Many of you will know my fondness for local street food - in my view, the best way to get to know a city and its people. (I know this isn't particularly original; Anthony Bourdain has said the same).
My street market explorations started in Xian with its Muslim street market near the Bell Tower, and carried on in the Jiayuguan night market (the only "life" to be found in the lifeless Jiayuguan), followed by the Dunhuang night market which is quite commercial and as much about selling tourist trinkets as about the local delicacies.
I continued in Urumqi which, unlike the previous cities, seems to offer less roadside tables and more standing and eating. I particularly liked the fresh pomegranate juice in Urumqi - slightly tart and very refreshing on a hot and dusty summer's day and comes in a very pretty jewel-like pink tourmaline hue (see photo). There were also many vendors of fresh ice-cream which I didn't try but am told it is made of cow's milk but smoothened with a touch of mutton fat.
Another theme of my street food exploration has been an in-depth (!) study of barbequed mutton. Starting in Jiayuguan where the mutton skewers are small and bite-size (perfect appetizers, to go with a swig of cold beer, to be followed by noodles). As we moved westwards through into Xinjiang, the size of the mutton skewers grew considerably and became chunks of juicy meat, often framed by crispy fat, that formed the main meal. Again best eaten with cold beer followed by some sort of "heat-removing" 消热解毒 Chinese herbal tea afterwards to avoid sore throats and outbursts of pimples that commonly come with eating too much barbeque...
In Kuqa 库车 tonight, we ate at a roadside restaurant next to auto repair shops. As an aside, Kuqa is not a very attractive city but has been historically very significant being a crossroad of Silk Road cultures with influences from Han China, Muslim peoples, Greeks, Romans and Indians. It was also the capital of the Qiuci 龟兹 empire, one of the strongest of the 36 non-Han tribes that existed alongside the Tang dynasty. Qiuci is particularly famous because it was the first place in China where Buddhism was introduced from India and as a result, the historic Buddhist remains in Kuqa represent the earliest form of Buddhism in China before Buddhism was transformed by Han culture (for example, Buddha and bodhisattvas in the early introductory days had a distinctly more Indian image with darker skin, male bodhissatvas and more nudity). While Kuqa is not particularly attractive or interesting as a modern city and remains segregated into the Uighur town and the "new" Han town (left over from the Qing days), it is a must-stop on the Silk Road.
But back to the roadside restaurant in Kuqa new city - we tried a new way of barbequing mutton: Mutton in a Pit 饢坑肉. A 饢 (pronounced "nang") is a big flat bread commonly eaten throught Xinjiang with local variations. The flatbread in Kuqa is larger than that in Urumqi or Turpan but thinner, not unlike an Italian flatbread (piadina) and similarly sprinkled with herbs on top before consumption. This flatbread is cooked in a 饢坑 (a "nang" pit) and that pit may also be used for barbequing meats. So, instead of skewering the mutton on long metal skewers, the meat is hung onto a metal rack which is itself hung inside the pit. Compared to the traditional mutton skewers, this type of barbequed meat is less fatty as the fat drips to the bottom of the pit. When ready, the meat is taken off the metal racks and plated, and spices are sprinkled on top of the grilled meat. Typically, the pit barbeque meat is eaten with a salad of tomatoes, onions and green peppers and a torn slice of flat bread. (See pics)
After dinner, I visited the main hub of Kuqa - a square with an adjoining night market serving various chicken and mutton dishes in makeshift roadside stalls. This is apparentlly the Uighur people's preferred nightlife as opposed to the Han people who are to be found in karaoke bars.
Tomorrow is the day that I've been looking forward to a great deal - I will be crossing the Taklamakan desert, the only desert in the world which has no life in it at all (even the Sahara and Gobi has some life). It will be a 8-10 car ride. Hopefully mirages will appear a la Tintin.
