Rou Jia Mo sits someplace between a sloppy joe sandwich and a taco for my part, with a long-simmered braise of clove, star anise, cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorn giving the pork its master-sauce taste, and the cilantro and pepper chopped straight into the meat on the chopping board so the herbs minimize the fats. If in case you have ordered pork stomach buns in a Chinese language restaurant earlier than, you could have most probably met the Taiwanese model, Gua Bao, which makes use of skin-on braised pork stomach in a folded steamed bun with pickled mustard greens, cilantro, and crushed peanuts. Properly, I’ve to let you know that Rou Jia Mo is a special sandwich from a special area, closed on all sides in a wheat flatbread as an alternative of an open steamed fold.
My authentic model of this Chinese language pork stomach bun recipe was printed in 2018 and it linked out to a separate flatbread recipe. At present, I introduced the flatbread again into the identical submit and redeveloped the dough methodology for a chewier and extra genuine Rou Jia Mo texture, nearer to those I keep in mind consuming on the road in Beijing below a buck a chunk.
From begin to end, the work goes in 3 phases, the braise that simmers hands-off for two hours, the yeasted dough that rises and rolls into 10 flatbreads, and the quick chop-and-stuff meeting on the finish. I encourage you to make this recipe as a weekend challenge when you could have a bit further time. My step-by-step recipe walks you thru all the avenue vendor methodology, and I simply know you and your loved ones will completely like it.
Substances
I do know the ingredient checklist appears to be like a bit lengthy as a result of the grasp braise makes use of a standard Chinese language spice mix, however virtually each dried ingredient is one thing I already hold in my pantry for different Chinese language recipes.
Pork stomach: I exploit skin-on pork stomach once I can discover it as a result of that’s how it’s cooked on the road in China, however skinless works if you don’t like the feel of the pores and skin. I minimize the slab into 2-inch chunks so the items braise on the identical price and the fats has room to render into the liquid.
Grasp braise spices: Dried Chinese language chili peppers, complete cloves, complete star anise pods, a cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorn, and grated nutmeg give the braise its savory-warm base. This spice combine is the muse of what Chinese language cooks name a grasp sauce, a braising liquid that’s meant to be complicated and layered.
Braise aromatics and liquids: I add sliced ginger and halved inexperienced onions for freshness, Shaoxing wine, gentle soy sauce for saltiness, and darkish soy sauce for a burnished coloration on the completed pork. A spoonful of sugar rounds out the salty and spicy notes.
Flatbread dough: I combine immediate yeast with heat water, all-purpose flour, a small quantity of baking powder for a lighter crumb, and a spoon of vegetable oil for a young crust.
Meeting toppings: I chop cilantro coarsely and cube contemporary chili peppers small proper earlier than serving. Chinese language lengthy peppers are what I attain for once I need the standard taste, however Anaheim or a mixture of candy peppers and jalapenos additionally work properly. A couple of drops of home made chili oil on the desk are optionally available for anybody who desires further warmth.
The best way to Make
1. Blanch the pork: Place the pork stomach chunks in a big pot and add chilly faucet water to cowl the pork by 1 inch. Convey to a boil over medium-high warmth, flip to medium, and boil for 10 minutes till no extra brown foam rises to the floor. Discard the blanching water and switch the pork to a clear pot simply sufficiently big to carry the items snugly.
2. Braise the pork: Pour in 3 cups of contemporary water and add all of the braising substances besides the salt. Convey to a boil over medium-high warmth, then flip to medium-low and simmer, lined, for two hours till the pork is tender sufficient to provide below a chopstick. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt midway via and style the broth.
As soon as the pork is cooked, take away the big items of the aromatics and let the pork sitting within the braising liquid.
3. Activate the yeast: Begin the dough whereas the pork is simmering. Pour the nice and cozy water right into a small bowl at about 110°F, sprinkle within the lively dry yeast, and let sit for 10 minutes till the floor bubbles up.
4. Combine the dough: Whisk the flour and baking powder collectively in a big bowl. Slowly pour within the yeast water whereas stirring with a pair of chopsticks in a clockwise route, till the water is totally integrated and semi-firm flakes kind with virtually no dry flour left. Drizzle in a bit extra water if wanted. Add the vegetable oil and stir once more to mix.
5. Knead the dough: Mud each fingers with flour and begin kneading within the bowl till the dough comes collectively.
6. First rise: Switch the dough to a medium bowl and canopy with plastic wrap. Relaxation for 10 to fifteen minutes so the dough hydrates and turns simpler to knead.
7. Knead once more: Knead the dough for 10 to fifteen minutes till fairly easy.
8. Begin the second rise: Rub a big bowl with oil, place the dough inside, cowl with plastic wrap, and relaxation till doubled in dimension, about 1 hour.
9. Knead the dough: Knead the risen dough a couple of instances till it returns to its authentic dimension.
10. Divide the dough: Divide into 10 equal items of about 75 grams every and form each right into a ball by hand. Switch to a tray, cowl with plastic wrap, and relaxation for one more 10 minutes so the dough is less complicated to roll.
