Roujiamo

Roujiamo is Xi'an's most beloved street snack. Tender pork belly is braised for hours in a dark, rich broth of soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon, and rock sugar until it falls apart at the touch. The meat is then chopped coarse and stuffed into a flatbread called baijimo — a crispy, freshly baked sesame-studded bun. The contrast of the crunchy bread and the meltingly soft pork is nothing short of spectacular. The name 'Roujiamo' literally means 'meat stuffed in bread,' and locals eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks.

📖 Histoire

Roujiamo has roots in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), when soldiers would stuff dried meat into flatbread for portable rations. The modern version was perfected in the 1920s by Liu Xuesong of Tongguan County. It's now widely considered one of the world's best sandwiches.