Beef and Mutton · FFET10478
Donkey meat
Stewed donkey meat fills huoshao flatbread, with distinct versions in Hejian and Baoding, Hebei.
Beef, mutton, lamb, goat and yak meat, with their breeds and cuts.
Donkey meat is the meat of the domestic donkey and is used as a filling for huoshao flatbread in Hejian and Baoding, Hebei. Hejian flatbread is square, thin, and crisp; Baoding flatbread is round, split while hot after baking, and filled with cooked donkey meat.
What
Donkey meat is the meat of the domestic donkey. One way to eat it is in donkey-meat huoshao, a baked flatbread filled with cooked donkey meat.1,2
When
The available material provides no primary text establishing when donkey meat was first eaten. The account of donkey intestine served at Northern Song banquets is a later retelling and does not establish the earliest date.1
Where
Hejian and Baoding in Hebei have distinct versions of donkey-meat huoshao: the flatbread is square in Hejian and round in Baoding.2,3
How
Donkey meat for huoshao can be stewed in aged broth with more than 20 seasonings. In the Baoding version, round flatbread is baked on a stove, split while hot, and filled with cooked meat; the Hejian flatbread is square, thin and crisp.2,3
Why
Hejian and Baoding make two distinct versions of donkey-meat huoshao: the Hejian bread is thin and crisp, the Baoding bread is split hot after baking, and both are filled with stewed donkey meat.2,3
Impact and influence
The Hejian donkey-meat huoshao trade has an industry association with branches in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, and Cangzhou. A related group standard and processing specification took effect on January 1, 2019. At a promotional event in May 2019, speakers stated that more than 50,000 people work in the Hejian donkey-meat huoshao trade, with more than 10,000 outlets nationwide. A local guide site states that the Hejian donkey-meat huoshao craft was listed as Hebei provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2011; the provincial notice was not opened.3,4