Roujiamo

Roujiamo

Roujiamo at a Shaanxi-style restaurant in Beijing
Course	Main course
Place of origin	China
Main ingredients	Pork and baijimo
Variations	Beef, lamb
Media: Roujiamo

Roujiamo being prepared

Roujiamo or rou jia mo (Chinese: 肉夹馍; pinyin: ròujiāmó; lit. 'meat sandwiched in bread'), also known as rougamo, is a street food originating from the cuisine of Shaanxi Province and widely consumed all over China.

Overview

The Rougamo was invented sometime during the Qin dynasty, which was a time period between 221 and 206 BC.

This traditional sandwich was invented by Chinese Muslims, but has since been adapted for the Han Chinese- the majority of the Chinese population- meaning that most of the rougamos in China are made with pork, stewed for hours in a soup containing over 20 spices and seasonings. Although it is possible to use only a few spices (which many vendors do), the resulting meat is less flavourful.

Some alternatives are also available. For example, in Muslim areas in Xi'an, the meat is usually beef (seasoned with cumin and pepper), and in Gansu Province it is often lamb. The meat is then minced or chopped and stuffed in "baijimo", a type of flatbread. An authentic baijimo is made from a wheat flour dough with yeast and then baked in a clay oven, but now in many parts of China, baijimo is made in a frying pan, giving a taste that diverges significantly from the authentic clay oven-baked version. Depending on the types of spices used to cook the meat and the way the bread is made, the taste of roujiamo can vary greatly from vendor to vendor. Roujiamo is not a full meal and is often sold in the form of combo with liangpi. It is found with regional modifications across China.

Roujiamo is considered the Chinese equivalent to the Western hamburger and meat sandwiches. Roujiamo could be the world's oldest sandwich or hamburger, since the bread or the "mo" dates back to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and the meat to the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BC). Thus, Chinese media has claimed that hamburgers originated in China.

See also

• Doner kebab
• Donkey Burger
• Gua bao
• List of sandwiches
• List of street foods
• Sloppy joe

Further reading

• Connelly, Michael Alan (December 18, 2014). "20 Must-Try Street Foods Around the World". Fodor's. Retrieved July 24, 2016. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)