Sheep's Blood in Vermicelli Soup

Sheep's Blood in Vermicelli Soup

　　Sheep's Blood in Vermicelli Soup is a common dish in Shaanxi street food.

　　Ingredients: sheep's blood, vermicelli, tofu, green vegetables, and various seasonings as needed.

　　Preparation method: 1. When slaughtering the sheep, collect the fresh blood in a basin, strain out impurities using a horsehair sieve, pour in an equal amount of brine, and gently stir with a thin stick until it coagulates. Then, cut it into 20 cm long, 14 cm wide, and 3.3 cm thick pieces, place them in a boiling water pot, and simmer over low heat until the blood solidifies like soft tofu (about 1 hour), then remove and place in clean water.

　　2. Wash the sheep's blood, lay it flat on the cutting board, dip the knife in cold water, and use a slicing technique to cut it into 0.66 cm thick slices. Stack the slices at an angle, then use a straight-cutting method to slice them into matchstick-thin strips, and arrange them neatly in a basin.

　　3. Making the cumin-infused oil: First, prepare a seasoning mix using 15 spices (including Sichuan peppercorn, fennel, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, dried ginger slices, long pepper, galangal, amomum fruit, cardamom seeds, cassia seed, cloves, and Chinese cinnamon). Preparation method: First, heat Sichuan peppercorn and fennel in a dry pan to remove moisture and dry them, then grind them into a fine powder and set aside. Mix the other 13 spices together, grind them into a powder, sift them, and mix evenly with the Sichuan peppercorn and fennel powder. Then, place the spice mix in a cloth bag and boil it in clean water until the flavor is extracted. Remove the spice bag, then add lard and continue simmering until all the moisture has evaporated and the seasoning has fully infused into the lard, creating the "cumin-infused oil."

　　4. Add clean water to a pot, and once it boils, first add refined salt, then the mixed flour, keeping the soup pot at a gentle simmer. Dip a strainer containing the sheep's blood into the soup pot and swirl it a few times, then place it in a bowl and spread it out. Add soaked vermicelli, pour hot soup over it again, then place tofu cubes that have been boiled in boiling water into a strainer, dip them in the pot to heat, and also put them in the bowl. Next, in order, add the cumin-infused oil, chili oil, "raw vegetable flower," and pour in an appropriate amount of hot broth to complete the dish.

　　Characteristics of Sheep's Blood in Vermicelli Soup: The sheep's blood is tender, and the soup is bold with numbing, spicy, and salty flavors, with the aroma of Sichuan peppercorn and fennel wafting through. It can be served with baked wheat cakes, steamed buns, or flatbread.