Whilst Xibei (西贝餐饮), one of China’s largest restaurant chains is embroiled in a nationwide scandal involving the overreliance of pre-packaged, frozen, and parcooked ingredients in their restaurants, I have no problem enjoying their deeply and obviously and intentionally pre-prepared roujiamo.
I found this microwave, airfry, and eat roujiamou at a local Chinese grocery store a couple of months ago, before all the controversy. It is made by Xibei’s 西贝 放心早餐 divison, focused on heat-and-eat breakfast foods. This particular roujiamo (酥皮腊汁肉夹馍), purchased for around $6, was really good.
The filling is advertised as having greater than 50% meat by mass, and encompassing a mixture of 30% fatty and 70% lean meat. Both these claims appear likely to be true, as I found the filling to be both meaty and tasty, with the other 50% made up of spices, capsicum, chillies, and other vegetables.
The mixture of the fatty and lean pork was excellent, producing a melt-in-your-mouth texture whilst retaining a degree of bite and chewiness.
The pastry, cooked in the prescribed method of microwave then airfry, was thin, crispy, and not at all too bready – more than can be said for some of the lesser restaurant roujiamos I’ve had and reviewed on this blog.
I honestly think this $6 roujiamo is superior to a good number of restaurant alternatives, and would not be that offended if it were served in one.
Sadly on a subsequent return to the grocery store this was nowhere to be found.
Until we meet again.
Xibei Spiced Pork Crispy Roujiamo (西贝 放心早餐 酥皮腊汁肉夹馍)
UPC: 6978181690362