Sun Flying Out of Naan Pit
14 min readWalking into Xin jiang, no matter which season it is, nor which street or lane of the city you are strolling in, people are easily attracted by a kind of special food: it is as large as a pot cover whose golden and glossy surface is stuck with sesame; it gives out tempting color and plain scent, strongly impacting the sense of vision and smell of the passersby.
This is the indispensable and staple food in the daily life of all ethnic groups in Xin jiang, especially the Uygur People, as well as a kind of distinctive food in the food culture of the Uygur People. It owns a name difficult to be pronounced-naan.
There are many tales about naan, among which the most popular version of it is like this: once upon a time, on the rim of the vast Taklimakan Desert, the herdsmen herded on the desolate and uninhabited Tarim River with the passing of time, year in and year out.
When they went out herding, it sometimes lasted for more than ten days, or sometimes for about a year, so they had to bring solid food on the journey. Tarim River, which usually dried up, was not able to provide sufficient potable water for the herdsmen. So in less than 2 days, the solid food they took became like the rock in the desert, both dry and hard; taking a bite, the front teeth sparked. One day, when the sun just rose, it felt like the ground was on fire without any wind. Some flying sand looked more or less like cloud orfog, suspending in the low air, to take in every drop of sweat of the people. The air was filled with a smell of burned wool. Then, the grazing sheep learned to dig holes and buried their head in the holes, never stopping bleating.A herdsman named Turehun was baked too much and he couldn’t stand it, so he ran tens of kilometers for home with one breath, leaving his herd behind. Turehun jumped into a water tank immediately; when he came out, the water on his head turned into vapor instantly. He suddenly found the dough placed in a basin by his wife and grabbed it desperately to snap it closely on his head like wearing a felt cap. The dough was so cool as to make him feel very comfortable. And at that time he thought of the herd he left outside. The sun was still burning, but Turehun treaded to the herd on the cracked and dusty earth. As he walked, he sensed a pleasant scent. He lookedaround but didn’t know why. He ran ahead but the pleasant scent never left behind. In a while, Turehun was tripped by a rose willow on the ground, it was before falling down tothe ground that the dough on his head fell down to the ground and broke into parts. The pleasant scent became stronger and stronger, all surrounding him. Turehun randomly picked up one piece and put into his mouth chewing slowly: it was crispy outside while tender inside. Very delicious!
Turehun hummed a drumbeat and chewed while he took off his qiapan to wrap the broken cake up, running rapidly toward the village. On the way, he would extend a piece of broken cake to everyone he met. After they said “Yummy! Yummy! It’s really yummy”, he kept on going ahead. After hearing numerous people say “Yummy! Yummy! It’s really yummy”, Turehun confirmed that it was really delicious. When the fellow herdsmen who tasted the flavor knew the truth, they all followed suit. Anyway, such a delicacy deserves a name. In order to differentiate different kinds of cake, Turehun called them together to contribute to this. At last he proposed “Let’s call it ‘ naan’!”It was not always sunny, so on cloudy days or snowy days in winter, they felt terrible. Turehun ruminated on it and came up with a good idea. He dug a big pit in his yard, plastered the walls with yellow mud and flamed rose willow at the center. When the charcoal fire was red, he stuck the well-kneaded dough onto the walls and in no time, the scent of naan was given out. The flavor of baked naan, which is “savory, crispy and out of a new oven”was even better than that was naturally basked.
Actually,”naan”was imported from abroad. It is proved that the name “naan” originated from Farsi. In history, it also had other names. Turkic Dictionary called “naan”as” youha”and “aitemaike”, and the people of the Central Plain called it as “hubing”. The word “naan” was popular in the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, all countries in Central Asia and West Asia. This shows that naan came from ancient Persia. In 91h century A.D., the settled ancestors of Uygur called “naan”as “aimaike”which was changed into “naan”after Islamism was introduced to Xinjiang.
