Roast Lamb Back from Xiwu Banner

Roast Lamb Back from Xiwu Banner

　　This dish is also a delicacy prepared by Mongolian people only on very grand and festive occasions. As Mongolian chefs say, apart from the lamb legs, most of the meat is on the lamb’s back, making roast lamb back a truly grand dish. The recipe uses the plumpest and tenderest lamb back from grassland pastures, marinated with over thirty kinds of Chinese herbal medicines such as angelica and natural seasonings for 24 to 36 hours. The marinated lamb back is then roasted in a specially made oven for about two hours. It is important to note that only charcoal made from wild apricot, peach, plum, birch, and the “Zhagemu” wood native to desert regions can be used as fuel. Only in this way can the lamb back be cooked to perfection—retaining its authentic flavors, rich with the fragrance of grassland herbs, yet completely free from any gamy or gamey taste. It can be described as visually appealing, aromatic, crispy outside and tender inside, dry and flaky without being greasy—truly living up to the saying, “June’s fresh lamb, even the gods would want a bite.”

Story: Fans of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* will know that Tolui was the fourth son of Genghis Khan. After Genghis Khan’s death, he helped his third brother Ogedei rule over Russia and the Middle East, before Ogedei ascended the throne in Shangjing. To reward Tolui for his outstanding achievements, the new Emperor Ogedei granted him the region of Khorchin (now part of Inner Mongolia), allowed him to enjoy imperial cuisine (roast lamb back), and bestowed upon him a golden knife—the kind only the emperor could wear. Since then, a ceremony has been held with a golden knife before eating roast lamb back.