Mala Skewer Pot
$26 play money
Dozens of small bamboo skewers standing in a pot of spicy red broth. On the ChowChow Feast menu it costs $26 in play money, which puts it in the Everyday tier ($15 to $59). It is part of the everyday core of the menu.
No payment, no address, no delivery. This is a game.
Key facts
- Cuisine
- Chinese
- Menu section
- Chinese
- Price tier
- Everyday ($15 to $59)
- Play-money price
- $26
- Main ingredients
- bamboo skewers of meat, tofu and vegetables, spicy red broth, sesame
- How it is served
- A deep pot of red chili broth crowded with dozens of upright thin bamboo skewers of meat, tofu, lotus root and vegetables, sprinkled with sesame
History, tradition and origin
Grilled meat on skewers reached Chinese cities from the far northwest, where Uyghur cooks grill lamb over charcoal with cumin and chili. From the 1980s it spread across the country as night market and street food. In Sichuan, small bamboo skewers are instead simmered in spicy broth and counted by the stick at the end of the meal. Skewers are late-night food, eaten outdoors with friends and cold beer in summer.
Food economy and industry
Skewer stalls and small barbecue restaurants are one of the most common small food businesses in Chinese cities and a mainstay of the night-time economy. Lamb comes largely from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and cumin is grown in Xinjiang and imported from Central and South Asia. Because skewers are priced by the stick, a stall can sell many small items at low prices.
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