This Low-Key Northwest Town Boasts China's Best Lamb

Recommended by "A Bite of China," Ningxia Tan sheep have gained nationwide fame among food enthusiasts. Although northwestern provinces are all "big consumers of lamb," Ningxia stands out prominently due to its unique geographical location, which breeds superior and rare Tan sheep with exceptionally high-quality meat.

Among Ningxia Tan sheep, those from Yanchi County in eastern Ningxia are of the finest quality. In recent years, "Yanchi Tan sheep" has become a nationally renowned brand, and Yanchi has earned the title of "Hometown of Chinese Tan Sheep."

The "1,001 Ways" to Enjoy Yanchi Tan Sheep.

Photo / Feng Dawei, Wang Jiale, Wu Xuewen

Yanchi Tan sheep are famously delicious, but only by visiting Yanchi and experiencing the melt-in-your-mouth, cream-like fat of the lamb can one understand the locals' insistence that "no other lamb compares after leaving Yanchi." Raised in Yanchi, the "Hometown of Licorice," these sheep drink weakly alkaline mineral water and feed on over 170 types of pasture, including licorice and bitter beans. Their meat is rich yet not greasy, with little of the usual gaminess found in ordinary lamb.

How to enjoy a Tan sheep? Yanchi offers dozens of answers—tender hand-grabbed lamb, glossy stir-fried lamb chops, or crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside roasted whole lamb. Beyond these, lamb also pairs seamlessly with staple foods, appearing in various forms across daily meals: lamb liver cold noodles, lamb pancakes, lamb noodle soup, lamb offal stew...

Yanchi Tan sheep with wavy wool tufts.

For Yanchi locals, Tan sheep are more than just sustenance. Their creative ways of cooking lamb reflect a deep appreciation for the finer "flavors of life" behind every bite.

Boiled in clear broth, steamed in large pots:

The simplest techniques, the purest freshness.

Premium ingredients simplify cooking, and Yanchi Tan sheep are a prime example. Raised on bitter beans, licorice, wild onions, thyme, and other medicinal herbs, their meat carries hints of saline water, herbal notes, and a milky sweetness.

In Yanchi, the most authentic—yet perhaps most surprising—way to enjoy Tan sheep is by boiling it in plain water. Servers often explain to diners that dipping sauces like sesame paste are unnecessary; the meat is best enjoyed as-is. One taste explains why: the lamb is incredibly tender, with no blood foam during cooking, melting effortlessly in the mouth. Its delicate aroma, free of gaminess, needs no enhancement—just a touch of natural saltiness.

Only without seasoning can one savor the true essence of Tan sheep.

The star of Yanchi hospitality is undoubtedly hand-grabbed lamb. Locals embrace a "big meat, big drinks" ethos, and when hosting guests, they serve the finest, heartiest cuts. The preparation is equally rustic—simply boiled and served, highlighting the meat's exceptional quality.

Ningxia locals call lamb fat "zhuang" (robust). The first bite should target the "most zhuang" piece: throw caution to the wind, seize the steaming heat, and let the luscious fat coat your teeth while the juicy lean meat fills your mouth. As Yanchi folks say, this is "truly fragrant!"

Hand-grabbed lamb, locally abbreviated as "shou zhua."

Unlike restaurant dishes, stewed lamb is a homestyle staple. Chunks of lamb are simmered with scallions, ginger, dried chilies, and peppercorns until fall-apart tender—a winter warmer. But Yanchi people eat lamb year-round; a bowl of lamb soup in summer's peak heat is considered a health booster, joked as: "A bowl of Yanchi summer lamb soup replaces a doctor's prescription."

Sharing a pot of lamb soup makes everyone family.

Side ingredients are key to perfect stewed lamb. Adding white radish lets its sweetness penetrate the meat, cutting richness. Daylilies, another Yanchi specialty, are at their sweetest when picked at dawn. Summer-sun-kissed daylilies, nestled in lamb fat and chewy grains, create layered flavors that evoke the desert's "sky and earth" for every diner savoring the soup and gnawing ribs.

Daylily and multigrain stewed lamb ribs—Yanchi's signature dish for honored guests.

The Tan sheep is not only a culinary delight for the people of Yanchi but also a thread that weaves their lives together. The most memorable taste of Tan sheep for locals often comes from a unique communal feast known as "dapinghuo." On days free from labor, neighbors pool money to buy a sheep. After slaughtering it, they boil a large pot of water with seasonings like Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, chili peppers, and salt.