Naan owns a long history in Xin jiang, which was recorded in many historical documents of China. The naan of the Tang dynasty, which is exhibited in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum, indicates that as early as 2,000 years ago, the people of Turpan could make fine and delicious naan. Many famous poets in the history of China described naan in their poems. Bai Juyi, in the poem Send Hubing to Yang Wanzhou, wrote “the pattern of sesame cake is a copy of that of the capital; it is savory, crispy and out of a new oven. Here I send it to hungry Mr. Yang, so please taste it to see if it is like the one made in the shop Fuxing?”Jia Sixie, in his Qi-People Essential, quoted the data on the technique of making naan from Food Classics, so it shows that naan has long been in the recipes of China. One doggerel in Xin jiang says “One day without naan, one gets flustered; two days without naan, both legs shake; three days without naan, one dares to curse his dad; four days without naan, one prepares to remove his house; five days without naan, one just dies.”It is thus clear how important naan is in the life of the Xinjiang people. In the countryside, the farmers go to the fields driving a donkey cart or walking, so it is not convenient for them to go home for lunch and then naan becomes the staple food for lunch.
Before mealtime, people will take the naan out from their pocket and throw it into the pure channel water flowing out deep from the mountain, letting the naan float slowly. They cansit under a white poplar for refreshment, talking. When the dry naan floats back, it turns soft. Pick up some fresh edible vegetable or break open a watermelon: this is a simple green meal. After eating, sing a song, making the melodious song reverberate above the high white poplars. The oasis at that time is filled with joy and comfort.
Why does naan gain so much popularity? As my residence in Xinjiang continues,I gradually understand that naan is not only a kind of baked flour cake, but also the people’s understanding of the special environment in Xinjiang, as well as the wisdom from the long-time production and life.I remembered on a trip to Shanghai, more than ten people of the group were from minority groups. Because the trip lasted for a long time, they prepareda lot of naan and instant noodles before departure. On the whole way, their staple food was naan, so it worked as a dinner when combined with hot pickled mustard tuber, egg or fresh vegetable or fruit. As they ate, they naturally hummed The Wonderful Xinjiang, Anarhan, My Black Eyes(Uygur Muqam) and Girl from Daban Town and other well-known and chantable songs, even though during the days of the trip, we had to stand the fatigue of the trip. What’s more, there was little Islamic food for them to eat in Shanghai. They kept positive taking this trip as a chance to learn and to cultivate. The smile cast on you may be better than lots of words, as it is a reflection of their inner attitude. In their opinion, as long as they are companied by naan and tea in life, they have something to depend on in life.
Eating the naans from hometown, their mouth and heart is filled with the scent blended with hometown sunshine, earth and snow water; travelling far with naan in the baggage, itis equal to taking hometown together to hit the road. What can make people happier than the company of the hometown flavor?
Along with the continuous improvement of society, the people’s pursuit of taste tends to be more and more diversified. Many people pursue rareness and delicacy of the food. But I, somewhat stubborn, still believe that naan, giving off a strong wheat fragrance, is the truest, most reliable and brings warmth for the people. It not only fills the stomach and satisfies the needs of taste bud, but also acts as a kind of sedimentary deposit and extension of dietary tradition.
Naan is a kind of circular flour cake, whose general making procedures are similar to that of baked sesame of the Han People, with flour as its main material(mostly fermented), no alkali but slightly slat. The largest naan is Hemek in Kuqa: thin at the center, thicker on the rim, as large as wheels, many patterns stamped at the center and 40-50 centimeters in diameter. This kind of naan needs about 1 kilogram of flour averagely. The Hemek naan in Kuqa not only is called the largest naan, but also is broadcasted in the hot full-length television documentary of CCTV-A Bite of China. The program takes the emergence of naan, to explain how the raw material wheat was introduced into China and exhibit the satisfaction naan have brought for the people. The smallest naan is Toqashi: delicate, as large as a cup rim and as thick as 2 centimeters; there are even smaller types: looking likelight refreshments, toast tan and pleasing in color, fragrant and tasty and nutritious. There is also a kind of Ge jide naan, called wowo naan by the Han People, as it is named because of its pit in the center. Because Ge jide naan is small, easily storable and convenient for carrying, most Uygur people like to eat such smooth and roast tan naan. The people who owns the highest technique to make naan is the Uygur in Kashgar. Their practice is neithe rolling nor robbing, but beating. This word “beating”vividly reveals the secret of Uygurmaking naan. At present, naan of the Uygur people has been listed in the second national nonmaterial cultural heritage of Xin jiang Uygur Autonomous Region, so the making skill of naan has been well protected and inherited.