11. Roll and form the flatbreads: Press one dough ball flat along with your palm and roll it out with a rolling pin into an extended oval about 8 inches lengthy and three inches huge. The size don’t must be precise so long as the form is an extended oval.
12. Create the spiral: Fold the oval lengthwise, then roll the folded strip up right into a coil.
13. Form the flatbread: Flatten the coil with the rolling pin right into a disk about 4 inches throughout.
14. Relaxation: As soon as all are formed, relaxation for 10 minutes after ending the final piece so the dough relaxes and barely expands.
15. Cook dinner the flatbreads: Warmth a forged iron pan over medium warmth till sizzling. Place the primary flatbread you rolled into the pan, spacing a number of items about 1 inch aside. Cook dinner lined for about 2 minutes per aspect, till the floor turns golden and the bread is cooked via. If the floor browns too shortly, flip to medium-low. If the floor shouldn’t be fairly golden after the complete 4 minutes lined, uncover and cook dinner for 1 minute per aspect to complete the colour.
17. Chop the filling: Switch one piece of braised pork stomach onto a chopping board and minimize it coarsely into small chunks. Place a handful of cilantro and a handful of diced peppers on prime of the pork. Use a heavy knife to cut and blend every thing collectively till the herbs and peppers are blended into the meat.
18. Assemble and serve: Slice a flatbread horizontally in half with out chopping during, leaving one finish connected to kind a pocket. Spoon the chopped pork combination into the pocket, drizzle a spoonful of braising liquid over the filling, and add a couple of drops of chili oil if you would like the additional warmth. Serve instantly whereas the bread remains to be heat.
My Cooking Ideas
Don’t skip the blanch, even if you’re in a rush: The ten minute blanch pulls impurities and any gamey notes out of the pork stomach, which is what offers the braising liquid its savory style on the finish. If I skip the blanch the completed broth tastes muddier and there’s a skinny grey foam I’ve to skim time and again throughout the simmer.
Chop the filling on the chopping board, don’t slice it: The explanation avenue distributors mince the pork, cilantro, and peppers along with a heavy knife is that the chopping movement breaks down the fats and lets the herbs mix instantly into the meat. The completed filling tastes juicy and moist and not using a heavy or greasy mouthfeel.
Save the leftover braising liquid: The seasoned braising liquid on the backside of the pot is the most effective byproduct of this recipe. I pressure it via a superb mesh strainer, cool it, and freeze it in a small container for the subsequent batch of braised pork, hard-boiled soy sauce eggs, or a fast sauce for stir-fried noodles. In Chinese language cooking this liquid known as lu zhi and cooks in China continuously reuse it.
Use the finger poke check for the second rise: Doubled in dimension is the simple visible cue for the dough, however the surer examine is to press a fingertip about half an inch into the floor and browse the spring-back. If the indent stays as a smooth dimple and is derived again slowly, the dough is able to divide, and if the indent springs again quick and disappears, I give it one other 10 to fifteen minutes.
The primary breads you roll would be the ones able to cook dinner: By the point you end shaping the final coil, the primary few you formed have already rested 20 to half-hour on the tray, which is strictly what they should loosen up earlier than hitting the pan. I cook dinner them within the order I rolled them, which retains the resting time even throughout the batch.
The best way to Serve
Rou Jia Mo is avenue meals made for consuming immediately along with your fingers. I cross out the assembled buns as quickly because the final one is stuffed, nonetheless heat from the pan, and I hold a small dish of the braising liquid on the desk for anybody who desires to spoon extra onto their sandwich mid-bite. On a weeknight it is a two-hand dinner for me and my husband, messy, however finger-lickering good.
For a household dinner that wants extra on the desk, I set the buns down as the primary and set a small Northern Chinese language meals round them. A chilly Chinese language cucumber salad does the refreshing work in opposition to the fatty pork, a plate of Chinese language broccoli with oyster sauce provides the inexperienced, and a light-weight Chinese language egg drop soup is the right combo. If I’m internet hosting an even bigger group with an actual Xi’an taste in thoughts, I add a plate of real-deal Xinjiang cumin lamb for a second Northern protein which have the identical spice-warm profile because the braise. Yum!
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
Can I exploit store-bought bread as an alternative of constructing the flatbread?
Sure, pita bread is my closest shortcut once I do not need time to make the dough, and it offers you an identical pocket for the pork combination. Panini rolls additionally work as a faster choice. The outcome shouldn’t be an identical to the street-vendor Rou Jia Mo, however the braised pork is doing a lot of the taste work anyway.
What if my dough sticks to my fingers when I’m kneading?
Add flour 1 teaspoon at a time and hold kneading. The dough for Rou Jia Mo is supposed to be fairly agency, not smooth or cheesy, so if it sticks the reply is often a bit extra flour relatively than extra oil. As soon as the dough stops sticking to your fingers and the underside of the bowl, cease including flour and let the remainder of the kneading easy it out.
How lengthy do leftovers hold within the fridge and freezer?
