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Yearning for Yunhe Town mutton
By Hu Min |
December 2, 2010, Thursday
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IT might be getting cold outside but that makes it the ideal time to visit Yunhe Town, where Hu Min discovers a food festival celebrating among other dishes, the town's specialty which provides a tasty and warming winter treat - red-braised mutton.
More frequent cold snaps herald the approach of winter, the best season to savor mutton, a typical and nutritious winter dish that generates heat and helps beat the chill.
For gourmets in search of this delicacy, Yunhe Town in Yuhang District of Hangzhou is an essential destination. The town is known for cooking up a red-braised mutton feast, tempting visitors with tender and tasty lamb.
The second Fish and Lamb Gastronomic Festival has just started in the town and will last until the end of February 2011. The main venue is Bolu Village, where a raft of restaurants and a cluster of street vendors are offering the best in red-braised mutton specialties, as well as the town's other two proud delicacies, snake-headed fish and soft-shelled turtles.
A fireworks display, folk performances, cooking competition and photographic contest will also be staged during the festival.
Yunhe Town sits on the southwestern part of Hangjiahu Plain in northeast Zhejiang Province.
The taste of Yunhe Town's braised mutton with soy sauce is reminiscent of what we eat at home.
Residents of Yunhe Town have kept the custom of cooking mutton during the transition of autumn and winter every year. During this period, if you randomly pay a visit to any household in the town, you will find a "sizzling" pot cooking braised mutton with soy sauce. As a result, even the air of the town is permeated with the smell of mutton.
The history of cooking mutton in the town dates back hundreds of years.
The festival's debut last year proved to be a thriving business.
The three-month event generated more than 22 million yuan (US$3.29 million) in turnover. Using a peak day as an example, a restaurant in the town slaughtered more than 10 sheep and cooked 300 to 350 kilograms of lamb.
After reaping hefty profits last year, restaurant owners are confident that they will harvest another bucket of gold this time. And they're not scared of competing with other mutton dishes either, such as the famous mutton hotpot of Cangqian, an ancient town in Hangzhou.
A 96-year-old woman living in downtown Hangzhou was lured by the mutton's delicate flavor and she visited the town with family members during last year's festival just to have a bite of authentic Yunhe mutton, said Hu Jianchun, Party secretary of the town.
There are a number of requirements and procedures that must be strictly followed when cooking the meat to ensure its succulent and sweet taste, according to the owner of Yongxing Restaurant, one of the largest and most famed mutton restaurants in the town.
First of all, Yunhe Town mutton must be cooked on a very large stove where three big iron pots can be placed in a line, the owner surnamed Fu said. Then, the firewood burnt must be old wood with straw ignited first to keep a succulent taste. Moreover, the meat then be cooked for at least four hours.
The sheep must be quality male sheep raised in the Taihu Lake area, according to Fu. When it came to the actual recipe, it was a secret.
For those not willing to trek all the way to eat the authentic Yunhe Town mutton where it is cooked, both Hu and Fu have disappointing news.
The mutton must be cooked on a very large stove, which most restaurants in downtown Hangzhou lack and the substitute solution of transporting mutton to the downtown area is also vetoed as it must be eaten hot upon serving.
"It is hard for Yunhe mutton to be taken away. If you want to have a bite, visit our town," Hu said.
"Bencao Gangmu" ("Compendium of Materia Medica") says that eating lamb in the winter can help people warm up and stimulate appetite. It is also good for the kidneys, lungs, liver and eyesight.
Yunhe Town is also crowned the "land of snake-headed fish and soft-shelled turtles of Zhejiang Province," which are the other two famous local cuisines. The festival is entitled Fish and Lamb Gastronomic Festival, as fish ("") and lamb(-?≤) forms ? (tasty, delicious) in Chinese, indicating a delight to the palate.
Locals have scores of ways to cook snake-headed fish. Raising snake-headed fish and soft-shelled turtles has become the backbone industry of the town.
