Marco Polo recorded eating Mongolian hotpot at Genghis Khan's palace and Hong Dacai, the owner of the famous Hongyunxuan Restaurant believes it was not the rinsed or instant boiled style of lamb hotpot, but boiled lamb chops.
That was 800 years ago. But if you visit Inner Mongolia, you won't find any of the bronze Beijing hotpots. Why? Because lamb hotpot was only for nobles.
A traditional way to cook lamb in Beijing is by searing thin slices of meat in a hot pot. Lamb hot pot was invented by Mongolian aristocrats but brought to Beijing by Manchu people during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Hongyunxuan, hidden in a hutong near the North 2nd Ring Road, is a Muslim restaurant specializing in Mongolian hot pot. Though small in scale, the restaurant attracts many celebrities to its door. Hong himself is also well-known as a mutton expert.
Hong insists the plates serving the lamb slices must be dry, and the lamb slices should stick on the plate, even if it is held vertically, as this is a sign of good quality, because mutton is the most important ingredient in a hotpot.
All mutton at Hongyunxuan are transported to Beijing in early morning. The mutton is very fresh and its blood is so little that it won’t stain the plates. To judge whether the mutton is fresh or not, you just need to dip it in the boiling water and observe the color. If the mutton turns white and gray, then it’s fresh.
Traditional Chinese medicine doctors believe lamb is warm and nourishing and especially good in the cold winter. In fact, they even use it as medicine to improve deficiency of energy, and pain in the stomach in cold weather. Lamb soup with angelica and ginger is a recipe that has been recorded in medical books since Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).Apart from the mutton, the sauce is also very important. To cater to all preferences, the restaurant offers soy, sesame paste, leeks, fish sauce, fermented bean curd, and vinegar. The restaurant never does any advertisement, yet customers flocks in endless stream. The secret lies in its quality and word of mouth.Tel: 86 10 83161713
Add: Shouchangjie Ertiao, Xicheng District
