Roujiamo

Ingredients

Braised pork, lu rou

• 1.5 kgpork belly, skin on, in large pieces
• 2 litreswater

Braising spices

• 3star anise
• 1cinnamon stick
• 2 tspSichuan peppercorns
• 4bay leaves
• 3 slicesdried liquorice root, optional
• 2 tspfennel seed
• 4cloves
• 2black cardamom pods
• 2dried chillies

Braising liquid

• 80 mllight soy sauce
• 40 mldark soy sauce
• 80 mlShaoxing wine
• 50 grock sugar
• 6 slicesginger
• 6spring onions
• 1 tbspsalt

Baijimo bread

• 500 gplain flour
• 280 mlwarm water
• 3 ginstant yeast
• ½ tspsalt

To finish

• 1green chilli, chopped
• coriander, chopped

Directions

1. Start with the braise, which is better made a day ahead. Blanch the pork belly in boiling water for 5 minutes, then rinse it and discard the water. Tie the whole spices in a muslin bag, which is what Chinese cooks call a spice packet. Bagging the spices lets you lift them out cleanly and stops the peppercorns and cloves ending up in the chopped meat.
2. Put the pork in a heavy pot with the water, spice bag, both soy sauces, wine, rock sugar, ginger, spring onions and salt. Bring it to a boil, skim thoroughly, then turn it down to a bare simmer. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours. Keep it at a bare simmer throughout. It is done when the belly is completely tender and the skin and fat are soft enough to cut with a spoon.
3. Mix the flour, water, yeast and salt into a firm dough and knead 10 minutes. Keep the dough firm rather than soft, because baijimo should be dense and slightly chewy rather than fluffy. Prove it for about 2 hours, until risen but not doubled. A fully risen dough gives a light bready roll that collapses under the wet meat.
4. Divide into 8 pieces and roll each into a rope, then coil it into a spiral and press it flat into a disc about 1 cm thick. Now cook them in a dry heavy pan over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes a side, until pale gold with brown rings.
5. Cook them dry, with no oil at all, which is what gives the crisp dry crust. Then finish them in a 200°C oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Take the cold braised pork out and chop it on a board with a heavy cleaver, fat and lean and skin together.
6. Chop it, do not slice it. The fat, lean and gelatinous skin are chopped together until they merge into a rough juicy mass, and that mixture is the point. Add a spoonful of the hot braising liquid to the chopped meat as you work.
7. Chop in a little chilli and coriander with the meat, which is standard in Xi’an. Split each hot baijimo almost through, leaving a hinge, and stuff it with the chopped pork. Fill it generously and spoon a little more braising liquid in. Serve immediately, while the bread is hot and the meat is warm. The bread must be freshly made.

Technique

• The braising liquid keeps in the freezer and improves every time it is used.
• A lamb version, made with the same method, is standard in the Muslim quarter of Xi’an.
• The bread is sometimes bought and the braise made at home, and vice versa.

Substitutions

• Pork shoulder in place of belly, which is leaner and less good.
• A plain English muffin at a pinch, though the bread is half the dish.

Variations

• Made with lamb, as the Muslim-quarter version.
• With more chilli, which is common.
• Served with a bowl of the braising liquid as a soup.

History

A Xi’an staple: the braised lu rou method is traced to the Qin era and the baiji mo bread to Tang-dynasty Chang’an.

Frequently asked questions

What is Roujiamo?

Roujiamo is a street food from China: shaanxi griddled flatbread stuffed with slow-braised chopped pork, called China’s hamburger. A Xi’an staple: the braised lu rou method is traced to the Qin era and the baiji mo bread to Tang-dynasty Chang’an.

How long does Roujiamo take to make?

Roujiamo takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 sandwiches. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Roujiamo?

Yes, within limits. Pork shoulder in place of belly, which is leaner and less good. A plain English muffin at a pinch, though the bread is half the dish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Roujiamo?

Start with the braise, which is better made a day ahead. Blanch the pork belly in boiling water for 5 minutes, then rinse it and discard the water. Tie the whole spices in a muslin bag, which is what Chinese cooks call a spice packet. Bagging the spices lets you lift them out cleanly and stops the peppercorns and cloves ending up in the chopped meat.