Donkey Burger
| Donkey Burger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Course | Snack, Side dish |
| Place of origin | Baoding, China |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Donkey meat, bread |
 Cookbook:Donkey Burger  Donkey Burger | |
Donkey Burger (Chinese: 驴肉火烧; pinyin: lǘròu huǒshāo) is a kind of sandwich commonly eaten in Baoding, Hebei Province, China, where it is considered a local specialty,[1] as well as in other places in China. Chopped or shredded donkey meat is placed within a huǒshāo or shao bing, a roasted, semi-flaky bread pocket, and eaten as a snack or as part of a meal. The meat is often served cold, often with green pepper or cilantro leaves, in a warm huoshao.
Donkey burgers are a popular street food, but can also be found on the menus of high-end restaurants. Two famous Donkey Burger restaurants are "Great Flavor" (好滋味) and "Old Donkey Head" (老驴头).[2] A well-known saying, especially in Baoding (and elsewhere in Hebei province), is "In Heaven there is dragon meat, on Earth there is donkey meat" (天上龙肉，地上驴肉). The "dragon" character is actually an abbreviation for a certain type of pheasant-like bird.
Donkey burgers originated in the Ming Dynasty. According to legend, the military of Zhu Di had nothing to eat, so soldiers began to kill and eat their horses. The local people followed, and began eating horse meat. However, since horses are a valuable resource, common people substituted donkey meat and considered it tastier.
Donkey burgers became popular towards the end of the Qing dynasty after the Beijing-Hankou railway line was built, as donkeys were no longer needed to transport goods in and out of Beijing. When departing from Beijing, Baoding is the first major city on the Beijing-Hankou railway line. The traditional freight industry was hit particularly hard there, and as a result, donkey burgers became most popular in Baoding.