Sandwich · Braised & baked

Lu Rou Huoshao (Braised Donkey Meat in Flatbread)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The old saying "in heaven, dragon meat; on earth, donkey meat" is a genuine centuries-old proverb ranking donkey among the finest meats — not a modern marketing line.

Donkey meat is slow-braised for hours in a broth of nearly 20 spices until tender, then chopped and packed into a crisp, flaky flatbread baked in a clay oven, sometimes with a spoonful of the braising jelly.

Why it's made this way: Donkeys were common draft animals on the North China Plain, and turning the meat into a portable baked-bread sandwich made filling, inexpensive food for travelers.