Xuzhou Gaomo

Xuzhou Gaomo

　　 Gaomo is made from unleavened dough, rolled out to a thickness of about 0.1 cm and a diameter of around 30 cm. When eaten, it is soft yet chewy, resilient, and satisfying, both filling and good for dental health. Gaomo is a unique type of flatbread in Xuzhou’s folk cuisine with a long history. A well-known local folk rhyme goes: “Round little cakes a foot wide, crisp and fragrant fried dough twists. Soft on the outside, crispy within—wrap the twists in the cake, and offer them to heroes resisting the Jin.”

　　The tools used to make Gaomo include an iron griddle over a foot in diameter, a noodle roller shaped like a date pit, and a flat bamboo spatula.

　　There are many ways to eat Gaomo—not only can it be wrapped around meat or vegetables, but it can also be made into vegetable pockets using greens or other fillings. If you use two pieces of Gaomo, spread scallions, salt, and oil in between along with an egg to make a fried Gaomo, it becomes especially delicious. Adding sesame to the dough, then sprinkling sugar or salt and partially baking the bread before deep-frying it until golden creates a uniquely crispy and tasty treat. Another distinctive way to enjoy Gaomo in the Xuzhou area is to make it with mung bean flour and cook it in lamb soup or meatball soup.

　　Pronounced luǒ mō in authentic Xuzhou dialect, Gaomo is actually a homophone for “lǚ mō” (with an interesting backstory). Originating in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, Gaomo has a history of over 2,000 years as a local noodle dish. Though not officially a “specialty,” it’s so commonly enjoyed that it’s considered a de facto local specialty. Thanks to convenient transportation, this flatbread has spread widely across the Central Plains, with various regional variations found in Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and Anhui. The historical anecdote of Han Xin recounting the woman’s words “just rub and pat, and it’s done” preserves the traditional pronunciation.

　　Widely popular, Gaomo gradually developed into a signature noodle dish in northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui. Resembling a pancake but differing in texture, material, and preparation method, it became widely loved for being easy to make, convenient to eat, and easy to store—becoming a staple in the daily diet of locals. A children’s rhyme still circulating in Xuzhou goes: “Round little cakes a foot wide, crisp and fragrant fried dough twists, soft on the outside, crispy within—wrap the twists in the cake, and offer them to heroes resisting the Jin.”

　　During the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, when Fang Wen visited Xuzhou, he wrote about the city’s Gaomo in his work “Northern Travels”: “White flour mixed with water is baked into cakes; yellow millet and mixed beans are cooked into porridge. Northern regions rarely have polished rice, so southerners simply follow the local customs.” This shows that Gaomo, this folk flatbread, not only has a long history but has also long been well known.