Kashgar Grilled Lamb 喀什烤羊肉

Kashgar Grilled Lamb (喀什烤羊肉) is lamb grilled on skewers, the kebab that Uyghur speakers call kawap. In Kashgar (喀什) the Xinjiang Department of Culture and Tourism lists lamb skewers among the city's foods, alongside whole roast lamb, naan-pit roast meat, baked buns and roast eggs.

How it is made

China National Radio's Xinjiang service describes how Xinjiang lamb skewers are made. Lean lamb is cut into thin pieces about three centimetres square and threaded onto iron skewers 30 centimetres long with a wooden handle. The skewers lie across a two-level iron grilling trough with a perforated middle plate, fuelled with smokeless coal. While they cook, the grill cook scatters salt, chilli powder and cumin powder over the meat, turns the skewers after three to five minutes, and serves them a few minutes later.

Iron skewers are the usual method, but a Xinmin Evening News writer who ate in Kashgar found that lamb grilled on red willow (红柳) branches tasted best.

How it is eaten

On Xinjiang city streets the lamb skewer is so common that it stands for grilled meat in general, according to Chinese Wikipedia; street grills there also skewer lamb heart, lamb liver, lamb intestine and ribs. In Kashgar Old City (喀什古城) the food square fills in the evening, and the Xinjiang culture and tourism department describes its night market as a place that combines food with song and dance performances.

China National Radio credits a comedy sketch titled "Grilled Lamb Skewers" (烤羊肉串), performed by Chen Peisi (陈佩斯) and Zhu Shimao (朱时茂), with making the snack known across China.