The Chinese flatbread sandwich from Shaanxi often called a Chinese hamburger is roujiamo. It consists of chopped or minced meat tucked into a wheat-flour flatbread called baijimo. The meat is most commonly pork that has been slowly braised with spices, though beef and lamb versions are widely eaten in Muslim communities and other regions.
Roujiamo is a major street-food specialty of Shaanxi, particularly associated with Xi’an. Traditional baijimo is made from yeasted dough and baked in a clay oven, although many vendors now cook the bread in a pan. The bread is crisp or firm outside and tender inside, providing a sturdy contrast to the richly seasoned meat.
The nickname Chinese hamburger describes its structure rather than its ingredients: roujiamo is not a beef patty on a sliced bun. Its history is often presented as very old; the flatbread is linked to the Qin dynasty period, while the braised-meat tradition is associated with earlier Chinese cooking. In Shaanxi, it is commonly enjoyed with liangpi and Ice Peak soft drink.