Xinjiang photography

▲ Leather teeth (piy? Z), which means onion in Persian. Photography/flying over the window d Young people's pictures/ideas

-Wind, scenery and words-

Why do I oft

▲ Leather teeth (piy? Z), which means onion in Persian. Photography/flying over the window d Young people's pictures/ideas

-Wind, scenery and words-

Why do I often cry?

Because of my love for leather teeth

Perhaps even Xinjiang people don't realize that "Piazi", that is, onion, is a function that Xinjiang cuisine can't play.

It's no wonder that Xinjiang gourmet wife is amazing. Naan, that is the light of Xinjiang people's staple food; Mutton is enough to laugh at the world; There are also heroic pilaf, unique lasagna, small and exquisite baked buns … all of which make people prefer to lose weight rather than indulge in it.

▲ Hey, the light of Xinjiang staple food! Photography/Teacup Stork Map/Picture Worm Creativity

These foods, which are well-known in the "food-eating world", are inseparable from the cooperation of leather teeth-the south should be seasoned with leather teeth, the mutton should be greasy with leather teeth, and the baked buns should be stuffed with broken skin teeth. These are all indispensable ingredients in pilaf and lasagna. Even the Xinjiang Grand Theatre in Urumqi is affectionately called "Piazza Grand Theatre" because of its similar appearance.

▲ "Piaget Grand Theatre" in Urumqi. Photography/DJI L Map/Tumbler Creativity

Leather teeth in a dish may be just a short-lived supporting role; However, looking at the whole Xinjiang flavor stage, it can be called a famous protagonist!

Leather teeth are to Xinjiang people what garlic is to northerners and green onions are to Shandong people. Cooking is indispensable, and eating raw is more wild and unrestrained.

As the saying goes, "Eating meat without garlic loses half the taste". For Xinjiang people who like mutton most, leather teeth have replaced raw garlic and become a "sacred product with meat" to help digestion, relieve boredom and increase fragrance, which has the effect of lowering blood fat. Therefore, with the "skin" in hand, you can let go of your belly to eat meat and have a carnival for meat eaters.

▲ Leather teeth are vegetables, so eating mutton is leather teeth, and rounding is also weight loss. Photography/Guardian Angel Pictures/Picture Worm Creativity

In Xinjiang, the most common mutton practice is undoubtedly stew. Good ingredients often only need to adopt the simplest cooking methods. Stew large pieces of mutton in a pot until the meat is rotten. During the period, add seasonings such as onion, ginger, salt and pepper according to personal taste. But after cooking, a large number of strip-shaped leather teeth are essential.

The original stewed mutton is delicate and soft, with rich meat flavor; The skin teeth are spicy and crisp, but the entrance is sweet. The two flavors complement each other and have the same flavor. When the stewed mutton is tender and juicy, and its skin is sweet and spicy, it is a "golden wind and jade dew meeting", which is enough to win the hearts of countless people.

▲ Retro enamel tea pot is the standard for pot meat. Photography/Wolf Map of Users/Insect Creativity in the North

The jar meat invented by Kashi people is a pocket version of stewed mutton. Retro enamel tea pots are placed on the stove, and ingredients such as mutton, carrots and leather teeth are added. Some places will put some Xinjiang specialty "Tea Horse Ancient". This time, mutton and Piazi had a "long talk" in a small tea jar, and they were integrated in constant stewing. Piazi disappeared without a trace and turned into the fragrance of meat and the sweetness of soup.

▲ Sprinkling a pinch of salt is enough to stimulate the flavor of mutton. Photography/Shepherd's Star

The most famous barbecue in Xinjiang needs the help of leather teeth.

The practice of barbecue can be called "minimalist style": in terms of ingredients, mutton is often "three thin and one fat" and does not need to be brushed with oil. Sheep oil in fat will naturally emerge and penetrate into lean meat; For seasoning, just sprinkle a handful of salt on it, or drop a pool of salt water on the plate and add at most a handful of cumin, and the barbecue style will be revealed.

When the time is ripe, spread the shiny mutton skewers on the naan, cut a few pieces of leather teeth and eat them one by one. The greasy feeling brought by oil is completely eliminated by leather teeth, leaving only charming fireworks and lasting barbecue fragrance.

▲ The authentic way to eat barbecue in Xinjiang. Photography/wangfuv map/map worm creativity

In Urumqi and other places in northern Xinjiang, there is also a kind of kebab called "stuffed skin" (pronounced "CP"), that is, the spleen of a sheep is hollowed out, the skin, teeth, fat mutton and liver are stuffed in, and then sealed and roasted. When fat oil and leather teeth are mixed together, the rich aroma of fat and the fragrance of leather teeth are intertwined, and the taste of raw food is not reduced.

In addition to mutton, leather teeth are also companions of horse meat, beef and other ingredients. Generally speaking, the lower floor of Na Ren of Kazak nationality is covered with a lot of horse meat and leather teeth, and then a pot of milk tea is cooked to relieve boredom and digestion; There is also a kind of "horse intestines", that is, horse meat is stuffed into the horse intestines, cut into thin slices and eaten with pimps.

▲ Ma Changzi, a distinctive Xinjiang cuisine. Photography/nothing, nothing, no pictures/worms, creativity

Therefore, for Xinjiang people, mutton is indeed an irreplaceable overlord at the dinner table, and leather teeth are an irreplaceable partner of mutton. Xinjiang is "mutton flavor" and "skin tooth flavor".

