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Grabbed rice and roasted crusty pancake
Grabbed rice is one of the favorite foods of the Uygur nationality, and the Uygur language calls it as "poluo". The main raw materials of the grabbed rice are rice, mutton, union, carrot, raisin and vegetable oil. The rice that is mixed and braised with these materials is crystal-clear, glittering and delicious, with abundant nutrients and radiates fragrant flavor. On the festivals, the special days of entertaining relatives and friends, wedding days or funeral days, the people of the Uygur nationality always cook great cauldrons of grabbed rice to entertain the guests.
According to the tradition, when having meal, the host will spread a clean tablecloth on the kang table or carpet, and people sit by surrounding the tablecloth. Then, the host carries a basin with one hand, and a pot with the other hand, let the guests wash hands one by one, and give them the clean towel to dry the hands. Then, he/she will serve the grabbed rice that is placed in a big tray and place it in the middle of the tablecloth, and ask the guests to directly grab the rice from the tray and eat. The guests who are not accustomed to grab with hands can also use small spoons to eat.
The grabbed rice of the Uygur nationality is in great variety, its difference is mainly related with the used materials. For example, in the aspect of using oil, besides the vegetable oil (huma oil, rapeseed oil, melon seed oil and cottonseed oil), they also use butter, mutton oil, marrow oil and safflower oil, etc, and the grabbed rice with marrow oil is most nutrimental. In the aspect of using meat, besides mutton, they also use chicken, duck meat, goose meat, beef and the meat of snow cock and pheasant to cook grabbed rice. Of course, the grabbed rice with the meat of snow cock is a kind of rare delicacy. Besides, some people also use raisin, sun-dried apricot, preserved peach and other dried fruits to cook grabbed rice, which is called as sweet grabbed rice or vegetable grabbed rice. Some people place some dishes that are fried by bean noodles, cabbage, tomato and hot pepper, and can eat the dishes at the same of eating the grabbed rice, it is convenient and delicious, and called as dishes grabbed rice. Some people also pour some sour milk on the grabbed rice, it acts a role of improving the appetite and digestion, and relieving summer heat, and is called as sour milk grabbed rice. There is also a kind of egg grabbed rice, its making method: when the braised grabbed rice is becoming ripe, the chef digs a small nest in the size of an egg in the rice, and then beat an egg inside it, when the grabbed rice becomes ripe, the egg is fully glued with rice, and the sweet oil smile reaches the nostrils when people eat the rice, which is delicious and refreshing. Among the people of the Uygur nationality, there is a kind of most particular grabbed rice "aximantu", which is steamed stuffed bun grabbed rice. It is to assemble five to six steamed stuffed buns with thin skin on each plate of grabbed rice. As the grabbed rice, the thin-skin steamed mutton buns are also a delicacy of the Uygur nationality. To combine them together, it is really to add flowers to the brocade. And only the honored guests can get such entertainment of hosts.
 Roasted crusty pancake is another traditional local food of the Uygur nationality. It is believed that it has had a history of more than 2,000 years in Xinjiang. In the Chinese hisotry, it was called as "Hu pancake" and "stove pancake". In fact, it is a kind of specially made roasted pancake. It is in great varieties because of the different cooking methods, it is said that it has as many as more than 50 types. The common types are the big and thin slice roasted crusty pancake, the small and thick roasted crusty pancake (like bread), and the oil pancake, meat pancake, sweet pancake and sesame pancake, etc.
Generally, the crusty pancake takes the wheat flour as raw material, and some are also made of maize flour. The general method: to add small volume of salty water and leavening dough into the flour, knead it evenly and roll it thoroughly, and it can be roasted when the flour is slightly leavened. All the crusty pancakes are round, but the shape and size are different, and it is also in great variety. The biggest type is called as "aimanke" crusty pancake. Its middle part is thin, and the edge is thick, the central part is printed with patterns, the diameter is as long as 0.5 meter. And people will use 2 to 3 kilograms of flour to make one, it is called as the king of crusty pancakes. The smallest type is called as "zhaluoxi" crusty pancake, it is as thick as 5 to 6 centimeters, and the diameter is only as long as 10 centimeters. And there is a hole nest in the middle part, so the people of the Han nationality call it as bread crusty pancake. This kind of crusty pancake is mostly exquisitely made in the region of Kashi, and is also a type that the people most commonly eat. There is also another kind of "xikeman" crusty pancake, which means sweet pancake. It is to paint a layer of crystal sugar water on the surface of the crusty pancake. When it is roasted ripe, the surface of the pancake glitters brightly and transparently, and it is sweet and delicious. There is another kind: to add crisp mutton into the flour, add salt, ziran powder, pepper powder and onion dust in it and roast it, it is habitually called as meat mutton. The delicious flavor of mutton reaches the nostrils when people eat it. There is also another kind of crusty pancake, people use unleavened dough, roll it with vegetable oil or mutton oil, and roll it very thin and then toast it, it is habitually called as oil crusty pancake. Because of its savory and crisp characteristics, it is often used to entertain guests on the festivals of jubilation.
The main equipment of the Uygur nationality to roast the crusty pancake is the crusty pancake kang. Generally, the crusty pancake kang is constructed by sheep hair and clay. It is as high as about one meter, the stomach is big and the mouth is small, the shape is like an inverted water vat. Around the crusty pancake kang, a square soil stand is built by using the sun-dried mud brick, which is convenient for people to operate over it. Before roasting the crusty pancake, firstly burn carbon or coal under the kang, when the bright flame disappears, the wall of kang has been burned very hot, then people will paste the prepared dough on the wall of kang. 10 minutes later, it will become ripe. The roasted crusty pancake contains small volume of water, so it is appropriate to the dry climate in Xinjiang, it can be stored for a long time, people can bring it out when eating it, and it is very convenient.
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