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Monday 15 September 2008

50 Word/Food: Beijing Midnight -- by Mac Millings

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Squatting by the charcoal grill, breath mingling with cumin smoke, we await a winter midnight treat. Our Uyghur friend seasons the yangrou chuanr - five pieces per stick; four meat, one fat.

A street vendor, his restaurant had been given two weeks' notice. It was bulldozed, for the city's beautification.

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7 comments:

Zephirine said...

Yummy no doubt, Mac, but now you have to explain to us what yangrou chuanr is:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Zeph,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuanr

sums it up pretty well. Ignore the part about insects and such, though. Classic chuanr is yangrou chuanr - a lamb (or, I think more likely, mutton) kebab. In Mandarin, "yang" means "sheep", "rou" "meat", and "chuanr" is "kebab" (or perhaps more accurately, "chuanr" means "chunks of meat on a stick". The character for "chuan" - the "r" is a Beijing-accented add-on - actually looks like two pieces of meat on a stick, and hence is one of my favourites).

Street vendors cook it to order on a tiny grill; it's cheap, and it's wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Save the street vendors!

Anonymous said...

Is this the same sort of thing as: walking past Callum's fish and chips, smells so good, others walking out with fish suppers wrapped in papers, testing taste buds, you have to try the supper.

Today's haddock, with the best chips, and sea salt, just lovely.

offsideintahiti said...

Mac, sounds tempting...

On a side note, have you been to Urümchi? Have you seen the mummies?

(for those wondering about the connection, Urümchi is in Uyghur country, I think)

Anonymous said...

Offie,

Yes, I've been to Urümchi, but didn't see mummies. However, I did see one in a tiny museum in (I think) melon-famous Hami.

Anonymous said...

munni and mimi,

yes! and yes!