Day 7 of Chinese New Year: Another Bowl of Clear-Stewed Lamb Soup
On the last day of the holiday, enjoy one more fresh, delicious meal. The Harigaobi herders’ “clear-stewed free-range sheep” is simple to make. Everyone who has tasted the grassland lamb from Harigaobi herders, raised through four seasons of migration, cannot stop praising it, their chopsticks never resting.
On the grasslands of Harigaobi gacha in Dong Ujimqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, the family of Dulan, a herder in the Harigaobi Cooperative, continues to raise traditional Ujimqin sheep—unimproved, locally bred, true grassland migratory sheep.
The sheep here are born on natural pasture and graze freely, with no fattening, no antibiotics, and no water injection, following the pastures on their migration across all four seasons. The flocks move between different pastures, and the different grazing grasses bring different trace minerals. This is why Ujimqin sheep are known for their mild odour, even fat deposition, and tender, juicy meat. The lamb tastes of the grassland’s clean, fresh aroma.
Compared with fixed enclosures, single-pasture grazing, or even supplementary feeding with grain, migration across the seasons protects the grassland ecosystem and preserves the true flavour of the lamb. This free-grazing grassland lamb is becoming increasingly rare.
Rangelands are not only places for grazing; they are also closely connected to the ecological environment, local economies, and herders’ lives. 2026 is the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. Foodthink will continue to follow the stories of local pastoral areas and herders. We hope you will have the chance to learn more about herders’ lives, support local pastoral products, and support the grasslands and herders’ livelihoods through real action.
Ingredients:
Authentic herder’s version: lamb from Harigaobi herders’ homes, salt, and nothing else
Jishi improved version: add white radish, carrot, fresh ginger, wood ear, and ground pepper to taste
Method:
Boil in salted water until the meat is tender
Notes:
The herders’ “free-range sheep” walk across the grassland all year round, grazing on dozens of grasses, so the meat is not muttony. The method is simple, bringing out the quality and natural flavour of the meat.
For more stories about Harigaobi herders, click 👉🏻On the Ujimqin Grassland, experience real herders’ lives to learn more. To purchase, follow @Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market
Dinner is ready! For Chinese New Year, enjoy some good food with a known origin.
Foodthink, together with farming friends from the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market, presents a “Chinese New Year’s feast recipe collection” made from their own ingredients.
There are no recipes measured to the gram or timed to the minute, and no fancy, complicated methods.
What it offers is certainty and confidence in the ingredients, and plain, familiar reminders, as if speaking to family.
When the ingredients are carefully chosen, there is no need to rack your brains; a neat, easy method, with the temperature just right, is all it takes.
Behind every dish in this collection stands a real person—
The farming friends know exactly what makes their ingredients good, and how to prepare them in a way that does them justice.
When a block of tofu has a name, a chicken has a story, and a radish dares to tell you not to peel it—good flavour comes naturally.
From Day 2 to Day 7 of Chinese New Year, six farming friends’ New Year dishes, one each day.
Day 2 of Chinese New Year: Fragrant Steamed Free-Range Pork
Day 3 of Chinese New Year: Super Stir-Fried Chicken
Day 4 of Chinese New Year: Braised Tofu in Soy Sauce
Day 5 of Chinese New Year: Radish Sashimi
Day 6 of Chinese New Year: All-Purpose Red Sour Soup
Grow with care, cook with ease, eat with peace of mind.