The local government has set up parking lots and mobile toilets to provide a better service during this year's festival.
It is recommended that reservations for dining at local restaurants during the festival be made one or two days in advance.
More frequent cold snaps herald the approach of winter, the best season to savor mutton, a typical and nutritious winter dish that generates heat and helps beat the chill.
For gourmets in search of this delicacy, Yunhe Town in Yuhang District of Hangzhou is an essential destination. The town is known for cooking up a red-braised mutton feast, tempting visitors with tender and tasty lamb.
The second Fish and Lamb Gastronomic Festival has just started in the town and will last until the end of February 2011. The main venue is Bolu Village, where a raft of restaurants and a cluster of street vendors are offering the best in red-braised mutton specialties, as well as the town's other two proud delicacies, snake-headed fish and soft-shelled turtles.
A fireworks display, folk performances, cooking competition and photographic contest will also be staged during the festival.
Yunhe Town sits on the southwestern part of Hangjiahu Plain in northeast Zhejiang Province.
The taste of Yunhe Town's braised mutton with soy sauce is reminiscent of what we eat at home.
Residents of Yunhe Town have kept the custom of cooking mutton during the transition of autumn and winter every year. During this period, if you randomly pay a visit to any household in the town, you will find a "sizzling" pot cooking braised mutton with soy sauce. As a result, even the air of the town is permeated with the smell of mutton.
The history of cooking mutton in the town dates back hundreds of years.
The festival's debut last year proved to be a thriving business.
The three-month event generated more than 22 million yuan (US$3.29 million) in turnover. Using a peak day as an example, a restaurant in the town slaughtered more than 10 sheep and cooked 300 to 350 kilograms of lamb.
After reaping hefty profits last year, restaurant owners are confident that they will harvest another bucket of gold this time. And they're not scared of competing with other mutton dishes either, such as the famous mutton hotpot of Cangqian, an ancient town in Hangzhou.
A 96-year-old woman living in downtown Hangzhou was lured by the mutton's delicate flavor and she visited the town with family members during last year's festival just to have a bite of authentic Yunhe mutton, said Hu Jianchun, Party secretary of the town.
There are a number of requirements and procedures that must be strictly followed when cooking the meat to ensure its succulent and sweet taste, according to the owner of Yongxing Restaurant, one of the largest and most famed mutton restaurants in the town.
First of all, Yunhe Town mutton must be cooked on a very large stove where three big iron pots can be placed in a line, the owner surnamed Fu said. Then, the firewood burnt must be old wood with straw ignited first to keep a succulent taste. Moreover, the meat then be cooked for at least four hours.
The sheep must be quality male sheep raised in the Taihu Lake area, according to Fu. When it came to the actual recipe, it was a secret.
For those not willing to trek all the way to eat the authentic Yunhe Town mutton where it is cooked, both Hu and Fu have disappointing news.
The mutton must be cooked on a very large stove, which most restaurants in downtown Hangzhou lack and the substitute solution of transporting mutton to the downtown area is also vetoed as it must be eaten hot upon serving.
"It is hard for Yunhe mutton to be taken away. If you want to have a bite, visit our town," Hu said.
"Bencao Gangmu" ("Compendium of Materia Medica") says that eating lamb in the winter can help people warm up and stimulate appetite. It is also good for the kidneys, lungs, liver and eyesight.
Yunhe Town is also crowned the "land of snake-headed fish and soft-shelled turtles of Zhejiang Province," which are the other two famous local cuisines. The festival is entitled Fish and Lamb Gastronomic Festival, as fish ("") and lamb(-?≤) forms ? (tasty, delicious) in Chinese, indicating a delight to the palate.
Locals have scores of ways to cook snake-headed fish. Raising snake-headed fish and soft-shelled turtles has become the backbone industry of the town.
The local government has set up parking lots and mobile toilets to provide a better service during this year's festival.
It is recommended that reservations for dining at local restaurants during the festival be made one or two days in advance.
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