Shouts soon fill the air: some want the front leg, others prefer the ribs or the neck. Each person stakes their claim, and the meat is tossed into the pot. Within minutes, the aroma of the mutton wafts out in waves, detectable even a mile away.

Yanchi Tan mutton is best enjoyed in hearty chunks.

Even days later, everyone remembers the scent of the mutton boiling for half an hour during dapinghuo—fragrant, intoxicatingly so. Yanchi mutton isn’t gamey, but its lingering richness rivals that of strong liquor. Those who’ve shared such a feast no longer feel like strangers; having "stirred the same pot," they grow closer.

Years later, even as people scatter far from this land, the aroma of dapinghuo effortlessly revives their shared memories. In the river of time, the same mutton fragrance never repeats. And those Yanchi locals who’ve shared a pot of mutton soup are bound by fate as kin.

Stir-fried, charcoal-grilled, or braised in sauce

Yanchi’s culinary style is bold, yet its ingredient standards are meticulous. The most beloved dish is lamb—once Tan sheep mature, their muscles accumulate fat and gaminess, so the best are selected before six months old for tender lamb meat. Connoisseurs check the teeth: lambs with no fully grown teeth, called "miez," are around two months old, lean and exquisitely tender.

Stir-fried lamb is a Yanchi specialty, with the most authentic version found in Hui'anbao. This small town, bordering Gansu’s Huan County and rich in salt, coal, and stone resources, has long been a strategic hotspot. Vast salt lakes and hot springs create an ideal environment for Tan sheep, yielding the tender, fragrant stir-fried lamb on local tables.

The crimson stir-fried lamb teases every diner’s palate.

For 40-day-old lamb, chop it into cubes and soak in cold water for half an hour. Heat oil in a wok over a wood fire, fry young green peppers for fragrance, then add the lamb cubes to the sizzling oil. Stir-fry vigorously over high heat, letting the juices and flames wrestle until the aroma infuses the meat. Toss in minced ginger, garlic, scallions, and a secret peppercorn broth, then garnish with garlic sprouts and scallion segments before serving.

The lamb glistens with spicy, savory oil—crispy outside, tender and juicy inside. A plate of stir-fried lamb can make everyone polish off three bowls of rice, dispelling fatigue before sending them home satisfied.

For stir-fried lamb, Hui'anbao’s version is the "real deal."

Roast whole lamb is another unmissable delicacy of the northwest. Anyone who’s tried Yanchi’s version is enchanted by its golden crispness. Authentic roast lamb uses castrated adult sheep weighing around 20 pounds, ensuring tender meat without excessive shrinkage. The other secret lies in the sauce blend.

Yanchi people are meticulous about sauces, using locally grown autumn peppers ground with thread peppers, dried chilies, and lantern peppers, then fried with peanut powder, cumin, sesame, cilantro, scallions, garlic, and chopped peppers. Herbal spices also elevate the flavor—though pricey, they’re worth it for such a feast.

Visiting Ningxia without trying roast whole lamb is a wasted trip.

Yanchi locals elevate mutton to an art, utilizing every part. Ribs and neck make hand-torn meat, the back is charcoal-grilled, while trotters and head become braised delights. Sauce-braised lamb trotters are the highlight of Ningxia nightlife—steeped in secret broth, they’re succulent, with gelatinous tendons that melt in the mouth. A dip in vinegar enhances the flavor, intoxicating more than alcohol.

Sauce-braised lamb trotters, rich in collagen.

The lamb head is another Yanchi obsession. Braised for a day, it absorbs deep umami, with robust spices imparting unique flavors to every morsel. Though tricky to eat, locals have their "butcher’s method": split the scalp down the middle, peel back the meat, lift from the nasal bone, remove the eyes, crack the skull for the brain, then carve off ears and palate cartilage. Finally, slice along the tongue to detach two perfect cuts.

Only those who master lamb heads truly understand Tan sheep.

Lamb head meat can also be sliced and stir-fried with scallions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, soy sauce, and chili powder, or cold-tossed with shredded scallions, ginger, cilantro, MSG, cooking wine, salt, white pepper, and sesame oil. For more variety, try stir-frying with cabbage or braising with tofu. However you cook it, Yanchi lamb head meat is always delicious—its quality guarantees it.

In Yanchi, skewers are also a must-have for late-night snacks. Here, lamb skewers use minimal seasoning, with just a pinch of salt or cumin added when the exterior turns golden and crispy. The red willow lamb skewers exude a freshly fried aroma—crispy yet tender, rich but not greasy—wrapped in hot, fragrant dough and delivered to the mouth, where the savory juices dance on the tongue.

