At the table
Pick up a few ready-to-eat slices with chopsticks. Taste first, then add a little spiced salt or dip lightly. Ask which parts are included if you prefer cheek meat or want to avoid other head parts.
Deboned meat may retain small bone fragments. Skin and cartilage can be chewy. Sichuan pepper can tingle even without chili.
Cuts, slice thickness and spice blends differ. Tongue and other head parts may be offered separately; a whole-head dish is a different serving format.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Cuts, slice thickness and spice blends differ. Tongue and other head parts may be offered separately; a whole-head dish is a different serving format.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Meaty and lightly seasoned, with aromatic, gently numbing spiced salt.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Tender thin meat with springy skin and connective tissue.
- How it’s made
- The cleaned head is cooked in plain water, deboned, cooled and thinly sliced. The accompanying salt is mixed with Sichuan pepper, sharen and cloves.
Cuts, slice thickness and spice blends differ. Tongue and other head parts may be offered separately; a whole-head dish is a different serving format.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Beijing.
About this regional connection
Beijing: Beijing plain-water boiled sheep-head meat served thinly sliced with spiced salt.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有白水羊头吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
Thin slicing and spiced salt
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
White-boiled sheep’s head is part of Beijing’s snack tradition. Plain-water cooking keeps the meat’s flavor prominent, while fine slicing and spiced salt shape the eating experience. Seasoning can be sprinkled over the slices or served for dipping.