Shan County Mutton Soup
A milky-white lamb soup made from selected Qingshan lamb, simmered and seasoned to be rich and aromatic without feeling greasy.
Ingredients
mutton (cubed)
to taste
mutton bones (cracked)
to taste
water
70 kg
water
5 kg
mutton fat
to taste
spice bag (cubeb, cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, tsao-ko, galangal, white angelica root, etc. tied in cheesecloth)
1 pack
sliced ginger
to taste
scallion sections
to taste
refined salt
to taste
chili oil
to taste
cubeb water
to taste
powdered cloves
a pinch
powdered chinese cinnamon
a pinch
soy sauce
to taste
sesame oil
to taste
minced coriander
to taste
Instructions
1
Boil the meat
Crack mutton bones and line the bottom of a pot with them, place mutton on top, add enough water to submerge the meat, bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skim off all blood foam, discard the broth.
2
Simmer the broth
Add 70 kg of fresh water, bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skim off surface foam, add 5 kg more water, skim off foam again once boiling resumes, then add mutton fat and simmer for a few minutes, skim off foam one more time.
3
Season the broth
Tie cubeb, cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, tsao-ko, galangal, white angelica root and other spices in cheesecloth to make a spice bag, add it to the pot along with sliced ginger, scallion sections and refined salt, continue cooking over high heat until the mutton is 80% cooked, add chili oil and cubeb water, simmer for about 2 hours. Keep the broth at a rolling boil at all times after this, otherwise the broth will turn a pale greenish color.
4
Serve
Remove 50 g of cooked mutton, cut against the grain into thin slices, place in a bowl, add a small amount of powdered cloves, powdered chinese cinnamon, soy sauce and sesame oil, ladle the original broth from the pot into the bowl, top with minced coriander to make mutton soup. Those who enjoy spicy food can add chili soy sauce, or eat with scallion sections wrapped in lotus leaf flatbread.
