Mutton’s Not Just a Winter Delicacy Anymore

Winter is often deemed the best season to eat mutton, but that is not the case in Shanghai.

The annual mutton festival began today in Zhuanghang Town, Fengxian District, 【小题1】 highlight of the city’s summer rural tourism market.

Running until August 22, the festival features tasting and cooking events 【小题2】 agriculture-related activities.

The history of eating mutton in sanfu, 【小题3】 (hot) period of summer, in Zhuanghang dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). The Zhuanghang goat is both delicious and nutritious.

Mutton braised in soy sauce and plain boiled mutton are popular in Zhuanghang during the festival. A must-have accompaniment to mutton is shaojiu (a Chinese rice spirit); the tradition of tasting mutton with shaojiu is listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai.

Mutton has a reputation for its tender taste, marbled texture, rich flavors and thick soup. According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, goat meat, like beef and lamb, is considered a “hot” food and thus 【小题4】 (avoid) or taken in smaller quantities on hot sweltering days of summer.

But for hundreds of years, the people of Zhuanghang town in Fengxian district 【小题5】 (eat) goat meat during the summer. They eat locally produced goat meat 【小题6】 they sip homemade shaojiu or huangjiu (yellow rice wine). This hearty mix of alcohol and goat meat promotes sweating, 【小题7】 some traditional medicine practitioners believe helps the body expel toxins and prevent illnesses in the forthcoming winter. Goat meat is also believed to be an excellent way of building up “energy” in the body that will last through the winter season. That’s why eateries in Zhuanghang are usually packed with diners during summer.

Li Yingchun, boss of a local goat meat restaurant in Zhuanghang, claims that his restaurant receives 8,000 to 10,000 customers on average every weekday. The number 【小题8】 reach as high as 12,000 on weekends, according to a daily report.

The Fengxian District Culture and Tourism Bureau said it is with the help of the traditional festival which caters to the travel, dining, entertaining and leisure demand of tourists 【小题9】 rural revitalization will be achieved.

【小题10】 Zhuanghang, Zhangze Town in Songjiang District also has the tradition of eating mutton in sanfu. Its own mutton festival kicks off on Saturday and runs until October.

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