Lamb Skewers
Kǎo Yángròuchuàn · say it: “kow yang-roh chwun”
- Spice
- Medium heat
- Typical price
- ¥3–8
- Dietary
- Halal
If Xi'an has a smell, it is this: cumin and rendered lamb fat over charcoal. Yangrouchuan (烤羊肉串, kǎo yángròuchuàn) — charcoal-grilled lamb skewers — are the Hui barbecue that defines the Muslim Quarter after dark. Small chunks of lamb are threaded onto thin iron skewers, dusted with cumin (孜然, zīrán), chili and salt, and grilled fast over open coals until the fat crisps and the spice toasts. You eat them straight off the iron, sliding the meat off with your teeth, and you order them by the bunch.
This is northwestern, Silk Road food — lamb rather than pork, cumin rather than sweet sauces — and it is halal, made by the Hui Muslim community that has run these streets for centuries. It is also the most photographed food in Xi'an for a reason: the smoke, the red chili, the theatrical fanning of the coals. Find a stall with a queue of locals and a smoke plume and you have found dinner.
How to eat it
Order a bunch — ten to twenty skewers per person is normal, and they vanish faster than you expect. Tell the grill cook your spice level: 多辣 (duō là) for extra chili, 微辣 (wēi là) for mild, 不辣 (bù là) for cumin-only. Eat them hot, straight off the skewer (slide the meat off with your teeth or fingers — the iron is reused, which alarms some travelers and bothers none of the locals). A squirt of Bingfeng or a roujiamo alongside turns a snack into a meal.
The best skewers are at the side-lane stalls where the Hui families actually eat, not the photogenic fronts on the main drag — see our Muslim Quarter eats guide for the routing. Halal by definition; not vegetarian, obviously. More on the food hub.
Where to try it
The Muslim Quarter side lanes
The main Beiyuanmen drag is for photos; the real skewers are on the side lanes (Xiyangshi, Dapiyuan, and beyond) where Hui families queue. Follow the smoke and the local crowds, not the English menus.
Read the guideSajinqiao
The locals' food street west of the Bell Tower — fewer tourists, cheaper skewers, and the place Xi'an people actually go for a yangrouchuan evening.
Read the guideAny night market
Lamb skewers are the default protein of every Xi'an night market and many a roadside grill after sundown. If there's smoke and a crowd, order ten.
On video
Xi'an on video
What this place looks like on video.