Barbecue as a way of cooking has been popular since the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. In 1986, a piece of stone picture "Kitchen Scene”, made in the third year of Yuanhe in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was unearthed in Tongshan, Xuzhou, recording the barbecue scene of Xuzhou people. The picture is divided into three levels. The lower level includes a carriage and horses, the upper two levels are the kitchen. There are people fetching water, burning fire, cutting meat, and grilling meat. The top right corner of the top level has a person holding a fan in one hand and a skewer in the other, with a "U" shaped stick through two skewers of meat. This is the earliest record of barbecue, and Xuzhou is the birthplace of barbecue deservedly. Over thousands of years, barbecue in Xuzhou has formed a unique folk culture, and become a symbol of Xuzhou people’s passion and righteousness, bold and unconstrained character.
When night falls, the smell of barbecue wafts in the wind in Xuzhou. Everyone in Xuzhou is a barbecue master. Setting up a few tables and chairs, a small stove, the atmosphere of the barbecue will come. Xuzhou people love the "old sheep testicle and tender kidney". The sheep testicle should be barbecued on a big fire, and overcooked a little; the kidney should be grilled to become tender, preferably with a little blood to have the best mouth feel. “Ten sheep testicles and ten kidneys, heavily spiced and oozing with oil.” After a big meal, a bowl of smooth, salty, hand-rolled noodles is an excellent complement to the Xuzhou barbecue.
