Baikui Braised-and-Fried Lamb

Bai Kui, a Hui Muslim devoted to culinary study, opened 东长顺 near Longfusi temple in Beijing in the Qianlong era. Sources disagree on the exact founding year—some say Qianlong 5th year (1740), others Qianlong 45th year (1780). Both traditions agree that Bai Kui taught imperial kitchen chefs his techniques. His braised-and-fried lamb was so celebrated that customers forgot the shop's original name and called it simply 'Baikui.' By the late Qing, the restaurant was named an official imperial tribute supplier: each year on the second day of the second lunar month, the Imperial Household Department sent staff carrying lacquered ceremonial boxes to collect the first batch for palace consumption. Baikui Old Restaurant is counted as one of Beijing's four premier lamb establishments alongside Donglaishun, Kaorouji, and Yueshengzhai.

The fried crust shatters with a dry crackle on first bite, releasing sesame oil and star anise. The interior yields immediately—gelatinous, almost custard-soft—carrying the deep warmth of a twenty-four-spice simmering stock. There is no gaminess; the three-hour pre-cook has driven off volatile sulfides, leaving only clean, rounded lamb sweetness with a long, warm finish.

The six-stage process targets two transformations: collagen conversion and surface dehydration. Three hours of gentle simmering convert muscle collagen to gelatin, creating the silken interior. The final deep-fry in sesame oil at 180–190°C rapidly dehydrates the surface; Maillard reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars in the meat produce the amber crust and roasted aromatics. Sesame oil's high content of lignan antioxidants (sesamin, sesamolin) inhibits rancidity—historically significant for the palace delivery route. The twenty-four-spice blend delivers fat-soluble aroma compounds—eugenol from clove, cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon, linalool from coriander—that partition into intramuscular fat during simmering and volatilise again at mouth temperature, producing layered, sustained fragrance.