Water basin lamb
In the eyes of many foreign diners, Xi'an's water basin mutton is a snack that is difficult to distinguish from mutton steamed buns, and there are also some irresponsible online media that simply classify it as a different way to eat mutton steamed buns.
Pancakes and side dishes are the biggest differences between Chengcheng water basin mutton and Xi'an water basin mutton. Chengcheng generally uses crescent-shaped baked cakes and round baked cakes with broth, and the flour is raised. In terms of eating methods, according to the different requirements for taste, some diners will stuff mutton into the cake, make meat buns and then drink soup; There are also diners who break the pancakes into bowls to make mutton steamed buns. In Xi'an, the broth is more often used in the broth, which is thicker and harder than the Chengcheng baked cakes, and is also commonly used in mutton steamed buns. In terms of the selection of side dishes, Chengcheng has a lot of abundance, shredded carrots, diced onions, and pickled cabbage are all options to accompany the broth, which can be described as varied. In Xi'an, there is generally only one side dish of sweet garlic.
The focus of mutton in the water basin is in the soup, and its production is not much different from the production of mutton steamed bun soup base: mutton bones and beef bones are soaked in water as an important base and then boiled with water, the whole process pays attention to the pure color of the soup, skimming off impurities, foaming and then adding pepper, cumin, star anise, cinnamon, horn ginger and other spices to cook with the meat, and some well-made shops will also seal the broth with a waist plate, so that the meat and the soup can be better combined.
Huifang's and even the whole of Xi'an's "lazy" practice of indistinguishing between mutton and mutton steamed buns in the water basin is the main reason why some diners confuse the two. Compared with the water basin mutton in Weinan, the same style in Xi'an is indeed not authentic, and has also been criticized by many old Shaanxi, however, for tourists from afar, it is still a snack that is difficult to bypass in the city.
