Yingxian Ox Waist

Yingxian Ox Waist

　　    Within the city of Yingxian, just beyond the Yanmen Pass, there stands not only the world-renowned Yingzhou Wooden Pagoda but also a traditional delicacy known as Ox Waist, which enjoys great fame.

　　    After the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, Yingxian once became an important economic and military hub in northern China. During the Liao and Jin dynasties, it was part of the Western Capital Circuit, and the economy flourished. However, after several wars, it gradually declined and became desolate. By the mid-Qing Dynasty, the local economy began to recover. At that time, Yingxian was a necessary stop for Buddhist pilgrims from northern provinces traveling to the sacred Mount Wutai, and it also saw many travelers and merchants passing through. Initially, the town had only a few food items such as fried dough twists, yellow cakes, and flatbreads, and restaurants did very little business. There was a restaurant owner in Yingxian named Yu Yi who was very worried about his sluggish business. One day, while making flatbreads, he accidentally knocked over half a bowl of malt sugar syrup onto the dough board because he wasn’t paying attention. Thinking on his feet, he quickly mixed the white dough with the syrup to form a dough mixture. However, this mixture couldn’t be steamed or baked easily. He tried shaping it into small patties and frying them in the oil used for making fried dough twists. When he took them out and tasted them, they were sweet and rich, becoming more flavorful the more you chewed, and their color resembled that of boiled ox waist. So, he shaped them into the form of ox waist, fried them, and served them to customers, who immediately praised the taste. From then on, Yu Yi specialized in making this dish, and his restaurant prospered as a result. The technique has been passed down through generations to this day.

　　    In the eighth month of the lunar calendar in 1900, the magistrate of Yingzhou learned that Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi were staying in Huairen Town, so he specially offered them Ox Waist to taste. It received high praise, and Cixi actually thought it really was ox waist. In the early years of the Republic of China, the skill of making Ox Waist was passed on to a Mr. Yu Zilin. Guests from Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and Taiyuan still consider it a delight to try Yingxian Ox Waist when visiting the area. (Datong)