Ningxia's hand-pulled mutton production technique was approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021. There are three ways to eat hand-pulled mutton, namely hot (slice and steam in a steamer and dip in three-in-one oil), cold (slice and dip in refined salt directly), and fried (fry in a pan and eat while frying). The characteristics are delicious meat, not greasy or smelly, and good color and fragrance. "Shuowen" says: "Sheep is auspicious." "Zhou Li Xiaguan Yangren" records: "Sheep people are in charge of sheep, and they decorate lambs for sacrifices." Sheep were given a symbol of auspiciousness and an important sacrificial food in ancient times. "Compendium of Materia Medica" also says that mutton is a tonic that can be compared to ginseng and astragalus. Hand-pulled mutton has a long history and is a traditional food loved by the Mongolian, Tibetan, Hui, and Uyghur ethnic groups living in northwest my country. For a long time, hand-pulled mutton was originally only eaten by herdsmen in tents on the plateaus and grasslands where ethnic minorities live in the northwest. It was rarely seen in cities, and celebrities regarded it as unworthy of being in a high-class restaurant and disdained it. When cooking hand-pulled mutton in urban restaurants, first chop the mutton ribs into large pieces, put them in a pot and cook until half-cooked, remove all the floating foam, then take onions and peppers, leaving a large piece of onion and chopping the rest into fine pieces; chop the peppers, put the meat pieces on a plate, put onion slices on top and sprinkle a little refined salt, put them in a cage and pound them, take them out, drain the soup, put the soup into a wok and boil it on the fire, add onion chops, pepper chops, pepper powder, and salt, adjust the taste and pour them on the meat, and invite the guests to enjoy. When eating meat, you can grab, tear, and eat it with your hands, or cut it with a Tibetan knife, hence the name. Generally, the mutton is slaughtered on the spot, the skin is peeled and put into the pot, and it is ready to eat when the water boils. The meat is red and white, fat but not greasy, oily and crisp, tender and soft, and very delicious. Generally, when visiting a Tibetan family, the host will first give the guest the sheep's tail, and then the guest can grab it with his hands. There is also a custom of "son-in-law eating sheep's neck". In pastoral areas, the cooking of hand-grabbed mutton still maintains its original flavor: fresh mutton is put into a pot and stewed. Some people only put pepper and ginger slices without salt, and some people do not put any seasonings. The meat is stewed until it is 70% to 80% cooked and then it is taken out and eaten. The host puts the steaming mutton on a delicate large plate, and a 15-centimeter-long meat-cutting knife is placed on the side of the plate. This knife is full of ethnic characteristics, and the handle is inlaid with patterns and carved. Among them, the Yingjisha knife is the most famous and extremely sharp. Use the knife to cut the meat slices, grab the meat slices and dip them in salt to eat. Some families give guests a small plate and ask the guests to put the cut meat slices on the small plate and dip them in salt to eat. This simple, unique and primitive way of eating meat will remind you of the ancient customs and folkways of the south and north of the Great Wall, stir up ripples in your mind, lead you to daydream, nostalgia, yearning and intoxication, and thus make you admire and remember the richness of the Xinjiang grasslands and the hospitality of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.