Xi’an Hamburger
Xi’an is a burger city, as much as California a burger state.
The burger’s name, Roujia Mo, means “meat holds bun.” But the initial meaning was “meat held in bun”. Xi’an’s meat lovers salivated it so badly that they omitted the “in”. The misspelling has often caused confusions among visitors at the first glance, “where is my meat?”. Seeing the weird name adds a juicy taste, Xi’an happily keeps it for thousand years.
The flat bun must be hand made as a thorough kneading is the key. In Chinese cooking, kneading dough is called “waking it up” –machines never give the care that hands give. The baking is like that of the Middle-east pita — slap the dough on an iron griddle plate over a charcoal fire. Plant oil is added throughout the kneading so that the bun comes out with crispy outside and tender inside — pita doesn’t have this clear structure. No sauces added so only the wheat smell stands out. The hard surface gives an edgy effect at the first bite, while the fluffy inner well absorbs the meat flavor and grease –a perfect meat taste –fat but not greasy.
The classic Roujia Mo meat is pork. The finest parts have a good balance between fat and lean. They are loaded into the boiling pot in big chunks. Long time simmering will pump the grease into the soup while the mellow touch remains. Dozens of kinds of spices are added, the original pungent smell of pork is well covered. Under the boiling steam, the meat turns ruddy and brisk. Then they are loaded to the chopping board. It’s a thick tree stump, years of chopping leaves a deep hole in the middle. The big knife is used to chop the meat, the small one to split and stuff the bun.
For the first time customer, the chef will ask: “Lean only? ””Fat only?” or “Mixture?”. Girls often pick the lean to show the animosity to grease. Gentlemen would take the mixture in pursuit of full coverage. The true fans, however, will go with “Fat only”. The grease is drained out, the bun’s hard quality well balances the juicy meat. They often ask the chef to pure a spoon of the boiling soup inside the burger. It’s a spoon of thick, sticky grease. To take care of taste buds and stomach, we oftentimes can’t help but say “why not?”
You don’t have to open a restaurant to sell burgers in Xi’an. A booth or cart is good to go. Half Xi’anese, if not all, know what a good Xi’an burger tastes. The universal recipe is how you wake up the bun and meat. Some burger stores have endless lines outside. People fly from all over the country for this street snack. Walking along the street, the burger lover’s bites are followed by the juice dribbles all over hands and mouth. In this way, California burger and Xi’an burger are all the same.
