Paomo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paomo
Lamb paomo
Chinese	泡馍
Literal meaning	soaked mó
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin pàomó

Paomo

A bowl of paomo served in the cafeteria of Xi'an Jiaotong University
Type	Stew
Place of origin	China
Region or state	Shaanxi
Main ingredients	Bread, lamb broth, lamb meat

Paomo is a super popular and tasty dish from Shaanxi province in China. It's especially famous in the city of Xi'an. Imagine a warm, hearty stew made with pieces of flatbread soaked in a delicious lamb or beef broth.

The bread used is called mo (simplified Chinese: 馍; traditional Chinese: 饃; pinyin: mó). It's a special kind of flatbread. The mo is broken into small pieces and then added to a rich soup. This soup is usually made from lamb or beef.

If it's made with lamb, it's called Lamb Paomo (simplified Chinese: 羊肉泡馍; traditional Chinese: 羊肉泡饃; pinyin: yángròu pàomó). If it uses beef, it's Beef Paomo (simplified Chinese: 牛肉泡馍; traditional Chinese: 牛肉泡饃; pinyin: niúròu pàomó). People often eat Paomo with pickled garlic and chili sauce for extra flavor.

How Paomo is Made

Making Paomo is a fun process! The mo bread is a type of shaobing, which is a baked flatbread. It's made from flour without yeast.

Preparing the Broth and Meat

First, the chefs make the amazing broth. They boil lamb or beef bones with lots of spices. These spices include Sichuan pepper, star anise, tsaoko, and cinnamon. They cook it until the meat is super tender and the broth is perfect.

Breaking the Bread

This is the unique part! In traditional restaurants, you get to break your own mo bread. You tear it into small, thumb-sized pieces. Then, you hand your bowl of broken bread back to the chef.

Cooking the Stew

The chef then takes the rich broth and adds a little hot water to it. They put in the cooked meat and some cellophane noodles. Once the soup is hot, they add your broken bread pieces. Finally, they top it with more spices and a little drizzle of lamb oil.

Adding Your Own Touch

When your Paomo arrives, you can make it even better! You might add some chili oil if you like a bit of spice. Fresh cilantro or extra garlic are also popular choices. Sometimes, the garlic is pickled in a sweet and sour vinegar sauce.

The Story of Paomo

Paomo has a cool story behind it! One legend says it started a long, long time ago. This was during a period in China called the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

The Emperor's Meal

The story is about Zhao Kuangyin. He later became the first emperor of the Song Dynasty. Before he was emperor, he was traveling and ran out of food. All he had left were two dry, plain pancakes.

He found a merchant selling lamb soup. Zhao Kuangyin tore his dry pancakes into small pieces. He then mixed them into the lamb soup. It was a simple meal, but it filled him up.

A Royal Request

Years later, after Zhao Kuangyin became the emperor, he remembered that special soup. He went back to the same small merchant's place. He asked the chef to make the soup for him again, just like before.

When he tasted it, all the old memories came flooding back. He loved the taste and the feeling it gave him. Because of this, he officially named the dish "Lamb Paomo."

Images for kids

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  Prepared lamb paomo.

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  The mo before and after it is broken up.

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  The broth used in paomo.

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  A spoonful of meat and paomo.