Summer is the time for BBQ's - A look at Xi'an's famous BBQ. 夏天里，中国人离不开的烤肉。

Today I visited one of Xi'An's most famous BBQ restaurants. It is listed under UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage protected venues. During the summer, people in China love to have BBQ's and drink beer. During the Olympics in Rio, this was the case as street corners and public places were full of people enjoying BBQ and Beer whilst watching the live broadcasts on big screens.
今天我去了一家在西安非常有名的烧烤餐厅，它被评为国家级非物质文化遗产保护项目。在夏天里，中国人喜欢吃烧烤喝啤酒，在今年的奥运期间，烧烤摊和直播奥运会的大屏幕更是遍布了城市的大街小巷。

History of Barbeque

The Barbeque is a time enduring style of cooking meats. Since man discovered fire about 1.7 million years ago, BBQ roast has been a standard style of enjoying meats by many cultures. It is said that the origin of BBQ is the Caribbean Sea. Pirates would often roast sheep from head to toe on a stake. Regardless of where you're from, every culture will have it's own style of BBQ.

烤肉的历史：
烧烤是历史悠久的烹饪方法，从人类使用火开始计算，应该有170万年的历史了。据说烧烤英文barbecue（BBQ）起源于加勒比海，法国海盗在岛上将宰好的羊从胡须到屁股（法语：de la barbe au cul）挂在烤架上烤，食物简称barbe-cul，后因为发音相同，译为barbecue。全世界对于烤肉都不会陌生，每个国家都有自己的烤肉特色。

Credit to foodnetwork.com

Origins of the Chinese BBQ

In China, cooked food has gone through four stages of development. Fire, Stone, Water and Oil. The Fire refers to the BBQ. In ancient times, during the times of the three sovereigns and five emperors, the food was plentiful and there was enough natural resources to go round. However, the people did not know how to hunt, and so, the emperor at the time - FuXi taught them how to use nets to hunt. Problems still existed, for the people could not liken the taste of raw meat, and storing the meat was also problematic. Many people who consumed this meat also became ill from food poisoning. FuXi then taught them how to cook the meat. This was a revolutionary step forward for the people at the time, and is how BBQ originated in China.

中国烤肉的起源：
在中国，饮食烹饪经历了四个发展阶段，即火烹、石烹、水烹、油烹。而开始于火烹，就是指烧烤。在远古三皇五帝时期伏羲位居地皇。当时社会处于物产极为丰富的原始环境中，大量的飞禽走兽任人取之。百姓们苦于不懂得狩猎方法，于是伏羲教会百姓用麻绳编网捕食的办法。然而大家发现杀死兽类取得的生肉味道不好，难以保存，更使得不少百姓患上疾病，于是伏羲取火教人们将生肉制熟，对中国饮食文化进行了革命性的创新。这就是传说中中国最早的烧烤和烤肉的人。

Differences between Western and Eastern BBQ

Chinese BBQ has evolved quite alot since it's inception. Charcoal is still used as the source of heat, but the way the food is prepared has improved alot over the years. The shape of the meat on skewers is larger and thicker, the marinade is prepared before hand and applied well in advance to ensure good penetration of taste. In the process of cooking, cumin, sichuan peppers and chilli are applied to the meats as well as sesame oil.

中西方烧烤差异：
对比西方，中式烧烤的进化程度更好一些，中式烧烤和原始社会差异较大。如中式烧烤的形式主要以木炭为主。在处理食品形态方面，中式烧烤除形状较大且厚，原料也是事先研制码味，在烧烤过程中也会利用孜然粉、花椒面、辣椒面、味精等不断调味，并不断刷上香油。

Credit to sinaimg.cn

Places to find BBQ

烧烤的经营方式：

BBQ Stands on the street

街头巷尾的烧烤

Credit to ph.126.net

Credit to mafengwo.net

Restaurant BBQ

饭店式烧烤

Primitive BBQ's involved cooking the meat's in a bonfire whilst everybody in the village would come together to celebrate the hunt of the day. The joyous atmosphere would be infectious and of course the delicious smell would spread far and wide making this event very attractive to people all around.

原始野外烧烤始终蕴涵渔猎时代的狂放与浪漫，在不断的伸延，篝火烤炙而食的场面，散发出诱人的香味和欢乐的气氛是人们无法抗拒的。

Credit to roodo.com

BBQ and beer is quite common, and in Chinese BBQ Restaurants, some table top games would be played whilst enjoying the BBQ. For example, Dice games.

烤肉搭配啤酒，在中国的烤肉餐厅里都配有喝酒玩得小游戏，例如筛子。

Come with me into this Restaurant

ShanXi Province's BBQ is considered a national heritage and has been well protected. This restaurant highlights the specialities of ShanXi cuisine, it's BBQ retains the original traditions whilst making use of newer technologies to protect the environment and improve the foods health factor. BBQ in this region originally came from the Uighurs, finally arriving at Xi'An but it has since been developed further. Most Uighur BBQ's use primarily Lamb meat, where as Xi'An uses beef, this is because GuanZhong Plain of Shaanxi has some of the highest quality cows. Their meats are soft and have just the right amount of fat.

和我一起走进这家餐厅
陕西的烧烤被评为国家级非物质文化遗产保护项目。这家餐厅以陕西家乡菜为亮点，烧烤出绿色健康、原生态的食物。虽然烤肉是从新疆传入西安，但是得到新的延伸和发展。新疆烤肉大多为羊肉，而西安烤得是牛肉，因为关中地区盛产秦川牛，肉质肥嫩。并按牛的部位细分来烧烤。

Chinese Restaurant with Original Decor

中国元素装修的餐厅

Behind me are bamboos and chinese 'ties'
身后是竹子和中国结

Behind is the oven
后面是烤炉

Things to pay attention to when eating BBQ

First make sure the meat is fresh. Cumin and Chill should also have a good smelling aroma. The main thing is to look at the BBQ fire. Using coal to make the fire and BBQ is not healthy nor environmentally friendly. Air furnaces or infrared ovens are the most healthy and environmentally friendly but lose the BBQ taste. Wooden charcoal is the best choice. Be sure to choose the freshly roasted meats and not the pre-heated ones. The pre-heated ones can end up being served quite dry and lose much of its taste. Metal skewers also give the best tasting results.

吃烤肉的讲究
首先看肉质是否新鲜，孜然味要浓，辣椒要香。最主要看烧烤的火，如果拿煤块烤既不健康又不环保，气炉和红外线炉烤肉最健康环保，却少了烟火香气。所以木炭是最加选择。并且要选择现烤出的，事先烤好之后加工的肉质很干。细铁签子串出来的烤肉味道更加。

Chef's cooking
厨师现场烤肉

BBQ Sausages
烤香肠

BBQ Tofu
烤豆腐

BBQ Fish
烤鱼

BBQ Mushrooms
烤蘑菇

BBQ Potato
烤土豆

Usually served with either corn porridge or red bean porridge and pickled vegetables
配小米粥/红豆粥(边上两碗是下粥咸菜)

The bucket for used skewers. (The writing on the bucket says feed me after you're full)
放签子的筒子(上面写着吃完烤肉请把我喂饱）