Chinese Hamburger-Rou Jia Mo(sometimes named as pork belly buns)
Roujiamo is originated from Shaanxi province, also known as Chinese style hamburger. It is a perfect street food with 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 Roujiamo are provided with reasonable prices. Now I am living in a southern city where real Roujiamo is really hard to find. So I made this from time to time at home rather than buying the street version.
For the filling: usually pork belly is stewed with soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, ginger and spices. The real street style Roujiamo uses around 20 types of spices. But here we are just using very basic ones. If you cannot find some specific ones mentioned in the following recipe, make sure you get star anise, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorn, cinnamon bark and fennel. Most of them are basic ingredient for Chinese five spice powder.
In order to make sure the stewed pork is clean and free of spices residue, wrap all the spices in a cloth bag or special spice packet. Just simmer the whole pot for around 2 hours. No technique required.
Bread/Bun/Mo.
The bread or mo is named as Baijimo, usually is 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 to ferment for around 30 minutes with a room temperature around 30 degree C because I want my buns to be a little bit softer. If you want a chewy version, ahead to next step as long as you find your dough is beginning to ferment.
Mix instead yeast with flour. And then stir the water in. Stir the flour with chop sticker or similar things during the process. Knead the dough until smooth. Cover with a wet cloth or plastic wrap to rest for around 20 minutes to 45 minutes depending on your temperature until the dough is 1/3 bigger than the previous one. (The surface is completely smooth but there is no Honeycomb texture inside).
Knead the dough again to pinch the air out. Then roll the dough into a uniform long log around 5 cm in diameter. Cut the long log into 6 equal portions. In picture 2(from left to right, up to down).
Get one portion and then shape it into another long log. Roll out to a long facet as picture 3. Roll the facet up like the pictures . Suck in the very ending at one end of your roll in picture 4. Press it down slowly as picture 5. Turnover and roll out dough until 1.5 cm thick. Shape it to a bowl(in picture 6).
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 breads are completely cooked through.
- 350 g plain flour
- 140 ml ~180ml water , note 1
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast to 1 teaspoon instant yeast , note 2
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda , optional
- 500 g pork belly
- 10 g crystal sugar
- 5 green onion or scallion sections , around 8cm long
- 3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- Water or stock as needed
- 1 inch root ginger , smashed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
- 2 star anises
- 1 cinnamon bark
- 4 ~6 cloves
- 1 chunk galangal
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 Fructus Amomi
- 2 pieces of dried ginger
- 1 piece of sand ginger
- 1 nutmeg
- 1 piece of dried tangerine peel
- Coriander
- Cumin powder
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Soak the pork belly with clean water for around 2 hours. Change water twice during the process.
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Prepare a glaze and then wrap all the spices. Seal with a rope.
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In a large pot, add pork belly, the spice bag, ginger, crystal sugar, green onions, salt and dark soy sauce. Pour enough water to cover the pork belly.
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Bring all the content to a boiling and then slow down the fire to simmer for around 2 hours.
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Turn off the fire and then soak the pork belly within the soup for at least 2 hours. Reheat it before assembling.
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Mix instead yeast with flour. And then stir the water in. Stir the flour with chop sticker or similar things during the process. Knead the dough until smooth. Cover with a wet cloth or plastic wrap to rest for around 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on your temperature until the dough is 1/3 bigger than the previous one. (The surface is completely smooth but there is no Honeycomb texture inside).
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Knead the dough again to pinch the air out. Then roll the dough into a uniform long log around 5 cm in diameter. Cut the long log into 6 equal portions.
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Get on portion and then shape it into long log. Roll it out to a long facet. Roll the facet up like the pictures. 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.
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Heat up a pan. Place the bowl shaped dough in to fry until slightly brown over medium fire(less than 1 minute). Turn over to fry the second side.
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Repeat the process to finish all the buns. Preheat oven to 190 degree C.
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Transfer the bread (Baijimo) to a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes so the breads are completely cooked through.
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Transfer the meat out and finely minced. If you like, you can add chopped coriander and cumin powder.
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Cut 2/3 of the bun from the middle. Lay minced pork and other ingredients within the bun.
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Serve warm!
- In hot summer day, use room temperature water. In cold winter, use warm water around 30 degree C.
- In hot summer, use 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast. In cooler autumn or cold winter, use 1 teaspoon instant yeast.
- You can also add some other vegetables along with the filling like fresh peppers.
- The traditional Shaanxi version also add some alkaline powder for a better flavor. If you can find some, adding 2 g of edible alkaline powder in the dough.
They look sooooo tasty! It’s in this moments that I really want to not be macrobiotic! 😛 Keep up the good work!
Haha Margarida,
Thanks Margarida!
Macrobiotic is really good in long term. That’s why I am trying to make almost every dinner and meal at home. I am always searching for ways to keep them clean and healthy.
I can see and feel that! It’s really inspiring to follow your blog, I take a lot of ideas for my daily menu 🙂 Thank you for so many good ideas! Keep up the good work!
Great Margarida. Let’s celebrate yummy food together.
these look wonderful! the soft bread should be really good.
Thanks Myriam!
To my family, this is a really good food. You should try it yourself. Both the bread and the savory filling will amaze you.
I’ve never heard of ‘sand ginger’ before. I don’t think this would be available outside of China. Does it have a special taste. Of course, it’s easy to get ginger here in Europe but I’m not sure about ‘dried ginger’ either. Could you suggest any substitute? Galangal is available in specialty Asian (mainly Thai) stores. Nice recipe.
Hi Carnabwth,
Sand ginger and dried ginger are not necessary. The taste is very similar to Galangal. Make sure that you get the basic ones star anise, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorn, cinnamon bark and fennel.
