At the table
Take a slice with chopsticks and bite through it in small pieces. It is already cooked; no mixing or peeling is needed. Ask for sauce separately if offered.
Contains yak meat, soy and wheat-based sauce. Cooking wine is used; do not assume alcohol-free or halal preparation. Tendon can be chewy.
Chili can be added to the braise. Dressed cucumber-and-meat plates or extra dipping sauces are separate serving variations.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Chili can be added to the braise. Dressed cucumber-and-meat plates or extra dipping sauces are separate serving variations.
Typical ingredients
In some versions
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Deeply savory, lightly sweet and fragrant with warm spices.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Firm, sliceable meat with tender muscle and chewy tendon.
- How it’s made
- Blanch yak shank, then simmer in water with light and dark soy sauce, sweet wheat sauce, cooking wine, rock sugar, salt, ginger, scallion, star anise, Sichuan pepper, pepper, tsaoko, fennel, tangerine peel, cassia and bay leaf. Chill and slice.
Chili can be added to the braise. Dressed cucumber-and-meat plates or extra dipping sauces are separate serving variations.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Qinghai.
About this regional connection
Qinghai: Sauce-braised yak appears in the Huzhu Qicai banquet; not exclusive to Huzhu.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有酱牦牛肉吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
Yak on a Qinghai banquet table
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
Sauce-braised yak appears on the Huzhu Qicai banquet menu in Qinghai. Slow braising and cooling make shank meat suitable for slicing and sharing; spice blends differ between cooks.