Wan Zi Tang (Halal Mutton Meatball Soup)
Fluffy lamb dumplings! Islamic family soup with aromatic spices
Description
A heartwarming soup eaten daily by Hui Muslims in Xinjiang and the Northwest. Fluffy meatballs made from hand-chopped mutton (or beef) are boiled in beef bone broth alongside glass noodles, spinach, and tomatoes. The mutton umami melts into the entire soup.
Restaurants serving Wan Zi Tang (Halal Mutton Meatball Soup)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Minced mutton(or beef)
- Beef bone broth
- Glass noodles
- Tomato
- Spinach
- Wood ears
- Sichuan pepper powder
- Potato starch
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- (Meatballs) Hand-chop fresh lean mutton (or beef) and a little beef fat into a paste.
- Add salt, black pepper, Sichuan pepper powder, scallion-ginger water, and sesame oil. Add a touch of 'starch and egg white', whipping violently in one direction (creates a fluffy, bouncy texture).
- (Soup) Boil beef bone broth, add sliced tomatoes to extract red umami.
- Wet your hands, form the meat into balls (Wan Zi), and drop them into the boiling broth.
- Once they float, add rehydrated glass noodles, wood ears, spinach, and sliced tofu.
- Season with salt and white pepper, finish with a drop of sesame oil, and garnish with cilantro.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Meat juices overflowing from meatballs、Sichuan pepper hidden flavor
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Substitute with mixed beef/pork in chicken broth - lacks lamb flavor)
Pairing
You Xiang (Fried bread) / Cong You Bing(Scallion pancake)
Trivia
[Trivia] 'Wan Zi' means meatball. Rather than a special banquet dish, it is a gentle Silk Road soul food that warms the stomach—the exact kind of soup a mother makes on a freezing winter night.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Sip the hot soup and break the fluffy meatballs with a spoon. In Islamic homes, it is standard to dunk staples like 'You Ta Zi' (layered steamed bun) or 'You Xiang' (fried bread) directly into this soup.
Allergen
Mutton (or beef), Eggs, Soybeans, Sesame