Beijing Eat: Qing Jiang (青江驴肉火烧) Donkey & Horse Meat Pastries

Qing Jiang Food (青江饮食), located along Chaoyangmen South Street (朝阳门南小街) at the eastern mouth of Shijia Hutong (史家胡同东口), is also known as Qing Jiang Donkey Meat Pastry (青江驴肉火烧) or Xiao Xiang Ji Hunan Noodle (小湘记湖南米粉). The restaurant serves donkey meat pastry (a.k.a. donkey "burger"), Hunan rice noodle and Sichuan noodle dishes, as highlighted on its signboard.

Qing Jiang serves several types of huo shao (火烧), or Chinese savoury pastry, with donkey meat, donkey offal, horse meat, beef, pork, braised egg, etc, or without filling. There are also a list of Hunan-style and Sichuan-style noodle dishes with different meats or flavours, zajiang mian (杂酱面, meat-sauce noodle), donkey meat soup and various hotpot options with donkey meat, chicken or beef.

A well-known saying in Hebei goes: "In heaven there is dragon meat, on Earth there is donkey meat" (天上龙肉、地下驴肉). Donkey meat is known for being leaner than beef, with a finer texture and less fat. And donkey meat huo shao (驴肉火烧) is a popular Chinese street food from Hebei province. It is not a sweet pastry, but a savoury, flaky, oven-roasted flatbread filled with braised donkey meat, and often include some greens. 

QingJiang's huo shao uses thin roasted flatbread that is flaky outside and soft, chewy inside. Their Standard Huo Shao (标准火烧) is stuffed with slices of donkey meat with whitish "donkey skin jelly" (驴皮冻/阿胶) — gelatine extracted from boiling donkey hides said to have medicinal properties — and crunchy greens. This is the best choice to try both the tender donkey meat with savoury "donkey skin jelly" adding some tastiness to the pastry.

The Specialty Huo Shao (精品火烧) is stuffed with donkey meat only. It is meatier, without the savoury flavour of the "donkey skin jelly", and offers a different taste experience from the Standard Huo Shao.

The Horse Meat Huo Shao (马肉火烧) uses similar flatbread but stuffed with reddish horse meat slices, greens and some other ingredients, including "donkey skin jelly", at the discretion of the restaurant. The horse meat is savoury and tender as well.

The Donkey Meat & Offal Soup (驴杂汤) is served with donkey stomach, tripe, big intestine, fresh meat with soft tendons in clear broth. The donkey offal have slightly different textures from other animal offal and the intestine has a salty note. There is no gamey taste. The hot, savoury broth has rich flavours, delicious and very welcoming in the cold seasons. Donkey Meat Soup (驴肉汤) is also available without offal and better to go for it around lunch before it runs out for the day.

The Braised Beef Noodle (红烧牛肉面) is served with thick cuts of beef brisket with greens on noodle in a Sichuan-style medium-spicy broth. The beef is very succulent and the broth is flavoured with Chinese spices. This is a great dish to go for with beef — aside from donkey and horse meat.

When in Beijing, don't miss the local specialties and Qing Jiang is a great place to go for donkey and horse meats in flaky pastries and noodle dishes. If in a group of at least two, try their donkey meat hotpot.

Address:

北京市东城区朝阳门南小街205号 (史家胡同东口) — Baidu Map

205 Chaoyangmen South Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing City, China

Opening Hours:

6am to 11pm | Daily

Nearby: Beijing Eat: Baheli Shantou Beef Hotpot (八合里汕头牛肉火锅)