Xinjiang Kebab (Lamb Skewers)

Xinjiang kebabs thread fat-and-lean lamb chunks onto red-willow branches or iron skewers, grilling them over open charcoal while being dusted with coarse salt, cumin and chilli, crisp outside and tender within and alive with charcoal smoke. The red-willow version carries a particular Western-regions flavour as the wood's scent meets the meat.

Xinjiang kebabs grew from the meat traditions of Central Asian nomads and oasis dwellers, with techniques of red willow, tandoor and open charcoal carried along the Silk Road for a thousand years to settle into today's ubiquitous lamb skewers, one of the most recognisable symbols of Xinjiang food.

Grilled to order and eaten on the spot, bought by the handful and paired with chilled kvass or Wusu beer, this is the liveliest fare of Urumqi's night markets and roadside stalls; it is also wrapped in nang or eaten alongside pulled noodles and pilaf.

The char of open charcoal, the bold aroma of cumin and chilli, and the Western-regions note of red-willow skewers are the marks of Xinjiang kebab.