So check it out
It’s Trevor James
I just got into Kuqa on our great Silk Road journey west to Kashgar
And today, we’re going for a full on Uighur street food eating experience
I can’t wait
Let’s go check it out
As you go deeper into the far reaches of western china
A new culture and new people along with new food is waiting to be discovered
We stopped in Kuqa for a quick place to rest and to eat on our great journey to Kashgar
And what we found was nothing short of amazing
First up, we found a local nang master
Pumping out delicious nang bread one after another
And to my surprise, he invited me up to try to make one
Just up here I think there is a famous Uighur nang flatbread place
Let’s go try it out
So we found another little nang place
This is one of the best things we’ve found in Xinjiang so far
So they put like an onion mixture on top
This is one of the biggest nang’s I’ve ever seen, look at this
Huge nang, with a nice sesame crunch to it
A little salty, crispy, and the inside is so soft
I think you should break it to eat it though
I think that’s the proper way
It just tears apart so soft
Just look at that
You can see all of the saffron
And all of the sesame
It’s a little salty
And so crispy
And that oven flavor, there is the flavor of the oven in there
And look at that
Oh that is totally a culinary delight of Xinjiang
What happened next was a complete surprise
And one of my fondest memories from this Silk Road journey
After I asked him to film a closeup
He invited me onto the oven to try and make one myself
So he’s just invited me to try it out
He just invited me here
It’s a deep oven
This is totally an experience
Oh he is going to put it on for me
I was not expecting this
It’s really heavy, really heavy
Oh it’s deep
That is a tiring job
This is really hot, a tiring job for sure
This is the hottest oven
Just putting my hands here burns
But I totally got it down there
It’s a little high though, let me show you
This is mine here
Yeah there it is
This one is mine
I can’t believe I got it
It’s not perfect
But it’s there
I just did it once and I feel like I got a burn
Wow I’m totally surprised by the friendliness here
And I just got invited to do this
After that once in a lifetime experience
We made our way out to the Sunday morning market in Kuqa 
Where thousands of local Uighurs gather and sell everything you can dream of
From clothing, sheep, horses, and of course, fresh street food
This is such a lively market
There is people selling so many different things
A lot of crazy things you would never think of seeing
Like trucks full of nang bread
Like huge pieces of mutton hanging everywhere
And a totally different feel from the rest of china
There is a few street snacks around
But we are looking for a nice meal
So we are going to keep walking
OK we are going to keep exploring and see what we can find
It’s all Uighur people here from Kuqa
Lots of spices, herbs, nuts, fruits
But we need a meal
Let’s see what there is up here
Awesome
Fresh skewers
Liver skewers
Oh lamb heads
Lamb heads right here
Oh now this looks good
That looks good, what is that?
We’re going to get one of these
In Xinjiang, classics like wontons and noodles have a completely different approach
And what you can experience is worth the trip alone
Wontons are hand pinched and filled with lamb and fat
And served with a wholesome broth and garnished with cilantro and mind
You can also find hand pulled noodles on literally every street corner
With the Xinjiang style noodles being completely different from the Hui style commonly found in Xi’an
Here, a long noodle is pulled out from a coil and hand pulled and covered with a homemade tomato sauce
Very similar to pasta sauce
You’ll fall in love on your first bite
Here is the banmian
Look at those texture filled chewy noodles from heaven
Look at that
This is beautiful
Just look at these banmian Xinjiang style 
That almost looks like a vegetable spaghetti - with meat
Oh yeah
Just look at these beautiful banmian
Those noodles are thick
It’s full of veg, green veg, chilies, tomatoes
That is soaked!
That is just soaked!
Look at these, look at these gorgeous wontons
They have some herbs
I think that is like parsley on top
With these mini wontons in a broth with celery and tomatoes and some greens
First, we are going to go right in
Oh there is yellow lentils in there too
It’s like a strong herbal flavor
Oh, that’s too much
Just mix that in a bit
There we go
Now we’re going for it
Ok I gotta go right in for these
That tastes almost identical to spaghetti
Except with lamb
And the noodles are more chewy
Is this the origin of spaghetti right here?
Is this where it originated?
