Sheep-Intestine Noodles

Sheep-intestine noodles top the list of Xining's local snacks: cleaned sheep intestine is stuffed with blood, bean flour and scallion, tied into segments and boiled, then served with hand-cut noodles in a milky, fragrant broth, the intestine soft and savoury and the noodles springy, with a small side bowl of sour-spicy hot soup.

The dish is rooted in the meat-eating traditions of Qinghai's Hui, Tibetan and Han peoples, a breakfast handed down across generations in Xining. With the cold long winters of the northwest plateau, a bowl of fragrant, sour-spicy sheep-intestine noodles drives away the chill, and it became the local way to begin the day.

A bowl is often enjoyed in two stages: first the stuffed intestine and the chilli-oiled noodles, then the small bowl of sour-spicy hot soup to finish; or the intestine is sliced and mixed into the noodles together, best eaten piping hot in winter to drive off the cold.

The soft stuffed intestine, the milky fragrant broth and the ritual of the accompanying sour-spicy side soup are what set sheep-intestine noodles apart from noodle dishes elsewhere.