Sohla Makes an Ancient Chinese Hamburger (Rou Jia Mo from 200 BCE!) | Ancient Recipes With Sohla

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Join Sohla El-Waylly as she takes the food you know and love and traces it back to its origins in Ancient Recipes with Sohla! Watch new episodes every other Saturday and check out more here: http://histv.co/ancientrecipes The hamburger as we think of it today originated in the US around the turn of the century - but a dish of meat between slices of bread has been a part of many cultures throughout history. In this episode, Sohla recreates Rou Jia Mo, one of the first versions of a hamburger from Ancient China in 200 BCE. #HISTORY #ancientrecipes Chapters: 00:00 Meet Sola and the Ancient Hamburger 01:12 Ro Ji Mo and Its 200 BCE Origins 03:01 Building a 2,000-Year-Old Flavor Base 11:33 Shaping and Laminating the Mo 24:12 Tasting the Ancient Hamburger Recipe for Rou Jia Mo: What you need for the meat filling: 1kg Pork belly 60g rock sugar ¼ cup Liaojiu or sherry Fermented soybean paste - equivalent to 5tbsp of soy sauce 10g ginger 20 Sichuan peppercorns 3 pieces star anise ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Handful of shanzha berries 3 small cut pieces of liquorice root ½ tbsp salt Instructions: 1. Over medium heat, add about a tablespoon of oil and melt 60g of sugar into the oil until dark brown - about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the sugar. 2. Add water to the sugar & oil mixture. 3. Add in the pork & all of the other filling ingredients except the salt. Add enough water to cover the pork. 4. Cover & let braise for 3 hours. 5. Add salt & let simmer for another 20 minutes. What you need for the mo: 500g All-purpose flour 5g Yeast 25g Oil 220g Water ¼ tsp Salt Instructions: 6. Combine the flour, water, oil & yeast. 7. Knead by hand until dough is consistent throughout. 8. Cover with a warm, damp rag & let rise for 40 minutes. 9. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Add a cast iron pan to the oven as it’s heating up. The cast iron pan should get piping hot. 10. Deflate the dough. Split the dough into 10 balls. Roll the balls into a play-doh snake shape. Roll the snakes flat with a rolling pin. 11. Smear a bit of oil down the middle of the dough. Then fold it in half hot-dog style. Roll it up almost like a cinnamon bun. Squish the slightly with your palm to flatten it. Roll the edges of the dough with a rolling pin until it forms a shallow bowl. 12. Take the pan out of the oven & put it on the stove on high for 1 minute. 13. Turn the heat to medium & add the dough to the pan. Toast on one side for 30 seconds. Flip & toast on the other side for another 30 seconds. 14. Add the pan & dough back into the oven for 2 minutes to bake. Ancient Recipes with Sohla takes the food you know and love and traces it back to its origins. In each episode, Sohla El-Waylly details the surprising history of some of our favorite dishes as she attempts to recreate the original version using historical cooking techniques and ingredients. Along the way, Sohla highlights the differences between the ancient recipe and how we would prepare the modern version today. http://histv.co/ancientrecipes CREDITS Host Sohla El-Waylly Created By Brian Huffman Executive Producers Sarah Walker Brian Huffman Jon Erwin Executive Producer Sohla El-Waylly Co-Producer John Schlirf Writer Jon Erwin Historian - Scripts Ken Albala Post-Production Supervisors Jon Erwin John Schlirf Editor Craig Brasen Colorist John Schlirf Mixer Tim Wagner Manager, Rights & Clearances Chris Kim Executive Creative Director, A+E Networks Tim Nolan VP, Marketing Production, A+E Networks Kate Leonard VP, Brand Creative, History Matt Neary Music Courtesy of Extreme Music A+E Signature Tracks Additional Footage & Photos Courtesy of Getty Images Alamy Pond5 Wikimedia Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@HISTORY?sub_confirmation=1 ABOUT THE HISTORY CHANNEL: The HISTORY® Channel, a division of A+E Global Media, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, The HISTORY® Channel serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. FOLLOW HISTORY CHANNEL: Watch Full Episodes: https://www.history.com/videos Sign Up For History Emails: https://www.history.com/emails/sign-up Browse Topical Videos: https://www.history.com/topics Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HISTORY/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/history TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@history X: https://twitter.com/history YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HISTORY Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are property of The HISTORY® Channel. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube Channel is provided. © 2025 The HISTORY® Channel Sohla Makes an Ancient Chinese Hamburger (Rou Jia Mo from 200 BCE!) | Ancient Recipes With Sohla https://www.youtube.com/@HISTORY/