Traditional Staple Food Making Technique (Nang Making)

Nang is the staple flatbread of the Uyghur and other peoples, and its baking craft spreads across fourteen prefectures of Xinjiang and beyond. The representative Kuqa large-nang technique was listed in the second batch of Xinjiang autonomous-region ICH in 2010; the related traditional staple-food making technique (nang making) has entered the national ICH list as an extension item under traditional skills.

Leavened dough is pressed into rounds, often stamped with a decorative prick, and slapped against the heated wall of the clay tandoor (tonur) to bake; the heat and the way the round is slapped on decide the crispness and colour. Varieties include meat nang, sesame nang, onion nang, bowl nang and the large Kuqa nang, differing in size and thickness.

Nang is the indispensable staple at every Xinjiang meal, and its making carries the twin memory of Silk Road trade and oasis farming; it is the most recognisable symbol of Xinjiang food culture and a vivid vehicle of exchange and fusion among its peoples.

The baking of nang can be watched and the hot fresh bread tasted at Urumqi's International Grand Bazaar and at tandoor workshops throughout the city.