Yanting Huoshao Mo (Baked Flatbread)

Yanting Huoshao Mo

　　Yanting Huoshao Mo is a specialty of Yanting County, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. The Hui-style Huoshao Mo from Yanting is simple to make, has a great texture, a rich aroma, and is inexpensive with a long shelf life, making it an ideal convenience food for both home and travel.

　　Yanting Huoshao Mo, named for being baked over fire, is also called Huihui Shaomo, and commonly referred to as guokui, baked pancake, or dry flatbread. It differs fundamentally in production techniques, color, aroma, taste, preservation, and texture from the various other types of baked flatbreads made elsewhere. Loved by many, it enjoys fame across Bashu (Sichuan and Chongqing) and stands out as a unique travel food of Yanting. Not trying Huoshao Mo when visiting Yanting would be a great pity.

　　The origin and development of Yanting Huoshao Mo have a long history. Legend has it that during the agricultural era, human lifestyles underwent significant changes. The period around 5000 years ago marked the dawn of Chinese civilization. Yanting was once the ancient state of Xiling, the birthplace of Leizu. After Leizu pioneered mulberry planting, silkworm breeding, silk reeling, and fabric weaving, she traveled far and wide to spread these technologies in order to transform people’s clothing practices. For sustenance during her travels, she carried dough baked over fire. This dough would harden upon cooling and spoil over time, making it unsuitable for long-term use. Through prolonged trial and error, the dough was made thinner, though no fundamental changes were made to its nature.

　　By the 15th century AD, Muslim communities from Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Shandong, Hubei, and other regions who practiced Islam gradually migrated to Yanting, settling in what is now Daxing Township, forming today’s Hui ethnic township.

　　Hui people have customs that prohibit non-Halal foods. During their long migrations and while herding cattle and sheep, they needed to carry their own rations, making Huoshao Mo a convenient travel food. They improved upon the original dough from Leizu’s time by adding leavened dough and seasonings, and developed a set of baking techniques for Huoshao Mo that have been preserved to this day, becoming a distinctive travel food.

　　The process of making Huoshao Mo begins with mixing premium wheat flour and old dough (leavened dough) with water to form a moderately soft dough, which is then left to ferment. Alkali is added to adjust the acidity, achieving an optimal color and flavor before adding Sichuan peppercorn powder and an appropriate amount of fine salt, followed by kneading into strips. These strips are coiled into a spiral, flattened into discs, sprinkled with a small amount of sesame seeds, and then baked on a pan. The baking temperature is carefully controlled, and the bread is removed from the pan when both sides are about 70–80% cooked. It is then placed in the stove’s embers and covered tightly with hot ashes for roasting until the surface turns golden brown, indicating it is fully cooked. The result is a fragrant, flaky, crispy, and delicious Huoshao Mo that lingers in the memory. Its shelf life can last two to three weeks in summer, and four to five weeks in winter.

　　Today, the authentic Huoshao Mo-making process is relatively complex. Many imitations exist, but most are made using self-rising flour, molded with a press, and baked in an oven—without actual fire-baking—resulting in similar appearances but altered flavors. Truly traditional Huoshao Mo is becoming increasingly rare, with only a few authentic producers remaining in Yanting County. Most are now made as gifts for family and friends.