Is 羊肉 mutton or lamb?

[Milkybar_Kid]

Hello,

 

I've never come across an exact distinction between mutton and lamb in Chinese. As I'm from the UK I'm very aware of the distinction between the two. Often when I see 羊肉 on a menu I know that it's some kind of sheep, but the exact type is unclear.

 

I asked a Taiwanese friend of mine if they eat 'baby sheep' in reference to lamb and she was horrified at the idea. Therefore could it be that 羊肉 always refers to mutton? Do Chinese people eat lamb?

 

Thanks

[Xiao Kui]

I know that it's some kind of sheep

 

 

or goat.

if it's sheep it's most likely mutton!

[Guest123]

 

 

I asked a Taiwanese friend of mine if they eat 'baby sheep' in reference to lamb and she was horrified at the idea

Well, they do not eat 'baby sheep' first of all because it is too small 

But they eat lamb, about 6-8 month old young sheep, and it is called 羔羊

[Mouseneb]

It's goat. Or probably some cheaper meat (chicken, if you are lucky) dressed up as goat.

http://www.examiner.com/article/chinese-food-crimes-beef-and-mutton-were-actually-fox-mink-and-rat

[Guest123]

In that case it's 挂羊头，卖狗肉, but I think the question was not about cheating.. 

[flow]

How to interpret 羊 is often a source of confusion. Similar to (老)鼠, which has to be translated as 'mouse', 'rat' or (some other / unspecified) 'rodent', 羊 as such does not tell you whether 'goat' or 'sheep' is intended, which is why Victor Mair likes to render it as 'ovicaprid' (literally: 'sheep-or-goat') (see http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=17761, http://www.superlinguo.com/post/111109060536/chinese-year-of-the-sheep-or-goat).

 

In Vietnam the corresponding word used to render 羊 *is* more specific and translates as 'goat', while in Japan, it's the same character refers to 'sheep'—meaning the interpretation of the character will depend on locale. If you want to be more specific, you could use e.g. 山羊 'goat' vs 綿羊 'sheep'.

[Mouseneb]

Whether it's sheep or goat often depends on your location. I'm in the (extreme) south, so, goat. In the north it will trend towards sheep instead.

[abcdefg]

I had tender young lamb chops tonight for supper. Grilled medium rare and served with a tangy mint sauce. Small bottle of vinho branco. Big salad; fresh warm bread. What a fine treat!

 

 

Menu called them 羊排。(In Macau at a Portuguese restaurant.)

[vellocet]

 

If you want to be more specific, you could use e.g. 山羊 'goat' vs 綿羊 'sheep'.

 

I would be more interested in how to say 'mutton' vs 'lamb'. 

 

 

 

 

I had tender young lamb chops tonight for supper.

 

Ditch the mint sauce and use rosemary instead next time.  It's better.

[Guest123]

 

 

I would be more interested in how to say 'mutton' vs 'lamb'. 

Did you read all post attentively? I wrote it. Lamb is 羔羊肉。

Mutton would be simply 羊肉。But the fact is I don't often see 羔羊 on menus... maybe I visited too little chinese restaurants.

Or maybe they don't make a big difference of the age of the animal. What's important it's the type of animal and its preparation..?

[abcdefg]

I've seen 小羊 for lamb and 小牛 for veal. (In each case the more tender meat of the young animal.) Neither requires long, slow heat to become tender; can be grilled or pan fried. How it is cooked, of course depends on the cut.