CANTONESE people are very critical about what they eat they have numerous dos and donts in food allocation, they want everything they eat in perfect balance…But when it comes to some real good dishes,all these taboos can be put behind. Xinjiang cuisine is one of these.

Like the ethnic community that created it, Xinjiang dishes are bold in style. Here, lambs are toasted and served whole and pancakes are presented in a tower shape. Chopsticks or spoons have been put aside, as eating rice with one's hands adds a special kind of flavor toit.

As Xinjiang style restaurants started to appear in Shenzhen several yeas ago, this cuisine became a porpular choice of locals.

Roast lamb

Xinjiang roast lamb is as famous as roast duck is in Beijing and crispy suckling pig is in Guangzhou. It is an indispensable dish in grand feast banquets.

A two year old lamb is slaugh tered and skinned, daub ed with salt inside and outside, and then coated with a mixture of eggs, chopped ginger, scallions, and pepper. The lamb is then put into a stove to roast for about an hour until it turns golden brown.

When it is done, it is usually put on a special dining tray, with red fabric decorating the head and with vegetables stuffing the lamb s mouth. The lamb is then presented to customers whole.

Oily pyramids

This food is a favorite of the Uygurs. There are multiple layers init. Although as its name suggests there is much oil init, it s never too greasy.

Lukewarm water and flour are mixed together to make dough, before a little yeast is added. After one hour, some water is added, and the dough is kneaded and then left to stand for a while. The dough is then divided into several pieces, daubed with vegetable oil on the outside, and rolled out piece by piece. Next comes a daubing of sheep s tail fat and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. The rolled out dough is now cut into sections, and twisted into pyramid shapes. After steaming, the pyramids are eaten together with soup or noodles in soup.

Flour Filled Lungs＆Rice Filled Sausages

These are traditional snacks of the Uygurs, using sheep s internal organs as raw materials. Since the materials are uncommon and the cooking is timeconsuming, this dish is a rare delicacy.

Roast dumplings

Mutton, beef and sheep s tailfat are cut into small cubes. Then chopped onions with a little salt and pepper are used to make the stuffing. The stuffing is then wrapped in dough, and put in an oven to roast for20minutes. The dumplings are thin skinned, with tender meat stuffing and very delicious. The Uygurs often eat these together with nang crusty pancakes and rice eaten with the hands.

These dumplings can be presented to friends as a gift at weddings and funerals.

Stewed mutton cubes

This is a Xinjiang dish prepared specially for festivals. Mutton is cut into500gramcubes and boiled in a big pot. When it is half cooked, the fat ty scum floating on the surface is carefully spooned away. When it is80percent done,onions, diced pepper, slices of ginger, carrots, turnips and tomatoes are all added to the pot. When finished the meat is taken from the pot and placed on a big plate. A little salt is added to the stock. The mutton is eaten by first dipping it in the delicious stock.

Rice eaten with hands

This dish is a must in festival celebrations and wedding banquets.

Fresh mutton, carrots, onions, vegetable oil, melted sheep's fat and rice are all used. There are more than10types of this rice dish, mainly mutton, chicken and vegetari anut the most common is the one using mutton. This food is soft, delicious and nutritious.

Traditionally the Uygurs eat it with clean hands, but you can barely see that in restaurants here because chopsticks are provided to suit the needs of locals.

Nang Pancake

Nang is a staple food for the Uygurs, just like steamed buns in northern China, rice in southern China and potatoes in the West. Making a nang is similar to making a pancake. The materials include wheat flour, corn flour or sorghum flour, with such seasoning as sesame seeds, onions, eggs, vegetable oil, butter, milk, salt and sugar. With a golden yellow surface, nang are crispy and delicious. Sanzi DeepFried Dough Twists

Sanzi is one of traditional snacks of the Moslems. To make sanzi, use wheat flour mixed with vegetable oil and juice of the Chinese prickly ash. Knead the dough repeatedly, and then divide it into several pieces. Pull the dough into thin noodles and deep fry in oil until golden yellow. During festivals, every Uygur family makes sanzi to treat guests. Ququ Boiled Dump lings

Ququ is similar to huntun, but is unique in materials. First, chop up the mutton. Then mix onion, salt, pepper and a little stock to make the stuffing. Wrap the stuffing in dough wrappers in the sahape of squares. After boiling, add some coriander. Ququ have thin skins and tender stuffing. They are delicious and nutritious.