LOCAL FOOD GUIDE

Ulan Chaka Mutton 乌兰茶卡羊

Wulan Chaka Yang

Ulan Chaka Mutton is featured among the local specialties of Qinghai.

AI illustration: A plate of pale boiled lamb chunks with a few bone-in pieces.
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）AI-generated visual reference; not a restaurant photograph. AI 示意图，仅供参考，非实拍。

Ulan Chaka Mutton (乌兰茶卡羊) comes from semi-fine-wool sheep grazing the natural pastures around Chaka Salt Lake (茶卡盐湖). Qinghai Daily describes the meat as tender and rich without being greasy, with a fresh flavour and little mutton odour.

How it is made

At a 2015 Qinghai product exhibition in Wuhan (武汉), Ulan Jiren Ecological Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology Company (乌兰吉仁生态农牧科技有限公司) cooked Chaka mutton with Chaka salt and goji berries from Qaidam (柴达木). Visitors sampled both the boiled meat and its broth.

How it is eaten

The company brought chilled cuts as well as cooked mutton to the exhibition. Qinghai Daily records visitors praising the aroma of the meat and the savoury broth; several specifically remarked on the absence of a strong mutton smell.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-09-27

Sources & reading

Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-27. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.