Red willow lamb skewers, tender and fragrant.

Liangpi, flatbread, noodles...

Yanchi guards the eastern gateway of Ningxia, where grassland culture and Central Plains farming culture deeply intersect. Here, lamb and wheat-based foods collide in an exceptionally refined way.

The delicacy of Tan sheep is hard-won, so the people of Yanchi cherish every part of the sheep, striving to make the most of it. Prime cuts are often stir-fried, braised, or charcoal-grilled, while less familiar parts, like lamb liver—boiled and then fried to crispy perfection—are still treasured by locals. Mixed with liangpi, it becomes a ubiquitous and unmissable street delicacy: lamb liver liangpi.

Lamb liver liangpi, a winter-defying addiction.

Lamb liver liangpi is a rare "meaty liangpi" in China's liangpi scene. Thin, wide Yanchi liangpi is topped with dark-brown lamb liver—one side bursting with aroma, the other cool and refreshing. The scent of garlic-infused lamb liver wafts through the translucent liangpi, and with one bite, the taste buds are instantly conquered.

Lamb liver chili sauce and lamb liver mashed potatoes are also local favorites. Ningxia's cold, dry climate and loose sandy soil are ideal for growing potatoes, which are high in starch and delightfully fluffy. Mashed potatoes mixed with freshly stir-fried lamb liver and drizzled with chili oil create a magical harmony of rich animal and plant textures—utterly free of gaminess.

The versatile lamb liver chili sauce: perfect for noodles, rice, or stuffed in steamed buns.

"Half noodles, half rice" sums up Ningxia's eating habits—most locals pair rice at noon with noodles in the evening. Once, a song made Ningxia's noodles famous: "Lamb Noodles" by the band Bu Yi. "Go home when times are tough; Mom will make your favorite lamb noodles..."

Yanchi's lamb noodles come in styles like rubbed noodles, saozi noodles, Hegu noodles, and lamb rib small-pinched noodles, with saozi noodles being the most renowned. Tender, finely chopped hind leg meat of Tan sheep simmers in a light yet richly colored red broth, served with white, chewy thin noodles—instantly whetting the appetite with its spicy, tangy kick.

A bowl of lamb hele noodles, soothing the homesickness of wanderers.

Buckwheat is another grain closely tied to Tan sheep. It dominates Yanchi's staple food scene: buckwheat hele, buckwheat jiaotuan, cat's ear noodles, paired with aged pickles and lamb saozi—completing the journey of every Tan sheep from pasture to plate.

Lamb flatbread brings people closer to sheep—buckwheat flour mixed with eggs into batter, brushed with Tan sheep tail fat in the pan, then cooked over low heat for minutes. The bread, initially resembling a dull cloth, transforms when soaked in lamb broth, absorbing the soup before each bite. The soft flatbread makes the broth dance between teeth, as if the ingredients are waltzing in the mouth, their aroma rushing straight to the core.

A local Yanchi poet once said, "Many praise lamb and buckwheat, but few understand flatbread. Every household has that bowl of lamb broth for dipping—the unspoken poetry behind it."

Flatbread, the perfect partner for lamb broth.

Rare breeds, unique flavors, historical depth—all these factors make Yanchi Tan sheep a legendary delicacy that has captivated diners for millennia. Today, most lives in Yanchi still revolve around Tan sheep, with sheep farming accounting for over 60% of local income. The industry has filled the people's "money bags."

In 2023, Yanchi's Tan sheep population reached 3.24 million, with nearly 1.94 million sold annually. Years of careful breeding, quality control, and branding have led to exponential sales growth. Premium Tan lamb now graces tables in distant restaurants and e-commerce platforms, winning over health-conscious gourmets. In 2016, "Yanchi Tan Sheep" became a nationally protected geographical product. It has since appeared at state banquets like the G20 summit, further elevating its brand value.

The massive Tan sheep statue in Yanchi County.

Yanchi Tan sheep not only comfort generations of local palates but also step beyond Ningxia, becoming a globally celebrated delicacy.

Cover Image | Feng Dawei, Wang Jiale, Wu Xuewen

Uncredited Image Source | Feng Dawei

*Part of this article is sourced from "Fengwu China: Salt Pool," originally authored by Si Xiaole.

"China·Salt Pool Tan Sheep Culture Panorama"

This article is original content from [Di Dao Feng Wu].