The braised pork stomach and its liquid hold in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days and freeze properly for as much as 2 months, and I retailer the pork and the strained liquid collectively so the meat stays moist because it reheats. The flatbread is greatest the day it’s cooked, but it surely additionally freezes for as much as 1 month in a sealed bag, and I reheat it wrapped in foil in a 350°F oven or in a dry skillet over medium warmth till warmed via. Assemble the sandwiches the day you intend to eat them so the bread stays smooth in opposition to the pork.
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My Chinese language pork stomach bun, or Rou Jia Mo, is a Northern and Midwest Chinese language avenue meals the place melt-in-your-mouth braised pork stomach is minced with cilantro and chili pepper, stuffed right into a fluffy yeasted home made flatbread, and completed with a spoonful of the savory braising liquid.
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Cook dinner the pork
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Blanch the pork: Place pork stomach in a big pot and add chilly faucet water to cowl the pork by 1” (2 cm). Convey to a boil. Flip to medium warmth and boil for 10 minutes, till there’s no extra brown foam forming. Discard the water and switch the pork to a clear pot that’s simply sufficiently big to carry the pork.
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Braise the pork: Pour 3 cups of water and add all of the braising substances besides the salt. Convey to a boil over medium-high warmth, then flip to medium-low warmth. Simmer, lined, for two hours, till the pork could be very tender. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt midway via and style the broth. It ought to style barely salty. If not salty sufficient, add extra.
Put together the buns
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Activate yeast: Begin the dough when the pork is cooking. Pour the nice and cozy water in a small bowl and add the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
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Combine the dough: Combine the flour and baking powder collectively in a big bowl. Slowly pour within the water with yeast a couple of instances, stirring with a pair of chopsticks in a clockwise route, till water is totally integrated and semi-firm dough flakes kind. There ought to be little dry flour left within the bowl. Drizzle a bit extra water if wanted. Add the oil and blend once more. Mud each fingers with flour and begin through the use of one hand to knead till dough begins to kind. The dough ought to be fairly agency and never follow the underside of the bowl. Add extra flour and hold kneading if the dough sticks to your fingers, 1 teaspoon at a time.
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1st rise: Switch the dough to a medium bowl and canopy with plastic wrap. Relaxation the dough for 10 to fifteen minutes. This temporary course of helps the dough to hydrate and is less complicated to knead.
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2nd rise: Then knead the dough once more till fairly easy, 10 to fifteen minutes or so. Rub some oil onto a big bowl, place the dough into it, and canopy with plastic wrap. Relaxation till the dough has doubled in dimension, about 1 hour.
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Divide the dough: As soon as rested, knead the dough a couple of instances once more till it returns to the unique dimension. Divide the dough into 10 equal elements, about 75g per dough, and form each right into a ball by hand. Switch the dough onto a tray and canopy with plastic wrap. Let relaxation for one more 10 minutes. So the dough is less complicated to roll.
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Roll out flatbread: Place one dough ball on the working floor, then press it along with your palm right into a spherical form. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into an extended oval form that’s slender on each ends, 8” lengthy and three” huge (*Footnote 2). Fold lengthwise, then roll up the roll right into a coil. Use a rolling pin to flatten the bread right into a 4” thick disk. Place the rolled dough onto a greased tray. Form the remainder of the dough balls the identical approach. As soon as all of the dough has been formed, let it relaxation till the bread has relaxed and barely expanded, 10 minutes after you end rolling the final dough piece. (*Footnote 3)
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Cook dinner the bread: Warmth a forged iron pan over medium warmth till sizzling. Begin with the primary flatbread you rolled out. Place the bread into the pan, 1” (2.5 cm) aside. Cook dinner lined, till the bread is cooked via and has turned golden on the floor, about 2 minutes or so per aspect. If the bread browns too shortly, flip to medium-low warmth. If the floor shouldn’t be fairly golden after the complete 4 minutes, uncover the pan, then hold cooking the flatbreads for 1 minute per aspect. As soon as finished, put aside to chill.
Assemble
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Switch one piece of pork stomach onto a chopping board, minimize it coarsely into small chunks. Place a handful of cilantro and a handful of diced peppers on prime of the pork. Use a knife to cut and blend every thing collectively. Slice the buns horizontally in half to kind a pocket, with the tip nonetheless connected. Use a spoon to stuff the pork combination into the bun and drizzle a spoonful broth onto the pork. You’ll be able to add a couple of drops of chili oil if wanted. Serve instantly.
Ingredient Substitution Information
- Attempt to choose pork stomach that accommodates 70% to 80% of lean meat, so the completed meat can have an excellent lean-fat ratio and can be tender with out tasting greasy.
- Anaheim pepper is a good alternative as a result of it isn’t overly spicy however is extra flavorful than bell peppers. If you wish to add spiciness, you possibly can combine in some jalapeno peppers as properly. I used a mixture of candy peppers and jalapenos for the colour and the spicy style.
Serving: 1of the ten buns, Energy: 664kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 14g, Fats: 50g, Saturated Fats: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 6g, Monounsaturated Fats: 23g, Trans Fats: 0.01g, Ldl cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 504mg, Potassium: 259mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 194IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 3mg
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The recipe was up to date on Mar. 29, 2018 and republished on July, 2026.
