Hand-Torn Boiled Meat 手扒肉

Hand-Torn Boiled Meat (手扒肉) is lamb cooked in large pieces in plain water and eaten with the hands, a Mongol dish that Baotou (包头) in Inner Mongolia counts among its local specialities. The name means, quite literally, lamb taken up by hand; it has been a traditional Mongol food for centuries and is everyday food for herders.

How it is made

A Baotou News Network (包头新闻网) guide to the city's food describes it simply: large pieces of lamb simmered slowly in plain water, so that what you taste is the freshness, tenderness and depth of the lamb itself. In the wider tradition, fatty cuts on the bone such as leg or ribs are boiled with onion and no other seasoning until just cooked, then lifted out and cut into small pieces.

How it is eaten

The meat is traditionally eaten by hand, with garlic paste and vinegar or with pepper salt for dipping. The same guide lists it among the substantial 'hard dishes' that local people consider essential at a banquet, alongside Yellow River carp and oat-flour dishes.

Where it comes from

Mongols call meat dishes 'red food', 'ulaan idee' (乌兰伊德) in Mongolian, and this dish belongs to that group.