Xinjiang Cuisine · FFET10153
Kao Yangrou Chuan (grilled lamb skewers)
Cubes of lamb skewered and grilled over charcoal, dusted with cumin, chili and salt; a common street food in Xinjiang.
A white rectangular porcelain plate holds thin wooden skewers side by side, each with five or six browned lamb cubes and bits of fat flecked with cumin and red chili, with a small dish of cumin and chili powder beside it.
The regional cooking of Xinjiang, with naan, pilaf, mutton and wheat foods.
Grilled lamb skewers are cubes of lamb, often alternated with fat, threaded on a skewer, turned over charcoal and dusted with cumin, chili and salt. Their origin in Xinjiang with Uyghur and other Muslim cooks lacks citation support and a date. Their spread beyond Xinjiang from the 1980s is a secondhand account citing county material; this entry found no dated record of the Xinjiang skewer itself.
What
Grilled lamb skewers are cubes of lamb, often alternated with fat, threaded on a skewer, turned over charcoal and dusted with cumin, chili and salt, and are common at stalls in Xinjiang.1,2,4,5,6,7,8
When
Ancient roast meat and skewered meat on Han-dynasty brick carvings provide earlier background. Wang Zu's article, republished in 2023, gives no date for this skewer, and no dated record of the Xinjiang skewer was found; its spread beyond Xinjiang from the 1980s is a secondhand account citing county material.1,3
Where
The skewers are associated with Xinjiang's Uyghur people, are common on Urumqi streets and also appear in Yecheng and Shule. Neither Wang Zu's article nor the other listed sources identifies their county or city of origin in Xinjiang.2,3,7,8
How
Some cooks just salt the lamb, others marinate it for half an hour to overnight in soy sauce and starch, or in onion and garlic; it is then skewered and turned often over coals, and the cumin and chili go on partway through. Red willow branches are the traditional skewers and also fuel.3,5,6
Why
Red willow skewers are longer than iron ones and carry a faint saltiness; red willow and suosuo wood suit as fuel. Wang Zu's article and the other listed sources give no further reason for the method, and this entry does not guess.3
Impact and influence
The claim that the skewers spread to Beijing, Tianjin, Jinan and Jilin still lacks citation support. They are common on Urumqi streets. A November 12, 2025 report lists Xinjiang heritage foods including naan and roast lamb leg, but does not mention the skewers.2,7,8,9
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is the way I make grilled lamb skewers at home, a simplified home version: the two published recipes are both adapted for a Western kitchen, and I too use a home grill or charcoal stove, with bamboo or metal skewers in place of red willow branches. The amounts and timings below are my own choices at home.
Ingredients
- Lamb shoulder 500 g, cut into cubes of about 2 cm
- Lamb fat 50 g, cut into small pieces
- Onion, for the marinade half, grated or finely chopped
- Light soy sauce, for the marinade 30 ml
- Cooking oil, for the marinade 30 ml
- Cornstarch, for the marinade 2 teaspoons
- Ground cumin, for the marinade 1 teaspoon
- Salt, for the marinade half a teaspoon
- Ground cumin, for sprinkling while grilling 1 tablespoon
- Chili flakes, for sprinkling while grilling 1 teaspoon
- Bamboo or metal skewers about 12; soak bamboo ones in water for 30 minutes
Steps
- Mix the lamb, fat, onion, soy sauce, oil, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon cumin and the salt, cover it and marinate it in the fridge for 30 minutes up to overnight. Wash your hands and the board well after touching raw meat.
- Mix the 1 tablespoon of cumin with the chili flakes and keep it by the grill.
- Thread lamb and fat pieces alternately onto the skewers, leaving a handle at one end, and do not pack the pieces too tightly.
- Burn the charcoal until it is covered with white ash, then push it to one side so one half of the grill is hot and the other half is gentler.
- Put the skewers over the hot side first and grill them until browned, turning often, and sprinkle on half of the cumin and chili mix part-way through; if the color comes too fast, move them to the gentler side. I give each skewer about 8 minutes and cut open one of the larger pieces, which must have no pink inside to count as done.
- Sprinkle on the rest of the cumin and chili mix and serve at once.
Tips
- I follow both recipes and sprinkle the cumin and chili on part-way through grilling so that the fragrance stays.
- I put a little fat among the lamb so that it dries out less on the grill; this is my own choice at home.
Allergens: soy, wheat