Lamb Trotters 羊蹄
Lamb Trotters is featured among the local specialties of Xinjiang.
Lamb Trotters (羊蹄) is a sheep-trotter dish listed for Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang; 羊 is sheep and 蹄 is the hoof, so the name states the cut rather than a recipe.
Cooking until the skin gives way
Trotters need cleaning before they need cooking: the feet are singed, scraped and rinsed, because the skin is the part that will be eaten. After that the pieces are simmered for a long time in a seasoned liquid, and the aim is to soften the connective tissue until the skin turns gelatinous and separates easily from the bone. Long cooking is not a shortcut that can be replaced by higher heat; the tissue has to break down slowly. Aromatics and chili go into the pot, and the trotters are served in the liquid or drained, depending on the kitchen.
Sticky skin and a rich dip
The texture is the reason people order it: the skin is soft, sticky and slightly elastic, and the small amount of meat around the joint is tender from long cooking. Fat and collagen give the pieces a richness that a lean cut would not have, so the flavour stays on the palate longer than the few bites suggest. A chili and salt dip, raw onion or a squeeze of acid cuts through that richness. Eaten cold, the gelatin sets and the pieces firm up, which is why the dish is best taken straight from the pot.
A name that is just the part
The catalogue places 羊蹄 in Kashgar Prefecture, at the western edge of Xinjiang. The name names a part of the animal and nothing else, which is typical of the way these entries are written: the cut is the identity, and the cooking is left to the kitchen. Dishes built on feet, heads and offal belong to cooking that uses the whole animal rather than selected cuts, and they usually appear as small plates alongside bread rather than as a main course. Recognising the character 蹄 on a sign tells you what is being sold before you read anything else.
Ingredients and dietary questions
Trotters, water, salt and aromatics are the base, with chili, pepper and vinegar or soy appearing in the liquid depending on the kitchen. Soy sauce would make the dish unsuitable for anyone avoiding wheat, and the pieces are cooked with the bone in, so small fragments are worth expecting. The dish is high in fat and collagen rather than lean protein, and the seasoning liquid is salty by design. Ask whether the pot is used for other meats and whether anything beyond salt and spices has gone into the liquid.
How to order
Show 羊蹄 and ask 几个 (how many) rather than assuming a portion size, because trotters are sold by the piece. 辣不辣 (how spicy) and 咸不咸 (how salty) decide the seasoning, and 带汤还是干拌 (in broth or drained) settles how the plate arrives. If you are sharing, two or three pieces are enough to judge the texture before ordering more. 有没有手套 (are gloves provided) is a practical question, since the pieces are eaten from the hand.
Eating it
Take a piece in one hand and work the skin and meat off the bone with your fingers or a small fork, dipping as you go. There is little meat, so the plate is about a few rich, sticky bites rather than a full portion, and it works as one small dish among several. Bread soaks up the dip, and hot tea clears the fat from the mouth. Because the gelatin sets as it cools, a slow plate loses the texture that makes the dish worth ordering, so eat it while the pot is still hot.
More dishes to compare
Explore related local specialties and compare their names, preparation notes and ordering guidance.
Big-plate chicken 大盘鸡 →
Big-plate chicken (大盘鸡) is a large braised plate of chicken, potato and noodles that feeds several people from one dish. 羊蹄 takes the opposite approach: a small, bony cut with almost no meat, ordered by the piece and eaten for its sticky texture, so the two answer different questions at the same table.
Questions before you order
How is it eaten?
From the hand, working the skin and meat off the bone, with a dip on the side. Ask 有没有手套 (are gloves provided) if you would rather not get your fingers oily, and expect a small plate rather than a full meal.
Is there much meat on a trotter?
Very little. The dish is eaten for the skin, fat and connective tissue, which turn soft and sticky after a long simmer, so a few pieces are a small shared plate rather than a main course.
Sources & reading
The supplied food list supports this name and regional association. The culinary terms below are explained as menu vocabulary; a local recipe, origin story and venue availability have not been independently verified.