Chinese New Year is almost here but the gifting already started weeks ago. For weeks now we’ve been receiving all kinds of festive looking boxes from friends and family. One of those that’s been getting “oohs” and “aaahs” each time are the boxes of various beef and mutton boxes from Niujie 牛街 (niú jiē). Directly translated into Beef Street, Niujie is the place to go to for quality beef and lamb amongst local Beijingers.
Located in Xicheng District, Niujie is rich in cultural heritage. The neighborhood is home to Beijing’s Muslim community and its culture is reflected in the food and also architecture.
A trip to Niujie is filled with street snacks and beautiful local Islamic architecture that’s unique to the neighborhood. But for locals who grew up in Beijing, a trip to Niujie is a must when you want to cook hotpot or chuan’r at home. “The meat is good and you can trust the quality. You can taste the difference.” my husband, a born and raised Beijinger, explains every time I ask why we need to drive across the city when I can very well order meat online.
For him, and others like him, the trip to Niujie alone is part of the excitement when it comes to cooking.
With Chinese New Year coming up and families purchasing gifts and making plans on cooking their annual feasts at home, Niujie has become a bustling scene. If you’re determined to venture away from the fully English speaking Sanyuanli Market and try something local, getting to Niujie is pretty easy. While the name suggests that it’s a street name, literally the entire block is a huge supermarket – you can’t miss it.
Niujie is a carnivore’s paradise and a vegan’s worst nightmare. Inside you’ll find every cut of beef, mutton, chicken imaginable along with freshly made buns, shaobings, sausages, and all sorts of sticky rice cakes. Basically, everything with the exception of pork can be found at Niujie. If you were to sample one thing from every stall you’d be full before you could make it to the end of the market – that’s how vast Niujie is.
To get there by subway. Take the Guanganmen Nei (广安门内) station on Line 7. It’ll be about a two-block walk from the station.
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Images: Pexels, baidu
