Soup · Simmered, torn bread

Yangrou Paomo (Mutton Soup with Torn Bread)

Photo: Danielinblue / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Diners are expected to tear the bread themselves into small, uniform pieces — some consider the size and evenness of the tearing a mark of an experienced customer.

A dense, unleavened flatbread is torn by hand into small pieces, covered with a rich, long-simmered mutton broth along with vermicelli and mutton slices.

Why it's made this way: The dish traces to soldiers on old trade routes who needed durable bread that could be softened with hot broth in the field.