This tastes almost exactly like spaghetti
All the people
The smells, the fresh produce, the food
Coming to Xinjiang will blow your mind
Look at this kid right here
So we’re walking through the poultry area
There is chickens, hens, there’s everything here
And actually right over there
We are not going to film it
But there is a bird match
But we are going to tell you what we are seeing
That’s part of the travel experience
Look at tall the carpets back here
This is a massive market
All the color and all the food
I’m blown away
We’ve been traveling the Silk Road for about two weeks now
And this area of China is unlike anywhere I’ve ever been
If you’re thinking about coming to China
I have to say
Xinjiang is an amazing destination
This market was just packed with Xinjiang specialties and full of life
After walking around, and enjoying the full on energy of a Xinjiang market
We found some more snacks
Starting off with the delicious kao baozi
Look at these
We’ve found some gorgeous, big, fatty kao baozi
Wow we are deep in the market
Alright, let’s try this
Oh its hot, really hot
Oh yeah
It’s pretty good
Oh, there is a lot of lamb fat in there
It’s quite peppery, and there is a lot of lamb fat
There’s more fat than meat
But, the flavor is
Really fatty
This is so - I’m speechless walking through this market
Literally right beside this kao baozi joint
We found another Xinjiang specialty
Steamed pumpkin dumplings
These are pure delight
Especially as you watch them being made in front of your eyes
Steamed, and then served plate by plate as they are still steaming hot
It looks, they just look delicious and colorful when they are making them
And I’m going to put a little chili on them
OK, so we are going to add a little chili
Just cause that’s what the locals are doing to the baozi
Oh the pumpkin juice is just bursting
We’re going to go right in
They look really sloppy
Let’s try it out
WOW!
Super sweet pumpkin jiaozi
It almost tastes like a pumpkin pie!
Or a pumpkin cake
It’s super sweet
Mixed with a little bit of spice
I’m blown away!
Oh it’s definitely juicy
And you can see there is some herbs in there
It tastes like a sweet pumpkin with some herbs and spices and chilies
Oh yeah
It’s a whole new world, a whole new world
That was one of the most lively markets I’ve ever been to
We’re going to head back into town
And look for a big Uighur feast
Let’s go check it out
One of the best things to do after you’re full and waiting for your next meal
Is to go deep into local areas and get a feel for the local way of life
In Kuqa, there was a lot of areas to explore
Large mosques, little alleyways, and beautiful homes all throughout
Just walking through these old beautiful Uighur neighborhoods is really inspiring
To think of the long history that is in this location
And to explore and see all of the locals living their lives and to taste the food 
It’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity
This is definitely one of the most beautiful and unique locations I’ve ever been
Old neighborhoods and friendly people
Once in a lifetime experience
After that nice walk through the old part of Kuqa, we hit the street in search of dinner
And found a full on Uighur feast
So right up here
I’ve noticed a spot with lots of smoke
And that usually means it’s good
Lets see what the have?
And look, this is where they cut it all over here
Gorgeous, he is putting them on the grill
This is a meat…meat….fest
What I find really cool is how it’s all made with firewood
That’s great, roasting it with firewood
And he just put lots of chilies and cumin on there
We have a huge meat feast here today
And honestly this is what you’ve gotta eat in Xinjiang
This looks really plentiful, colorful, and vibrant
Beautiful lamb chops roasted over firewood
With cumin and chili
And that looks tender
That looks so tender
And over here, this is the lamb kidney
Roasted in those same chili and cumin spices
Over here we have some fresh yoghurt
Over here, this is the pilaf you get all over Xinjiang
This is like a true Xinjiang feast
You see this all over the streets
All of this food here
We have some cucumbers
I think that is in a vinaigrette
With a little bit of chili oil
Over here these are radish, with cilantro cold
That looks gorgeous
A nice cup o tea
It looks like there’s actually fennel and saffron in there
Mixed with the green tea
I’m going to start off with that
I’ve never tasted tea like that
The saffron and the fennel flavor is mixed right in there
It’s such a clean floral flavor
With the fennel
It’s a beautiful lobo with the cilantro
I’m just going to start off with the lobo 
That is a perfect way to start off the feast
Really clean, almost citrusy, slightly sour flavor
And what I really want to get into first is the lamb kidney
Let’s go in for the kill
I was not expecting that intense flavor
It’s perfectly spiced with cumin and salt
It’s not very spicy, but the kidney
There is no odor to it at all
It’s perfectly juicy and it melts in your mouth
When you come to Xinjiang, literally everywhere you go
You can have large meat and pilaf feasts just like this
And I definitely recommend you coming here
You’ll be blown away by the local flavors and the local hospitality
So we have had a wonderful trip here in Kuqa
Some of the most friendly people and delicious food that we’ve had in Xinjiang
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Because this Silk Road series is one of the best things I’ve ever done on this channel
I’m so happy to come this deep into western China
And really discover just how friendly the people are 
And how delicious the food is
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Thanks so much for watching guys!