The Uygur people not only use fermented dough to make naan, but also use unfermented dough. Kakqi naan and Biteer naan are made of unfermented dough. The dough will be mixed with mutton fat or edible vegetable oil and then rolled and roasted. Katma naan is also made of unfermented dough and oil, but its processing is more meticulous: using one layer of dough and then a layer of oil to be twisted together, and then rolled and roasted. The naan that features deliciousness, crispiness and long-time preservation, also called oil naan. At every festival or New Year or wedding, the Uygur people often make this kind of naan to receive guests. If paying a visit to a Uygur family in Kuqa County, they willpile naan up from the largest to the smallest into a tower, place it at the center of table.
Naan not only needs eating, but also seeing. Normally, the surface of naan has some onion and sesame on it, which is both for appearance but also for taste. There is a kind of sweet naan named Shiqman: during the making procedure, crystal sugar is applied evenly on the surface of naan, so after roasting, there will be bright crystal sugar, glittering and translucent under the sun, making people mouth-watered.
Naan has witnessed and written the history of several thousand years for the people of Western Regions, and the people have also decorated the history of naan gorgeously and colorfully. Now the family of naan has grown larger and larger. However, among so many kinds of naan, it is Guoxi and Guoxigerd that taste best. Guoxi means meat naan and its making procedure is as follows: First, roll leavened dough thin, then cut mutton up, mix it with seasoning such as onion, salt, cumin powder and pepper powder, and then roll it up, flatten it and roll it thin, then put it into naan pit for baking. In about more than 10 minutes, it will be cooked well. Another making procedure is by frying: First roll leavened dough into circular thin pancake with diameter of 30-40 centimeters generally, spread prepared meat stuffing onto its surface, and then roll another pancake of the similar size to cover it, use hands to clench its rim or clench it into a good-looking decorative pattern to prevent itfrom breaking, and then put it into a frying-pan, and wait until both sides turn toast tan, then it is cooked. After making it, cut it into pieces and put them in a dish for the guests to eat. The meat naan baked in a naan pit and naan that are fried in a frying-pan are different in flavor. Baked meat naan is smaller than fried meat naan, and with a thinner skin and less stuffing.No matter how Guoxi naan is made，it will taste crispy，savory and delicious.
Guoxigerd is wowo naan with meat stuffing.This kind of naan looks like steamed bread，of 12-13 centimeters in diameter and 7-8 centimeters in height，and is baked in a naan pit.It tastes sweet and delicious but not greasy，and is known as a special cuisine of Hotan.
Hotan is located in the southernmost end of Xin jiang，renowned both home and abroad for gem.The Guoxigerd en joys the same good reputation as gem does for a long time.I have once been to Hotan，hearing the people of the local Uygur sing such a song”Water is from the snow mountain，mutton is fresh from the sheep，and onion is just picked from the garden.Please try Guoxigerd of Yulongkash made of this stuffing.”Therefore，local people
will take you to eat the Guoxigerd if you are in Hotan. The material for making Guoxigerd is well chosen. It has to be fresh Hotan mutton, properly proportioned between fat and lean meat, in proper size and without too much onion. The stuffing made in this way tastes good. It is also important to remember to use wood as fuel. Only in this way can the fire in the naan pit bake Guoxigerd into a toast tan color. As naan is baked fully, the taste will be very good. Traditional Guoxigerd is also called by people as “Black and White Guoxigerd” whose stuffing is made by mixing fresh mutton, onion, pepper powder and salt. In summer, fresh pepper and orange can be added into its stuffing to make it more delicious. People named this innovated Guoxigerd as Colored Guoxigerd. Both traditional Guoxigerd and innovated Guoxigerd would make people’s mouth water.
