Shaobing ( zh, p=shāobǐng, w=shao-ping), also called huoshao, is a type of baked, unleavened, layered

flatbread A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are Unleavened bread, unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread. A Se ...

in northern

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

. Shaobing can be made with or without stuffing, and with or without

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

on top. Shaobing contains a variety of stuffings that can be grouped into two main flavors: savory or sweet. Some common stuffings include

red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or ...

, black sesame paste, stir-fried

mung bean The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...

s with egg and tofu, braised beef, smoked meat, or beef or pork with spices. Shaobing is not very well known in

southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

, unlike other northern dishes like

mantou ''Mantou'' ( zh, t=饅頭, s=馒头, first=t), often referred to as a Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name ''mantou'' to a tale about Zhuge Lian ...

baozi Baozi (), or simply bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steaming, steamed. They are a variation of ...

, and

youtiao ''Youtiao'' (), known in Southern China as yu char kway, is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of wheat flour dough of Chinese cuisine, Chinese origin and (by a variety of other names) also popular in other East Asia, East and Southeast Asia ...

. Most Shaobing are popular in the northern part of China. Different types of shaobing are often associated with certain cities and towns. Shaobing is a common breakfast item. Filled shaobing are usually eaten with soy milk and tea, while unfilled ones are usually eaten with steamed eggs or a breakfast meat dish. In the Mandarin cuisine tradition, shaobing are served with

hot pot Hot pot ( zh, c=, s=wikt:火锅, 火锅, t=wikt:火鍋, 火鍋, p=huǒguō, l=fire pot, first=t) or hotpot, also known as steamboat, is a dish (food), dish of soup/stock (food), stock kept simmering in a cooking pot, pot by a heat source on ...

(''huǒguō'') in winter or soy milk.

History

Chinese legends claim that the roasted, flat shaobing was brought back from the '' Xiyu'' (the Western Regions, a name for far-

western China Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

) by the Han dynasty General

Ban Chao Ban Chao (; 32–102 CE), courtesy name Zhongsheng, was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and military general of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was born in Fufeng (region), Fufeng, now Xianyang, Shaanxi. Three of his family members—father Ban Biao, ...

, and that it was originally known as (, ). The shaobing is believed to be descended from the . Shaobing is believed to be related to the Persian and Central Asian

naan Naan () is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread, that can also be baked in a tandoor. It is characterized by a light and fluffy texture and golden-brown spots from the baking process. Naan is found in the cuisines of Central Asia ...

and the Near Eastern

pita Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...

. Foreign westerners made and sold sesame cakes in China during the Tang dynasty.

Types

Huangqiao Shaobing

Huangqiao Shaobing ( zh, labels=no, s=黄桥烧饼, p=Huángqiáo Shāobǐng) is one kind of Shaobing. It is made of flour, oil, sesame and other raw materials. It is golden in color and crispy on the outside. Traditionally, it is divided into sweet taste and salty taste. Generally, the sweet taste one is round and the salty taste one is long and oval.

Zhoucun Shaobing

Zhoucun Shaobing ( zh, labels=no, s=周村烧饼), is a kind of Shaobing. It is a traditional snack in

Zibo Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...

Shandong province Shandong is a coastal province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center ...

, China, created by Guo Yunlong based on a horseshoe-shaped thick pancake. Its shape is round and thin as paper. The front is covered with sesame seed, the back is full of crisp holes. It is famous because of its special crisp and ability to conserve for a long time.

Magao

Magao ( zh, labels=no, s=常州大麻糕, p=Chángzhōu Dàmágāo), or sesame cake, is popular in the city of

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

Jiangsu province Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

. Changzhou sesame cakes are flat and oval-shaped. The traditional flavors are sweet, salty and spicy. It has golden thin crisp skin. To make Changzhou sesame cake, the chef needs to select the finest pigs suet, white flour, hulled sesame seeds, white sugar, refined salt, etc. other refined raw materials; then bake in a traditional barrel furnace.

Donkey burger

Donkey burgers, or donkey sandwiches are a type of ''shaobing'' that is cut open and filled with meat, and are mostly eaten in

Hebei province Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. File:Huangqiao Sesame Cake.jpg, '' Huangqiao shaobing'' File:Red Bean Paste Shaobing.jpg, ''Shaobing'' with

File:Donkey sandwich, Hejian style (20160220143311).jpg,

Donkey burger The donkey burger () is a kind of sandwich commonly eaten in Baoding and Hejian, Hebei Province, China, where it is considered a local specialty, though it may also be found in other parts of China, particularly in northeastern China. Chopped or ...

File:Pork burger in Xiong'an New Area, Apr 2019.jpg, ''Shaobing'' with pork File:Jinyun Shaobing baking in clay oven (20191004134617).jpg, Baking in clay oven File:Baohu with 6 Shaobings (20240917174440).jpg, ''Baohu'', or ''shaobing'' stuffed with

mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

File:Baohu stuffed in a Shaobing (20240917174615).jpg, ''Baohu''

References

{{Flatbreads Chinese breads Flatbreads Street food in China Stuffed dishes Baked foods Breakfast dishes