Kumiss is one of the intangible cultural heritages of Haixi Prefecture in China. It’s almost snowing. Life would be great if I could have a bowl of milky kumiss and a roasted whole lamb. Liziqi specially learned kumiss from the teacher, and finally made it on New Year’s Day.
What is kumiss?
Kumiss is the favorite drink of Mongolian people in daily life. It has a history of more than 2,000 years among the northern minorities and is now one of the intangible cultural heritage of Haixi Prefecture. Mongolian people generally brew it in July and August when cattle are fat and horses are strong. At that time, the temperature was also suitable, and it was very good to ferment naturally without heat preservation.
Making The Kumiss
I bought mare milk from my friend. My friend is Tibetan and he has a lot of horses. After mixing 10kg of mare’s milk, I put a pot of sour mare’s milk for fermentation. After letting it sit overnight, tap them every day, which is what they call “beating the mare’s milk”.
Why do I need to "beating the mare's milk"?
It is said that the milk fat in the mare’s milk can be separated by repeated beating. When separated and then fermented, it forms a drink called sour milk. Finally by distilling sour milk, it becomes kumiss. It is shown in my video.
Roasting Whole Lamb
While making the kumiss, my uncle brought me the sheep. After I washed the sheep, I added chili powder, pepper powder, cumin powder, salt, onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and cooking wine for marinating. The marinated lamb will be very fragrant when grilled.
Finally, I went up the hill and chopped a thicker stick to support the lamb. After putting the lamb on the grill, I drank the fragrant kumiss while we ate the roast. Just enjoy life.
Thanks for reading. Liziqi wishes you a happy life.