Hotan was recorded in “Traditions in Western Regions”in the Book of Han. It was recorded that Hotan “grows all of the five cereals and that their land, vegetation, livestock products and weapons are slightly similar to the Han People”. This indicates that people in Hotan started to raise sheep a long time ago. The peculiar cuisine of Hotan-Guoxigerd, isalso related to the quality of the sheep in Hotan, in addition to the traditional makingprocess. The sheep in Hotan have been living in the ecological environment of desert and semi-desert grassland, and they are short fat tailed hetero semi-rough wool sheep. Their fleece has plenty of heterotypical hair, long and even, with good elasticity, gloss and whiteness, renowned for making quality carpet. The sheep in Hotan eat plants containingsalt and alkali such as reaumuria, sympegma regelii, achnatherum sibiricum and caragana on a continuous basis, so the mutton becomes fresh and tender without an unpleasant odor.
Uygur naan are mostly baked in naan pits.A naan pit can be built in the court yard or at the door and its fuel is mostly firewood, or some people now use blind coal. Due to different regions, types and materials of naan pit are different, each owning distinctive features. The size of the naan pit depends on the number of people in the family, generally divided into large, medium and small types. Naan pits are generally built with mixed wooland clay. They are about 1 meter high and look like inverted big-belly water tanks whose bellies are larger than the rim, for convenient operation. In South Xinjiang, people in some districts use local saltpeter earth to build pit adobe. In Urumqi and some other cities, the citizens use bricks to build naan pits. In the countryside and township, almost everyhousehold has a naan pit and each woman can make naan. The Uygur also bake mutton or sheep legs in naan pits, in addition to baking naan. When the temperature in a naan pitachieves the temperature of baking naan, saline water should normally be spayed around the naan pit because of two reasons: one is to reduce temperature a little bit to prevent burning the naan; the other is to enhance the adhesion between naan adobe and the naan pit wall to prevent naan from falling off the pit wall. Meanwhile, the temperature of the naan pit is adjusted through air intake and air outlets to maintain relative stability.
On April 20,2004, the so-called “the Largest Naan Pit in the World”was built in Wazi Style Garden in the Grape Valley, Turpan City. This naan pit,10 meters in diameter and 8 meters in height, was built on a slope. It is as large as a room. It not only can bake naan, but also can bake one camel, two cows and ten sheep at the same time, So it can serve a table of one hundred. Every year, Grape Festival is held in Turpan, which will draw lots of tourists. All kinds of food baked in the naan pit bring color to the Grape Festival.
In some special occasions, naan conveys special meaning. Uygur regard naan as a mascot and symbol of happiness. For example, when the man’s family proposes a marriage to a woman’s family, they extend apparel fabric, salt and cube sugar as the first gift, and they must also have 5 pieces of naan. At the wedding ceremony, one girl will be arranged tohold a tray on which a bowl of saline water is placed with two pieces of naan immersed in it. The girl stands between bride and bridegroom to make them scramble to eat the two pieces of saline naan symbolizing sharing happiness and woe and living to an old age in conjugal bliss. At this time, the bride and bridegroom try to scoop for the naan with their hands. Whoever is first to scoop successfully for the naan, he or she is more loyal to love. People need to do things at the right time, so grabbing naan becomes the first highlight of the wedding.
What is worth mentioning that is a very famous Xin jiang local snack-naan encased meat. It is a new type of snack with multiple ways of eating. And it not only appears on formal Muslim banquets, but also works as a famous dish for the guests from home and abroad. Naan encased meat, this flavor cuisine combining flour and meat, can represent the traditional and national features of Xinjiang, and it is available everywhere in Xinjiang. In terms of Xinjiang, the best, in my mind, is the naan encased meat of Hotan which is special, tasty and hard to forget.
Along with the improvement of the living standard, the influence of naan is also growing larger and larger, and the people understand more and more profound about naan.
The culture accumulated and revealed in the history of naan makes us understand the simple and wise grand beauty hidden in one region and one era, and makes us experience a historical picture of human existence, development and prosperity. Naan has become the cuisine favored by all people in Xinjiang.
