- Alright guys, get excited
cause today we're talking about food.
(karate chop)
What should I eat when I'm
travelling around Xinjiang?
Well, lucky for you, I consider
myself a foremost expert
on food in this region, er
at least I've tried quite a bit of it.
Anyway here are my 10
recommendations of things
you should at least try
when you're travelling around the area.
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Number one, Uyghur Polo.
Now, it's very similar the pilaf
that you'll hear about in
the rest of Central Asia
it's just the Uyghur take
on it, and it's delicious.
It's got lamb meat, it's
got rice, it's got carrots
perhaps it's got raisins
or some other things.
Give it a try in a few different places
you might find that you
like one restaurant's
better than the other.
But one thing's for sure
this is probably the
number one most liked dish
here in Xinjiang.
Number two, laghman.
There's a Uyghur kind
and there's a Hui kind
but the concept's very simple.
You get a bowl full of noodles
and then you pour just a concoction
of meat and vegetables
and oil on top of those
and eat it together, very delicious.
Number three, kebabs.
Kebabs are, lamb on a stick.
There's really not much to it.
Often times it's a meat and
a fat and a meat and a fat
put on a stick, grilled to perfection
using a little bit of
spices that includes cumin
some red hot peppers,
salt, pepper, all of it.
It's just tastes incredibly good.
Number four, Uyghur
bread, or Uyghur flatbread
also called Nang.
And Uyghur bread is one of those things
that you're going to find in
stalls all across the streets
where you're walking up and down.
And it comes in so many
different shapes and sizes.
Some of them look like bagels,
some of it's flatbread.
Some of it is uh, put with onions on it
or they have sesame on it.
All of it's great.
I highly recommend you try to eat some
that's directly out of the oven.
That, mmm, that's really good.
Number five, Uyghur ice cream.
This is something that on a
hot summer day, is so good.
I just had a cup myself a few minutes ago
five kuai, delicious ice cream.
Really good.
Number six, Samsa.
Samsa is a
basically I like to think of
it as a grilled hot pocket.
Alright? It's a Uyghur snack,
wherein they put a mixture
of meat and onions and other things
inside this breaded crust
that they then bake
inside of the same type of oven
which they make Uyghur bread.
Number seven, dapanji.
Most people mistakenly think
that this is a Uyghur dish
when in fact it's a Hui dish.
Dapanji literally translates
to big plate chicken
and it's exactly what it sounds like.
It's a big chicken that's been cut up
thrown into a plate alongside
potatoes and other vegetables
and then a nice, rich, thick red sauce
that goes great with Uyghur bread
and the noodles that come after it.
Number eight, stuffed lamb intestine.
Now, this is something that I've tried
on this YouTube channel
before, and it's, you know
it was surprising how good it is.
It's a rice, kind of mixture
that's been stuffed into lamb intestines.
And as weird as that sounds,
it's actually really good.
It's usually served with sheep lung
which again, sounds disgusting,
but it's worth a try.
Number nine, Matang. This is a nut snack
that you'll find a lot of
different street vendors selling
on the street, or
especially in the markets.
It's very popular in inner China.
But it's something that you
could just get a small bit of
or a large chunk of,
however much you want to buy
and take it with you as a snack.
Whether that's on a bus or on a train
or just having it back at your hotel room.
It's a good, albeit very
chewy, snack to eat.
Number 10, Xinjiang fruits.
Now I realize, this
isn't an ethnic specialty
but it's something you really need to try.
Xinjiang fruits are known all over China
as being some of the tastiest
fruits that you can buy.
Whether it's the Turpan
grapes, the Korla pears
the Hami melons.
Every single area around
here has their specialty.
Buy a few of them, you'll
be surprised at how much
you enjoy eating fruits just
as a snack on the street.
Alright, so that's it, those
are my 10 recommendations
for the food you should eat.
If you think I'm missing something
go ahead and leave it
in the comments below
or, let me know what you think
of the things that you have tried.
I'd love to hear, and I'd love for you
to share your opinion with everybody else.
Thanks so much for watching,
give this video a thumbs up
and don't forget to
subscribe to Far West China.
Peace Out.
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