If Piazi is only an auxiliary in front of mutton, it is the core component of flavor in staple food. Among the three staple foods in Xinjiang-Naan, pilaf and lasagna, Piazi can "debut in the C position" and control the audience.

▲ Leather teeth in Xinjiang. Photography/blue map/worm creativity

Brain, sit firmly at the top of Xinjiang people's staple food. But few outsiders know that crispy south cakes are often coated with salt water and chopped green onion before baking, and then baked in Nankeng. Under the catalysis of heat, the bread expands and turns brown, and the leather teeth turn into black particles attached to it, and the spicy and slightly sweet taste permeates the naan, making it richer and more layered.

Baked naan came out of the pit, and the wheat fragrance of naan cake mixed with the fragrance of leather teeth floated leisurely, making people feel as if they were in a farm in late autumn. The wind blows the wheat waves, the land is fresh, and the eyes are full of mature gold.

▲ The combination of naan and meat needs onions to match the bridge. Photography /Mutu _2 1 Pictures/Picture Worm Creativity

Xinjiang's pilaf does not add soy sauce and curry at all, nor does it add spices such as ginger, star anise and pepper. Only the original rice, mutton, carrots and radishes, as well as our protagonist Piako, stir-fry, blend and interweave in a big pot, giving off only the aroma of mutton, vegetables and rice itself.

People in Xinjiang often use thick iron pots to cook pilaf, in order to conduct heat slowly and continuously and complete the process of "stewing". Stewed for a long time, it finally served, but it was difficult for diners to find Piazi's whereabouts in the rice. After seasoning, it has "brushed the clothes" and melted into the hot pilaf. You can't see it, but it's everywhere in the pilaf.

▲ The spicy cooked pilaf in the cauldron is amazing enough. Photography/Happy Photographer cdf Map/Picture Worm Creativity

Compared with the low-key in pilaf, Piazi in Xinjiang seems to be sweeping away.

How many kinds of police are there in Xinjiang? Minced meat noodles, spicy egg noodles, eggplant noodles, leek noodles, oily noodles ... to say the least, there are dozens of them, which are simply countless. Even Xinjiang people often eat noodles, not picky about food, holding a big plate in their hands. Different regions have different styles. However, only the skin teeth can't be shaken, and they are almost omnipotent in the pasta industry.

▲ According to friends in Xinjiang, only the dishes and noodles are packaged separately is the authentic way to eat noodles in Xinjiang. Photography/Guo Lulu's National Map/Picture Worm Creativity

The essence of "tripod" oily noodles is oil. Whether it's large pieces of meat, gluten noodles or bright dishes, they are all full of red with oil. However, oil can be used to make dishes or make the surface too greasy. The appearance of leather teeth neutralizes most of the greasy feeling, and with a few cloves of garlic, people's appetite is wide open.

Xinjiang people love their hometown so much that they cry.

In the night market with lights on, remove some plastic stools. Before waiting for the barbecue, Xinjiang people often order a plate of "skin spicy red"-skin teeth+peppers+tomatoes, which is regarded as an appetizer before meals. These three ingredients, whether sour or spicy, are good at stimulating appetite, and then a few mouthfuls of "desperate Wusu" are poured in, and a night full of fireworks will begin.

▲ "skin spicy red", also called "tiger dish", as the name implies, is a combination of leather teeth, peppers and tomatoes. Photography/Large Zoom Small Eye Diagram/Picture Bug Creativity

When the barbecue comes on the scene, Xinjiang people have to serve a plate of leather teeth. Holding meat in one hand-it can be barbecue, roast leg of lamb, roast kidney, roast lamb chops, roast liver, etc. The other hand grabbed a few strands of leather teeth and stuffed them into the mouth, making the mouth a battlefield for meat and vegetables. After the retreat, they will raise their glasses and drink.

Another kind of Xinjiang roast steamed stuffed bun, mainly with broken skin and teeth, can be used as breakfast or afternoon tea, and is also a sought-after snack.

▲ Baked buns are the cutest in Hotan. Photography/Shepherd's Star

There are baked buns in many places in Xinjiang, but Hotan baked buns are round and famous for their flavor. Although the steamed stuffed bun is not big, its thin dough is almost filled with meat stuffing, among which diced lamb leg, diced sheep oil and shredded leather teeth are "three parts of the world", especially the joint efforts of sheep oil and leather teeth make the baked steamed stuffed bun extremely fresh and juicy, rich in layers and sweet in taste.

Fresh-baked buns taste the best, but they are hard and round, and they can't be eaten at all. People in Xinjiang often serve a bowl of local medicinal tea, buckle the flat one first, wait until the dough becomes soft, pry it open from the bottom with a knife, form a "small edible bowl" filled with concentrated broth, eat the meat and soup while it is hot, then eat the dough soaked in gravy into the stomach, and finally take a sip of the medicinal tea and leave smartly.

▲ Ignore the buns and take a bite. Figure/"Breakfast China Season 2"

Just as people who dislike foreigners only say that "mutton kebabs" don't know how to barbecue, Xinjiang people are always helpless, because people at the same table can't understand the beauty of "eating raw teeth". After all, when it is used as an onion, it is only a dispensable condiment; However, when it becomes a leather tooth, it is enough to make a meal vivid and fragrant.

Therefore, when homesick, every tooth represents the homesickness of Xinjiang people, peeling off a layer of homesickness, sometimes with a sweet aftertaste, and sometimes with tears.

"Did you choke on an onion?"

"No, I'm homesick."

-End-

Wenyu September

* Special thanks to Kut and Lao Li.