Instant-boiled mutton facts for kids

Dipping thin slices of mutton into a hot pot in Beijing.

Instant-boiled mutton served at a famous restaurant in Beijing.

Instant-boiled mutton (Chinese: 涮羊肉; pinyin: shuàn yángròu) is a special Chinese dish. It's a type of hot pot where you cook very thin slices of lamb in boiling water right at your table!

What is Instant-Boiled Mutton?

A freshly cooked mutton slice ready to be dipped in sesame sauce.

Instant-boiled mutton is a popular Chinese hot pot meal. It's also sometimes called Mongolian Fire Pot or dip-boil mutton. Imagine a big pot of boiling broth placed in the middle of your table. Everyone gets to cook their own food in it!

This dish was traditionally eaten in homes during cold winter months. But today, you can enjoy instant-boiled mutton all year round. Many restaurants also serve this fun and tasty meal. The lamb used for this dish is always sliced super thin, often from different parts of the lamb.

A Quick History of the Dish

The story of instant-boiled mutton goes way back to the Yuan Dynasty. This was a long time ago, when Kublai Khan was the leader of the Mongol Empire.

One day, during a battle, Kublai Khan suddenly wanted to eat stewed mutton. But his enemies were getting close! A quick-thinking chef sliced some lamb very thinly. He then put the slices into boiling water for just a moment. As soon as the lamb changed color, he took it out and put it in a bowl with salt.

Kublai Khan ate the lamb quickly and went back to the battle. He won! After the victory, he asked the chef to make the same lamb dish again. He loved it so much that he named it "instant-boiled mutton."

How to Cook and Eat It

Eating instant-boiled mutton is a fun experience! A hot pot filled with boiling water is placed in the center of your table. Along with the water, you'll find other ingredients like Tofu, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, and vermicelli noodles.

The lamb is prepared beforehand. It's sliced incredibly thin, almost like paper, and served raw on plates. Here's how you eat it:

• First, you pick up a few slices of raw lamb with your chopsticks.
• Next, you dip the lamb into the boiling hot pot.
• You only leave it in for a few seconds! As soon as the lamb changes color, it's ready.
• Finally, you take your cooked lamb out of the pot. Each person has a small bowl of dipping sauce. This sauce is usually a mix of sesame sauce, chili oil, and leeks. You dip your cooked lamb into the sauce and enjoy!