Wow these pork belly buns look delicious! I have never made a recipe like this before so you definitely have inspired me to do so now!
Thanks for posting this recipe. I love rou jia mo and am convinced that Shaanxi has the best street food in China. I’ve never had better. Rou jia mo everywhere plus Xinjiang style yang rou chuar done to perfection. It just makes me think of evening street food markets, lamb kabobs, rou jia mo and a few cold beers. China heaven.
I can buy decent rou jia mo outside my apartment for 5 RMB (85 cents) so I won’t be making the rou jia mo recipe. I am, however, going to try the baijimo recipe. They have this great breakfast street food in Shaanxi – which is fried peppers and potatoes, served with a fried egg and a little hot sauce or spice mix – all stuffed into the baijimo bread. You said before that you went to university in Xi’an. Do you know the name of that street food (I call it ji dan mo)? It was just amazing. I’ve been looking for that street food breakfast outside of Shaanxi for years and now, hopefully, I’ll be able to make it at home. Anyway, thank you for the baijimo recipe!
Hi Zhou,
Yes, I have been living in Xi’an for 4 years attending Xi’an JiaoTong University.
That Jia Mo you mentioned is known as Cai Jia Mo which means vegetarian Jia Mo. It is a sister dish to Rou Jia Mo. The side ingredients are differ from each other (most of them are seasonal) and you can choose according to your own taste. I will post a recipe later.
Ahhh, Cai Jia Mo. OK, got it. Thanks. Any cai jia mo wouldbbe great because I love those mo buns. And this recipe looks great, for all you people thinking about making it. Rou jia mo is Western friendly and delicious.
If fact, I love Cai Jia Mo more than Rou Jia Mo. I agree that any Cai Jia Mo would be great. I really quite a lot during my university life.
Hi, and thanks for this amazing recipe. 🙂 I’m just wondering how one could make it vegetarian. Is it possible to use tofu or wheat gluten instead of meat? If so, would one cook exactly like when cooking with meat or in a different way?
Hi Bjarni,
Yes, you can make it vegetarian even vegan. We have vegetarian and vegan version in China, usually features cucumber, potato, sometimes tofu and shred carrots etc to replace meat. I will try to introduce this later on this blog, or you test your version in kitchen.
Thank you so much! I am currently studying for final examinations in school, so I probably won’t be able to try until after them. But it would be great if you could post a vegetarian Rou Jia Mo recipe on this site that I could try after I finish them. You don’t have to, but I would really appreciate it. 🙂
Best wishes,
Bjarni
Hey Elaine,
can you tell me something about fructus amomi? I’m from Germany and never heard something about it? Can I substitute it with cardamom or something like that? I don’t think I get fructose amomi here.
Thank you in advance. 🙂
Hi Josch,
Fructus Amomi is a very popular spice usually used in braised meats in China. It can bring a unique and strong aroma to meat. I do not know whether you heard of Chinese Lushui, in which we use lots of spices like fructus amomi, star anise, clove and etc. If it is really unavailable, you can skip it. Make sure you get the basic five spices. You can check this one https://chinasichuanfood.com/five-spice-powder/. I have posted a picture about the commonly used spices in Chinese cuisine.
Thank you very much. I hope I will find fructus amomi to buy in the future!
Hi Elaine. Thanks for the recipe. One question about making bajimo. You said in step 8:
“Roll the facet up like the pictures. Suck the very ending in one end of your roll. Press it down slowly.”
What does “Suck the very ending in one of your roll” mean?
Hi Chris,
Sorry that I did not express clearly. I mean you need to hide ending of the facet inside one end of the roll.
OK I think I know what you mean thank you.
I try to make the bread today and 350 g of flour to 140 mL of water seems incorrect. Maybe a typo? I had to add a lot more water.
Hi Chris,
140ml water will make a chewy taste. For a softer texture, you can add more water. But the total amount of water should be limited to 1:2. So no more than 180ml. I will note that in the recipe.
I dont think my scale is broken. but with 350 g of flour and 140 ml of water, there was still a lot of leftover powdered flour
I will try again but I am pretty sure I measured accurately.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the information. If using 140ml water, there will be powdered flour at first. But I believe they will disappear as the kneading process going on. It’s ok that you add more water. No worries.
I know that version you mentioned with cumin and lamb. I will make it when lamb is available on the market (should be in winter season). We are still having very high temperature here. I will come up a video showing the whole process of making lamb version and vegetable version. Keep in touch and thanks for bringing me valuable information.
By the way, can you tell me the usage direction of your instead yeast? I mean the recommended percentage for flour weight. Thanks in advance.
also the dough didnt rise that much when it rested. i used instant yeast. not sure if this has to do with the flour to yeast ratio.
i dont think my scale is broken. it’s brand new.
And this dough should be semi-proofed, not completely proofed one. Although I made this in October, it is still over 30 degree C in my city. So you can leave the dough rest for a longer time, maybe another half hour or 1 hour. Thanks for the feedback so I know how to improve and note some tips in the recipe.
In addition, you can also add some baking soda to fast the proofing process.
you website is awesome.
i know there is also a lamb version of rou jia mo, seasoned with cumin and other things.
do you know about that? I am also eagerly awaiting the cai jia mo recipe! I hope I don’t sound demanding, I just love your site!
Hi. How do I prepare a glaze and then wrapping the spices?
Hi Nana,
You can seal it as a bag using a cotton line. Just make sure the spices not going out during cooking.
Hello,
Greetings from US. The recipe sounds great! I am going to try it for the first time. I am wondering if this recipe really requires 12 teaspoons of baking soda.
Hi,
It is a typo and thanks for the correctness. It is 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
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.