Chuan (, ,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: chuàn, "''kebab/skewer''"; , кавап, "''kawap''"), especially in the north-east of China referred to as chuan'r (), are small pieces of

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

roasted on

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...

s. Chuan originated in the

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

region of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It has been spread throughout the rest of the country, most notably in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

and

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

, where it is a popular

street food Street food is food sold by a Hawker (trade), hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

. It is a product of the

Chinese Islamic cuisine Chinese Islamic cuisine consists of variations of regionally popular foods that are typical of Han Chinese cuisine, in particular to make them halal. Dishes borrow ingredients from Middle Eastern, Turkic, Iranian and South Asian cuisines, notabl ...

of the Uyghur people and other Chinese Muslims.

Overview

Chuan are small pieces of

roasted on

s over

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

or sometimes, electric heat. It is also sometimes cooked by deep frying in oil (popular in Beijing). It can be classified as a type of kebab. Chuan was traditionally made from lamb (''yáng ròu chuàn'', 羊肉串, lamb meat chuan), which is still the most common kind, but now,

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

and various types of

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

can also be used. Especially in some tourist areas, chuan can be found made with various insects, bugs, birds and other exotic animals. In general, chuan may be spiced according to preference, but generally cumin seeds, dried red pepper flakes,

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

and sesame or sesame oil are sprinkled or brushed onto it. Another popular incarnation is '' mantou chuan'' or "steamed bun chuan"; it is commonly brushed with a sweet bean sauce (甜面酱, not to be confused with sweet red bean paste) and its taste serves as a foil to the often spicy meat chuan. In Tianjin and Jinan, chuan is often served with small round breads (馅饼, ''xiàn bǐng''), also grilled with the same spices. ''Xiàn bǐng'' technically means "pie" or "filled bread". After cooking the bread and meat, the bread is split open and chuan meat is stuffed inside, then eaten together. File:Barbecued lamb sticks.jpg, Barbecued chuan lamb sticks File:Yang rou chuan.webm, Lamb skewers on automatic rotating grill, at a Chinese restaurant in Seoul, Korea

Controversy

In 2013, it was reported that the Beijing authorities were destroying open-air chuan barbecues in a bid to reduce pollution from small particles that can enter deep into the lungs. Hundreds of barbecues were reportedly confiscated over a three-month period, leading to ridicule from the local Beijing population.

References

{{Barbecue Grilled skewers Skewered kebabs Chinese Islamic cuisine Uyghur cuisine Chinese meat dishes

Overview

Controversy

See also

References