lazhi roujiamo (腊汁肉夹馍)
a make-at-home version of the classic shaanxi street food with xueci cheng
this recipe was a really fun collaboration with my former colleague and friend,
, a food writer and recipe developer born and raised in china’s sichuan province and based here in berlin. i’ve featured posts from her substack in a few of my previous recipes and reading round-ups, but in case you missed those check out and subscribe to her newsletter here or follow her on instagram.to develop this recipe, xueci and i split the effort (she took on the braised pork and i the flatbread, aka mo or baijimo 白吉馍) and then came back together to finalize the recipe and, of course, enjoy the spoils of our labor together. watch our video here.
my personal experience eating roujiamo out in the world is quite limited but, as you hopefully know by now, i have a passion for good sandwiches. which is what roujiamo is; a delicious, delicious sandwich, also sometimes referred to as a chinese hamburger.
i ate roujiamo for the first time in 2020 and then again shortly after the pandemic started, when a restaurant in berlin (in my beloved neighborhood even!) was running them as a takeaway window special. i made them once on my own using the recipe from the xi’an famous foods cookbook, but didn’t find that version as satisfying as the ones i’d previously tasted. it was something i always wanted to try making again and i’m so glad i got the opportunity to do so together with xueci.
it was not only more fun working on it side by side, but i think the end result was even better than we could have achieved on our own. by splitting the development, we could focus individually on each part and reach an ideal, fully finished recipe in half the time. xueci also sourced vital reference recipes and video links we also used in development. this one was especially helpful in how to form the discs of dough with a cup-like rim and get the iconic browning on the outside of the mo, specifically referred to as a steel ring, tiger’s back or golden chrysanthemum (钢圈虎背金丝菊).
this recipe will take about an hour and a half from start to finish if you want to do it one go, but you could also braise the pork ahead of time and simply make the mo on the day of. if you have leftover pork belly, it’s really great served with steamed rice or cooked noodles. you can also remove the pork and let the braising liquid reduce and thicken before serving, if desired.
serves 4
for the braised pork belly
500 grams pork belly with skin
1 scallion
10 grams ginger
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
15 grams rock sugar (substitute: granulated sugar)
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
2 whole star anise
2 bay leaves
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp whole white peppercorns
1 black cardamom pod (optional)
1 piece dried orange peel (optional)
for the mo
250 grams flour
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tablespoon oil
120 ml room temp water
cilantro for serving, if desired
start by making the pork belly. slice pork belly into approx. 5 cm/2 inch chunks and add to a pot with some cold water. bring to a boil over high heat and let boil for 5 minutes. in the meantime, cut scallions into 5 cm/2 inch lengths and thinly slice ginger. drain the pork in a colander and rinse with cold water. pat the pork dry and set aside, then rinse out the pot you boiled the pork in, no need to clean it with soap, and dry it thoroughly.
add oil to the cleaned pot with the rock sugar and let it caramelize over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. once the sugar is dissolved completely and takes on a deep brown color, carefully add the pork belly and coat in the caramel; it may splatter so take caution.
add about 1 liter of water, or enough to completely submerge and cover the pork belly, then add the soy sauces, shaoxing wine, spices (in a tea ball or cloth), scallions and ginger. bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 1 hour or until the pork belly is very tender and deeply colored; the fat and skin should be nearly translucent and very soft.
while the pork belly is simmering, make the mo. add flour, yeast, baking powder, sugar, salt and oil to a large bowl and mix with your hands to combine. slowly add the water while mixing with one hand, until the texture is sort of fluffy, sandy and feathery. transfer the dough to a clean work surface and use both hands to knead into a relatively smooth ball; this will take about 3 minutes. cover the dough with the bowl you mixed it in, and let rest for 20 minutes.
after resting, knead the dough for a few more minutes, until it’s very smooth and gently bounces back when you push a finger into it. cover and rest again for 10 minutes and preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F.
after the final rest, use your hands to roll the dough into a large log, then split as evenly as possible into 4 equal pieces. use your palms to roll once piece into a long roll. position the rope so one end is close to you and the other is far away, then flatten by rolling from top to bottom once with a rolling pin. roll up from the bottom to the top, tucking the end under the snail and placing with that end on the work surface so the spiral is on the top. use your palm to flatten the snail, then use a rolling pin to roll out to about a 7.5cm/3 inch circle. use your fingers and hands to form a sort of cup shape with the dough for a nicer browning pattern, but that’s completely optional. repeat with all pieces of dough.
set a dry skillet over medium heat and let it preheat. once hot, turn the heat down to medium and put two pieces of dough in with the cupped side facing up. cook for about 1 minute or until some brown spots appear on the bottom, then flip, pressing it down to ensure full contact on the other side and cook for another minute. transfer the pan to the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes to allow the mo to puff up slightly and cook through.
to serve, remove the pieces of pork belly to a cutting board and chop as finely as you like. add a few spoonfuls of the braising liquid to the pork, chopping again to integrate; you can also chop in fresh cilantro with the pork. carefully slice the mo in half, leaving one end intact so the filling doesn’t fall out. open it up and spoon in the filling, then add another spoonful or two of the liquid over the top. enjoy immediately.
the cooked mo are best eaten immediately after they’re cooked, but can be stored at room temp or in the fridge in a bag or wrapped in plastic for up to 3 days. reheat in a hot, dry skillet, flipping often until warmed all the way through.
the braised pork belly can be left to cool completely and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. reheat by bringing the pork and braising liquid up to a boil on the stove, then reduce heat to low and let simmer just until the pork belly is warmed through.