Learn how to make crispy in shell and soft inside Chinese Hamburger-Rou Jia Mo. Rou Jia Mo is a sweet food originating from Xi’an, Shaanxi province. It features shredded braised pork or beef in a bun Mo bread.
What’s Rou Jia Mo
Rou Jia Mo (bread with braised meat) originated from Shaanxi province, also known as Chinese style hamburger. It is a perfect street food with a savory filling and chewy bread (mo). Rou means pork, Jia means placing the meat between the bread and mo means bread. I have been spending my four-year university life in the city of Xi’an, where various types of Rou Jia Mo are provided at reasonable prices. But once tried, making Rou Jia Mo at home is quite easy. There are several types of Mo provided in Shanxi province, I introduced the very basic and most popular version.
Braised pork filling
Usually, pork belly is stewed with soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, ginger, and spices. The real street style Rou Jia Mo uses around 20 types of spices. But here we are just using very basic ones. In addition, the vegetarian filling can match better with the bread to present another yummy street food — Cai Jia Mo (菜夹馍). Since it takes a long time to make the braised pork, I made a large batch this time. You can serve the remaining braised pork as a dish directly or with noodles.
How to make Mo (Bread) for Rou Jia Mo
The bread or mo is named Baijimo, usually made from semi-fermented dough and provides a suitably chewy taste. The fermentation degree of the dough will determine the final taste of the bread. I have made my dough ferment for around 15 minutes at a room temperature of around 30 degrees C because I want my buns to be a little bit softer. If you want a chewy version, ahead to the next step as long as you find your dough is beginning to ferment.
Knead the dough again once the fermentation is done to pinch the air out. Then roll the dough into a uniform long log around 5 cm in diameter. Cut the long log into 5 equal portions.
Get one portion and then shape it into another long log. Roll out and then roll up. Suck in the very ending at one end of your roll in the picture Press it down slowly as picture Turnover and roll out the dough until 1.5 cm thick. Shape it into a bowl.
Heat up a pan. Place the bowl-shaped dough in to fry until slightly brown over medium fire(less than 1 minute) so that the texture will be kept. Turn over to fry the second side.
Transfer the bread (Baijimo) to a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes so the bread are completely cooked through.
Chinese Hamburger-Pork Belly Buns
Ingredients
For the dough (Mo or bread)
- 200 g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
- 100 ml water , note 1
- 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
The Meat Filling
- 800 g pork belly , note 1
- 1/2 cup crystal sugar
- 2 large onion ,cut into sections
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp. dark soy sauce
- 1 inch root ginger , divided
- Water or stock as needed
- 1 tbsp. Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 4 cloves garlic
Spices
- 1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn
- 2 star anises
- 1 small cinnamon bark
- 4 ~6 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
- 1 dried chili pepper
- 1 piece of dried tangerine peel
- 1 tsp. whole white pepper
- 1 chunk galangal ,optional
- 1 Fructus Amomi , optional (砂仁)
- 2 pieces of dried ginger , optional
- 1 piece of sand ginger , optional
- 1 nutmeg , optional (豆蔻)
- 1 Tsaoko Amomum ,optional (草果)
Other ingredients and seasonings
- Coriander , optional
Instructions
- Soak the spices with hot water for 5 mins and then wrap well with a bag
To make the pork belly
- Cut pork belly into small pieces. Load wok with a large pot of water, add ginger, Sichuan peppercorn and cooking wine, cook the pork belly for 2-3 minutes after boils. Transfer out and drain.
- Add pork belly cubes in and fry until slightly seared. Transfer out and the pour the extra oil. The animal oil can be saved for noodles and soup.
- In a large pot, add pork belly, the spice bag, ginger, crystal sugar, green onions, salt, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Pour enough water to cover the pork belly. Bring all the content to a boiling and then slow down the fire to simmer for around 1 hour.
- Turn off the fire and then soak the pork belly within the soup. Reheat it before assembling.
To make the bread/mo/bun
- Mix yeast with water and set aside for 5 minutes. Add salt and oil to flour and then pour yeast water in. Mix and knead the dough until smooth. Cover with a wet cloth or plastic wrap to rest for around 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on your temperature until the dough is 1/3 bigger than the previous one. (this is just a semi fermented dough).
- Knead the dough again to pinch the air out. Then roll the dough into a long log and divide 5 equal portions.
- Get on portion and then shape it into long log with two small ends (watch the video for the detailed steps). Roll it out to a long facet. Roll the facet up and suck the very ending in one end of your roll. Press it down slowly. Turnover and roll out to a bread until 1.5 cm thick. Shape it to a bowl with a hand.
- Heat up a pan. Place the bowl shaped dough in to fry until slightly brown over slow fire. Turn over to fry the second side.
- Repeat the process to finish all the buns. Preheat oven to 190 degree C.
- Transfer the bread to a baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes so the breads are completely cooked through. This helps to create a crispy shell and soft inside texture.
To assemble the bun
- Transfer the meat out and finely minced. If you like, you can add chopped coriander and cumin powder.
- Cut 2/3 of the bun from the middle. Lay minced pork and other ingredients within the bun.
- Serve warm!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I am very excited to try this! Is the pork belly in a large piece, or is it in slices?
The pork belly should be cooked in large pieces and chopped into small pieces before assembling.
That was a great recipe! It turned out perfectly and even my boyfriend who hails from mainland china approved. You take the most exquisite pictures.
Hi Keely,
Thanks for the feedback and I am so proud to win a yes from a mainland Chinese. Happy cooking!
Hey Elaine,
you wrote there are often more than 20 spices used for the dish. But your recipe is only with the very basic ones. Can you tell me what other spices are often used for this dish?
Thank you in advance,
Josch
In your Roujiamo recipe, you state “Prepare the glaze”. Is that just the pork belly, spices and water in the stock pot?
In your spices, is the cardamom green or black?
Also in your spice, you say 1 chunk of galangal and 1 piece of sand ginger. Are they not the same?
You mention in your write-up that the real street style Roujiamo uses around 20 types of spices. Would you have a recipe for that?
Bill,
The pork belly is just stewed with spices, water and several aromatics like scallion.
It is black cardamom.
Galangal and sand ginger are similar spices but they are not the same. Check Similar here and there.
I will look forward to a chance to write about the street style Roujiamo. But currently I am not in Xi’an.
Hi! I am not really sure where I went wrong, but after preparing the pork, it tasted hard and chewy, like boiled pork. Do you have any tips? Everything else was great!
Kurlya,
Which cut do you use for this one? Is there enough fat?
wonderful site! Keep up the good work!
The new year starts great with such a delicious looking recipe. I look forward to trying it and for the recipe to come.
I wish everybody all the best for the new year. Hopefully things will get better for all of us.
Would like to know what kind of flour/flour brand you used as there are different kinds with different protein content.
Lien,
I use all purpose flour with protein content somewhere among 10% to 12%.
Is there a way to store the uncooked dough? I would like to make a batch and store the rest in the freezer so that I don’t have to eat all of them at once.
I am sorry, Tysa. The dough can’t be frozen because of the yeast.
Can you freeze the dough so that you can make a lot of it at once?
No. Tys, since it contains yeast, it can’t be frozen. If you pursue the best texture and flavor, the buns has to be freshly made.
You most certainly can freeze. I’ve been doing so for 30 years with no ill effects.
My go to jiaomo are 孜然牛肉夹馍 (cumin beef jiaomo) which I was taught to do by a 70 year old chef of a restaurant very near 西北大学. He regularly froze the dough.
haha,西北大学 I know it，I graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong University and 孜然牛肉夹馍 you mentioned are indeed very delicious.