that it's to further stigmatize the Uyghurs), have limited the rolling carts of yang rou chuan vendors in recent years — although a recent rollback in this law may predict a return of the grills. If you're adventurous but can't travel to Beijing and want to try making your own yang rou chuan, you can acquire boneless lamb shoulder and cut it into cubes.
It's best to grind up cumin seeds and dried chili flakes because the seasoning mixture should be a bit coarse and not too fine, so you may want to skip out on powdered cumin. Stick the chunks of lamb on a wooden skewer stick and place them right on a grill after sprinkling the spice mixture on top with some salt. Continually sprinkle the spices on top of the lamb as they cook, and make sure to garnish the snack after it's done cooking as well. That cumin and chili flavor is essential in giving yang rou chuan its distinctive taste. Crack open some cold ones, perhaps some bottles of Tsingtao, and enjoy. It's that simple.