A flaky, crispy flatbread, Rougamo or Roujiamo is yet another Chinese invention that has captured the hearts of foodies across the globe. It's better remembered as the thin Chinese sandwich that puffs up when grilled on a pan. It's recognized as the world's oldest sandwich and the famous Chinese Hamburger.
The name Rou Jia Mo literally means 'Meat in between bread', and it originated as a simple convenience meal. Today, Rougamo is one of the most famous street foods in China and is becoming a global internet sensation. Just like the Mid-Autumn Moon magic, Osmanthus Cake.
History of Rougamo
Rougamo or Rou Jia Mo, which translates to "meat placed in a bun," has its roots in Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province. This delightful sandwich has a history dating back to the Qin and Zhou Dynasties, 2000 years to the Warring States era - just like the iconic Zongzi from Dragon Boat Festival. During that time, marinated pork belly, referred to as "cold meat," was a staple for Han soldiers on the battlefront. (Han is the largest ethnic group in China). They would sandwich their "cold meat" rations between toasted buns, a common meal for soldiers throughout the wars.
One could say that it's a 2000-year-old MRE recipe that later turned into a globally renowned delicacy. The Rougamo bread, however, has become the highlight of the dish. It's different from regular grilled sandwiches. It's somewhat of a mix of a doner, a flaky pastry, a naan flatbread and a paratha. Yes - Rou Jia Mo bread is a combination of dishes belonging to different cuisines.
What is Rougamo Bread made of?
The biggest question that many have is: What is rou jia mo bread made of? The bread is known as Baijimo. A typical Rougamo bread recipe may look complex, but it's made with simple ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, oil, water, and salt. If you want your Baijimo to be less bun and more flatbread pastry, you can scrap off baking powder.
There are various recipes for making Rougamo and Baijimo bread. The secret lies in the technique of dough kneading. The significance of the Rougamo bread recipe lies in its unique layers that softly break apart when bitten into. Achieving this is quite a task. In ancient days, however, the buns did not have layers as they do now in today's Baijimo bread, although we reckon the taste should be the same.
What does Rougamo bun taste like?
The bun tastes like any other flatbread but with a pasty-like texture. Nowadays the most common Rou Jia Mo bun is the pan rougamo that's trending on social media. As it's grilled on a pan, the slight crispiness and the smoked flavour make the sandwich much more fragrant and flavoursome than regular bread. Couple that with a smoked, spicy or marinated meat filling, the taste could conjure your taste buds to a whole haven of flavours.
Is Rougamo Halal?
For many who had this question in their minds, I'll start with: The answer has a silver lining. Unfortunately, Rougamo itself is generally made of Pork filling. Back in the warring time, soldiers were fed marinated pork as they could cure and store it for a longer time. It was this marinated meat that was used in Rougamo. But today, many Chinese restaurants around the world cater to Muslim customers. Hence, you'll be able to find beef Rougamo available in your local Chinese restaurant.
If you're travelling in Shaanxi, it'll be challenging to find Halal Rougamo, and if you're not a Mandarin speaker there might be miscommunications. Luckily, the Capital Xi'an has a large population of Hui Muslims who settled down in the region during the Tang Dynasty in 650 AD.
Here you can find authentic Rougamo made of Beef or Chicken. Make sure you always double-check with the vendors whether it's Halal. You can use Google Translator for this if required.
Is Rougamo The Famous Traditional Chinese Bread?
Despite its popularity in China and recognition worldwide as the 'Chinese Hamburger,' Pan Rougamo is not 'the renowned' traditional bread. The famous traditional Chinese bread title would go to Mantou. Mantou is a steamed bun made with milled wheat flour and baking agents. Widely consumed in Mainland China. Mantou is the bread often used in making Steamed Buns with filling inside - also known as Baozi. Let's explore more about Mantou and Baozi in a separate article.
Can you make Rougamo at Home?
Absolutely! Making Rou Jia Mo bread at home is very simple. With all the ingredients easily found in your pantry, including wheat flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder, you can easily make the bread at home. Keep in mind that wheat flour cannot be substituted with rice flour. While you might face a couple of failed attempts to achieve the perfect kneaded dough, it's well worth the effort.
After multiple failed attempts, I found a method that made the bread flaky, and not bagel-like.
Flaky Rou Jia Mo Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Cup of wheat flour
1/4 Teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 Tablespoons cooking oil (traditionally made with Lard, but cooking oil is a good substitute)
Pinch of salt
1/2 Teaspoon of sugar to activate the yeast
Warm water
Ghee/Oil for dough kneading and frying
Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients and oil together. Add a moderate amount of warm water to knead it into a soft bread-like dough.
Cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes
Make good space on your counter and flatten the rou jia mo dough until it's almost transparent. This time I used a Pasta Maker to make it thin, otherwise, when the dough is thick it doesn't puff well, and this time it worked!
Your dough should ideally look like a long pasta sheet. Now brush some oil over the sheet.
This is the tricky part,
Start rolling the dough from one corner. Keep gently tugging at the other corner while you roll it. The roll has to be very thin as well.
Leave about 1/3 of the space in the dough and stop rolling.
Using a knife, cut thin angled strips on the remaining part of the dough (as shown below). Do not separate it from the main piece. (the thinner the strips, the flakier the bread).
4. Now slowly roll the striped dough along with the rest of the dough making sure you roll it at a slight angle. By now it should look like a cylindrical striped dough as shown below.
5. Break it into equal parts and lightly flatten them from the top using your hands. Let it rest for about 10 minutes.
6. Take out a rolling pin, apply some oil and flatten them from the top. Keep a decent amount of thickness otherwise your Rou Jia Mo will turn into a roti.
7. Add some ghee or oil into a pan and fry both sides of the Rougamo bread until light golden brown. If you use low heat and cover the lid, the bread starts puffing on the pan itself.
If not,
8. Put it in the oven for 5 minutes at about 200C temperature.
And voila! Your Rougamo bread/Baijimo bread is ready to eat.
You can make the filling by yourself with ingredients you have in hand, whether it's stewed chicken, beef, egg, any protein, or even just greens.
The key is the smokey flavour of the filling and the flaky texture of the bread. In China, there are frozen Rougamo bread in stores where you only have to slightly grill them in a pan, and they puff up perfectly. You can decide what type of filling you want to make.
Can you make Vegan Rougamo?
Yes of course! It's just like a sandwich. The Baijimo bread is made out of flour and water. You may not be able to find ready-to-eat Vegan Rougamo too often, but you can definitely make it at home using a filling that's vegan-friendly.
Is Rougamo a healthy meal?
It depends on your gluten and carb intake. Think of Rougamo bread as a white bread sandwich (Rou Jia Mo is not gluten-free). Does your diet allow you for a sandwich? If yes, Rougamo is healthy. But it would also largely depend on the filling inside. If you're eating an authentic Rougamo with traditional cold meat filling, the greasiness of the pork and lard can be unhealthy. If you're strict with your diet, yet want to try Rougamo, the best option for you is to make it at home.
Where Can I buy Rougamo?
If you live outside of Mainland China or its neighbouring Asian countries, you'll have a bit of a challenge to find Rou Jia Mo. Even if you do, they might not be the best, most authentic Rougamo bread. But, you can find the Pan Rougamo frozen bread in certain stores in your Chinatown or the closest Asian store. If you're lucky enough, you'll find vendors in your Chinatown that sell Pan Rougamo. So keep your eyes peeled the next time you visit Chinatown.
Will you be trying Rougamo anytime soon? Let us know what you think about it in the comments, we'd love to know!