[intro theme playing]
MUTTON
[instrumental music playing]
[narrator] Gansu. Spanning more than 1,600 kilometers from east to west.
It’s the same distance from Milan to Istanbul (伊斯坦布尔/ˌistænˈbu:l/).
With different types of terrains and a variety of lamb breeds, people in Gansu know how to modify their ways to suit their environment and make the mutton taste delicious.
The meat of an eight-month-old lamb is very tender and needs to be marinated and cooked carefully.
Stir-frying and braising (/breɪz/) them are the best ways.

BRAISED MUTTON
Dongxiang lamb has the perfect fat to lean meat ratio.
Just boil them, and they will be delicious.
Lamb over two years old should be boiled longer in order to taste better.

MUTTON NOODLE SOUP
JIAYUGUAN, GANSU
At 8 a.m., Huang Zhitao starts making suet (hard fat from around an animal’s kidneys, used in cooking in Britain).
In Jiayuguan, this is the base cooking ingredient in every household.
Extract fat from the lamb’s body, and cook them slowly in low heat.
Then add spices to remove the mutton’s gamey (/‘ɡeimi/
) smell (膻味).
At a temperature lower than 40 degrees Celsius, the oil begins to solidify and waits for its flavor to be unleashed.
Jiayuguan, where the main traffic of the ancient Silk Road was, is now a progressive city in northwestern Gansu.
The people here are especially fond of a particular kind of mutton delicacy.

-[man] Regular barbecued?-Okay, coming right up.
[narrator] A seemingly ordinary barbecued lamb needs to be handled using a unique method.

Exquisite (/ɪk’skwɪzɪt/ extremely beautiful and very delicately made) and moist, like white jade (/dʒeɪd/翡翠), this is the suet (/’s(j)uːɪt/(牛羊腰部的)板油) that was rendered eight hours ago.

As the suet is heated, it emits a complex fragrance.
The lamb skewers (羊肉串, /‘skjuːə/烤肉杆) are pre-barbecued for a short time in a special metal can and swiftly dipped in oil.
The rich fats quickly lock in the juices, and also bring more flavor into the mutton.
With the suet’s surface tension the seasoning can be evenly spread.

Afterwards, barbecue the meat skewers until the surface becomes burnt and crispy.
With the suet as a buffer, the lamb remains tender and juicy.

JIAYUGUAN GRILLED LAMB
-[man] Which room?-Xiongguan 12 Pillars. Serve it.
All right. Marrow, kidneys done.
All right, continue with the tripe. Go.
[narrator] The entire lamb is cut into 20 different parts.
In the hands of people in Jiayuguan, every part can have different flavors.

The bone marrow’s (/‘mærəʊ/骨髓) texture is very tender.
After grilling, it becomes as delicate as butter.
Lamb tripe (/traɪp/羊肚), covered in suet and barbecued.
The oil sizzles (/ˈsɪzəl/发出滋滋声); its texture is chewy.
The lambskin is crystal clear.
Its gummy texture is slowly contracting in the fire.
The lean meat is slowly barbecued at low heat. Fragrant and chewy.
Lamb chops (羊排) are still the most enticing (/ɪnˈtaɪsɪŋ/tempting), where its fat and meat ratio are equal.
Take a chunk (/tʃʌŋk/一大块) of fat off the meat.
It’s very enjoyable.

Jiayuguan is a city of migrants.
With different regional backgrounds, their different preferences reach an agreement in a stick of lamb skewer.

[man singing softly]
800 km southeast, on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau (/‘plætəʊ/青藏高原), is the residence of Gannan Tibetans.
JIAYUGUAN
August.
There is plenty of water and greenery here.
This is the summer pasture of the Cairang family.
GANJIA GRASSLAND IS AROUND 3,000 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL
CAIRANG JIA
FA LAU, WIFE
The lives of herders revolve around (/rɪ’vɒlv/旋转)lambs.
They migrate to areas with different sea levels depending on the season.
Mutton is their main source of meat.
The cold weather slows the growth of Ganjia lambs, leaving to abundant flavor.

[sheep baaing]
-[whipping]-[men shouting]
[sheep baaing]
Fresh mutton has an enticing pink color.
Its fibers are thin.
The meat is tender.
Due to the low content of short-chain fatty acids, it almost doesn’t have a gamey smell.
It just needs to be marinated with a little salt.

However, at almost 4,000 meters above sea level, the water’s boiling point is below 80 degrees Celsius.
It’s hard to finish cooking it in a normal way.
Clean the lamb tripe.
It will be put to great use.
Place the meat into the lamb tripe.
Scallions (/ˈskæljən/BE spring onion 小葱) and chili add more flavor.
The real cooking is about to begin.

Grill the cobblestones (/‘kɒbl,stəʊn/鹅卵石).They slowly absorb the heat.
After one hour, the temperature will be over 200 degrees Celsius.

Place the hot cobblestones into the lamb tripe.
It will emit a huge amount of energy.
While being grilled on a high heat, the mutton slowly releases juices.

[indistinct chatter]
Add the cobblestones periodically (/ˌpɪərɪ’ɒdɪkəlɪ/),
and the heat accumulates.

The lamb tripe is airtight.
The pressure inside keeps building like a natural pressure cooker.
A portion of the juices turns into gas.
Grilling, steaming, and boiling happens at the same time.
The mutton is covered in its juices.
Burnt and brown on the outside, it’s cooking very quickly.

Only 15 minutes, and it’s done.

At this time, the mutton is soft and tender.
It also has a unique barbecued aroma.
Rich and flavorful.
Cooking using stones is called daoshihe (道食合) in the Tibetan language.
This method satisfies the cooking tool and heat source requirement of herders.
Quick and convenient, it maximizes the original flavor of mutton.
A unique delicacy is produced out of local conditions.

DAOSHIHE
[instrumental music fades out]
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