Spicy Beijing Lamb Skewers (Yangrou Chuan)

Some of my only memories from our first trip to Beijing (I was five years old at the time) were of standing in front of a roadside grill joint, waiting for a few of these amazing yangrou chuan or grilled lamb skewers. Beijing was a different place back then–a lot more of the old and less of the new. I have no memory of shiny malls or enormous skyscrapers, but I do remember the smoke and the smell coming from that makeshift street barbecue. Yangrou chuan, or lamb skewers, are a quintessential Beijing favorite–a favorite among many lamb-loving Northern Chinese, in fact.