Tripe, liver and lungs, chopped and simmered — a Ningxia morning starts with yangzasui.
The fragrance of yangzasui is the taste of the Northwest.
In the morning, especially in Yinchuan and Wuzhong, queues form outside yangzasui shops. Sheep tripe, liver, lungs and intestine are cleaned, chopped, and simmered in broth with chilli oil, coriander and garlic sprouts. A steaming bowl arrives, warming the stomach and waking the spirit.
Sheep offal soup is common across the Northwest, but Ningxia has its own standards. The sheep must be local Tan sheep with fine flesh; the offal must be cleaned spotless, free of smell; the broth must be rich, with a special chilli oil and garlic paste that is fragrant rather than greasy.
Ningxia people often pair yangzasui with a flat white bread. Tear the bread, soak it in the broth, or fill it with the offal — one spoonful of soup, one bite of bread, warm to the heart. On a cold Northwest morning, a bowl of yangzasui is the best breakfast.
The 'zashui' is the beauty of variety: crisp tripe, dense liver, soft lung, springy intestine — one bowl lets you taste every part of the sheep. With chilli and garlic, the aroma is irresistible.
Today yangzasui has spread beyond Ningxia, and many Northwest restaurants serve it. But the most authentic bowl is still on a Ningxia street: a great pot steaming, the vendor ladling out a bowl and topping it with coriander and garlic sprouts.
When you visit Ningxia, have a bowl of yangzasui. At a Yinchuan breakfast shop, order the soup with a flat bread — the honesty and richness of the Northwest are in that bowl.
