Mike's Chomping Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge #7 – Donkey Burger

August has been a very busy month so far, I have been settling back to life in Beijing and beginning a new school year. However, I was able to celebrate my 3 year Chinaversary with a traditional snack while also keeping up with my mission of adding cheese to Chinese cuisine.
I decided that the next snack to get the cheesy makeover treatment would involve donkey meat. I had already tried donkey meat last year in the form of donkey meat soup. The soup was really tasty and had a peppery tang to it. I also tried a donkey burger (驴肉火烧). When I think of a burger, I picture a fluffy bap, with a sprinkling of sesame seeds on the bun. But a donkey burger is quite different; the donkey meat is served inside a flaky bread pocket and usually has green peppers inside. The meat was quite nice although there were some jelly bits that I was less appreciative of. Nevertheless, I felt that the donkey burger would be the perfect addition to my cheese challenge.

Donkey soup

There is a saying in China, "天上龙肉，地上驴肉" which roughly translates to, "In Heaven there is dragon meat, on Earth there is donkey meat." With donkey meat being held in such high esteem, I knew that adding cheese to such a delicacy could leave me red-faced if I didn't take this seriously. I didn't want to make an ass of myself by ruining a donkey burger. A mule fool is not cool.
After buying a freshly made donkey burger, I carefully cut up some Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers. But looking at my donkey burger, I knew that I could add even more to make this mule munching experience even greater.

While preparing the cheese, I noticed the roasted pepper and paprika chutney, patiently waiting to be used. Not only could I add another alliterative word to my challenge, but I could also add some more flavour. I had unintentionally raised the game. Mike's Chomping Chutney, Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge just got even more interesting!

Once all the added ingredients were sitting nicely in the soft, flaky bread pouch, I knew that I held a wonderful creation in my hands. The heat from the chutney and cheese was a delicious accompaniment to the bread, meat and peppers.

This could well be my greatest achievement in China since learning how to top-up my electricity meter all by myself.

But how am I going to top this deliciously delectable donkey delight? I will need some time to mull (mule?) this one over...