Beijing Mutton Hotpot

Shuan yangrou is Beijing's signature winter hotpot: paper-thin slices of mutton swished through a clear broth in a copper pot and dipped in a sesame sauce — tender, fresh and free of any gamey taste, a classic for hosting guests and gathering with friends.

Said to derive from the boiled-mutton ways of northern nomadic peoples, the dish took root in Beijing from the Yuan dynasty onward and flourished in the Qing, becoming a winter staple woven into everyday city life.

A charcoal-heated copper pot sits at the center of the table, the broth often seasoned with scallion, ginger and goji; slices cook in seconds and are dipped in a sauce built on sesame paste with chive flower, fermented tofu and coriander, alongside cabbage, vermicelli and frozen tofu.

The essence is freshness, tenderness and thinness: prime cuts hand-sliced almost to translucency, a clear broth that lets the mutton speak for itself, eaten chopstick by chopstick around a shared pot — nothing captures the warmth of a Beijing winter better.