Claypot dish

Claypot dish

　　The claypot dish has a history of over a thousand years, with scenes depicting its cooking and enjoyment found as early as in Han Dynasty stone carvings. After a thousand years of evolution and innovation, the claypot dish has developed its own distinctive flavor. It boasts a glossy reddish shine, a rich and smooth aroma, a deep and mellow taste, an authentic and natural shape, and simple, rustic cookware. It is an organic fusion of tradition, truly representing folk cuisine of Han culture.

　　The modern claypot dish originated from the shores of Weishan Lake and has a history of over 300 years, passed down to this day. In the past, it was cooked in small yards using stone-built stoves with large iron pots placed on top, where vegetables were added and potstickers were stuck to the sides. People would sit around the stove and eat on the ground, which is why it’s called a “claypot dish.” Nowadays, the claypot dish is served on tables—just like how few people actually eat Xinjiang hand-pulled lamb with their hands.

　　The way the claypot dish is made is by braising a rich and savory mix of ingredients at the bottom of an iron pot, with delicious potstickers attached to the sides. Different variations of the dish vary mainly in the base ingredients. For example, the young chicken claypot dish is so aromatic and flavorful it’s almost heavenly. Dried red chili peppers and diced young chicken are stir-fried until the chicken absorbs the flavors, then simmered to produce a thick, savory sauce. Long potstickers (available in both coarse and fine grain versions) are stuck to the hot walls of the pot. Once the chicken is eaten, the potstickers are pushed into the sauce to soak up the spicy, rich juices. The claypot vegetable pancake is made from a variety of mixed flours and wild greens, crafted through multiple meticulous steps. The main ingredients of the claypot dishes include young roosters from the Yimeng Mountains, fresh fish from Weishan Lake, and crisp seasonal vegetables, making them highly nutritious.