Limin Mutton Soup 利民羊肉汤
Limin Mutton Soup is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Limin Mutton Soup (利民羊肉汤) is the mutton soup of Limin (利民镇), a town in Yucheng County (虞城县), Shangqiu (商丘), Henan. Where most mutton soups have a milky-white broth, the Limin soup carries a thin layer of red oil: chillies and mutton fat are cooked in the pot with the broth, and a chilli fat made from them is returned to the pot.
How it is made
Henan TV's Daxiang News (大象新闻) followed a Limin cook who learned the soup from his father at fifteen and has made it for more than thirty years. He uses free-range small goats from eastern Henan (豫东), which are boned and soaked in clean water before cooking. The broken bones line the bottom of the pot, with mutton fat and a prepared spice bag on top and the meat laid over them. The pot is brought to a boil over high heat, skimmed, and simmered for three to four hours.
Seeded chillies go into the pot with the mutton fat, which colours the broth and reduces the mutton smell. The chillies are then lifted out, chopped and cooked slowly in a small pan with fat that has not yet melted; once fragrant, this chilli fat is cooled until it sets and returned to the soup pot. Different cuts of meat go in in batches and come out when a skewer passes through easily, to be drained, cooled and sliced thin.
How it is eaten
Each bowl starts with chopped scallion and yellow garlic chives (蒜黄); a few slices of meat are warmed in the broth and hot broth is poured over, with more red oil for anyone who wants it hotter. Mutton soup elsewhere usually comes with shaobing (烧饼) or guokui (锅葵) flatbreads, but in Limin people tear laomo (烙馍), a soft griddle bread, into the soup, and some roll extra slices of mutton in it.
Flavour and texture
Daxiang News describes a fresh broth with a thread of mutton-fat heat, soft meat, and a spiciness that is not greasy.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.
Image credits & notes (1)
- Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片A similar preparation is pictured; the local version may differ. 同类菜品参考照片，当地做法可能不同。Photo: Peachyeung316 · CC BY-SA 4.0Resized for the web; the photo itself has not been edited. Thumbnails may show a cropped view.
