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(CNN) - From steamed dumplings to hot pot, traditional Chinese food has often proved very popular in the West. Now, Chinese restaurant owners hope to have found the following delicacy to break the western market: donkey burgers.
In Beijing, the unusual dish is undoubtedly popular.
At lunchtime, diners head to the brightly colored “Fat Wang's Donkey Burger” restaurant in the busy central district of Xicheng in that city.
Sitting at a counter with a group of friends, Beijing native Wang Li Min is putting the donkey burger in the restaurant chain, which comes in a long thin bread with scallions.
"In China, we have a saying," says Wang, between bites. “In heaven, there is dragon meat. On Earth, there is donkey meat. ”
The meat tastes juicy and full of flavor, more like beef than chicken or pork.
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Originally a delicacy from northern China in Hebei Province, the donkey-based sandwich has spread to major cities across the country. There are more than 20 Fat Wang branches in Beijing alone.
However, the popularity of donkey burgers throughout China is debated. According to Sun Yu Jiang, a professor at the Qingdao Agricultural University, the high demand is only really isolated in some large provinces such as Hebei or Xinjiang.
"Donkey meat is not the main product of meat consumption," he says. "Most people in China are more likely to eat pigs, birds, cattle and sheep."
But Zhang Haitao, the official representative of the donkey burger sanctioned by the Hebei government and founder of the Kung Fu Donkey restaurant chain, says demand is growing faster than supply. He even thinks it could be a global product.
"When I was president of the Hejian Burger Burger Association (earlier this year), the market value of this type of hamburger business was approximately 8 billion yuan per year," he says. That is around US $ 1.1 billion.
"But if the donkey meat market can improve, the market value of the industry could be at least 100 billion yuan in the future," he adds.
Emperors and trains
There are different stories about how donkey meat became a popular delicacy in northern China.
Wang Haibo, regional head of the Fat Wang chain and nephew of the founder of the same name, says that the legend of donkey meat dates back to the 1700s during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty.
“When the emperor was traveling south, he stopped at Hejian Fang in Hebei Province. He felt hungry at night and asked a eunuch if there was anything he could eat. The woman in the house where he stayed made a pancake. Coincidentally, they had just killed a donkey and cooked their meat, so she gathered them and gave it to the emperor, ”says Wang.
According to Wang, the emperor was so impressed with his food that he took the recipe back to Beijing, from where it spread throughout the country.
Another explanation is that many donkeys from Hebei Province, previously used for freight transport, were deprecated after the introduction of the railways towards the end of the Qing dynasty. Not needing them for transportation, locals found another use for their donkeys.
Wang Haibo, regional head of Fat Wang, with a sample of the products in the Beijing store in September.
But the government-sponsored expert, Zhang, says the story is very simple. Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, farmers began using donkey meat as food when traveling for work.
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“Donkey meat was cheaper at that time. Donkey burgers can be stored for several days before they crack, ”he says. Over time, according to Zhang, it spread to other provinces and nearby cities.
Whatever the reason, the dish has now become an important part of northeastern Chinese cuisine and is increasingly used to attract tourists.
Hebei Province even organized its first annual donkey burger festival in May 2017.
“The demand for donkeys is growing, but the market has changed in recent years. It used to be a low-end market, and now it has become a medium or high-end market, ”says Zhang.
However, there are indications that, instead of growing, the donkey meat market in China is shrinking.
According to official data from the Chinese government, the number of donkeys that are kept as livestock has been reduced by almost 50% in the last 10 years to 2.53 million in 2018. By comparison, before the recent swine fever crisis, China had more of 420 million pigs.
The Qingdao Sun professor says the fall was probably due in part to the increasing industrialization of transportation and agriculture. In addition, raising donkeys is expensive and time consuming.
Feeling fast food?
Originally from Hebei, Fat Wang's is one of the largest donkey meat restaurant chains in China. In addition to their exclusive donkey burgers, they are also known for their hot donkey meat pots.
Regional chief Wang is very particular about how to handle donkey meat. “It has to be from donkeys older than three years. If they are too young, the meat will be too soft to eat. If the meat is frozen it will not taste good, ”he says.
Wang explains that it is his family's recipe for the donkey burgers they use to this day. And now they want to share it with the world.
"I'm thinking of expanding out of China," says Wang. "It's just that so far our management team can't keep up with the speed of expansion (nationally) ... But I think we can expand this to the western world."
Zhang from Kung Fu Donkey says there are already several people looking to open branches abroad.
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"It has been called a model for 'Chinese fast food' ... The donkey burger cooking procedure can be standardized like McDonald's and KFC burgers," he says, adding that he would like to emulate the success of hot pots from Haidilao, which has hundreds of branches worldwide.
They may be fighting an uphill battle. A donkey burger restaurant that opened with a lot of fanfare in the Australian city of Sydney in 2018, apparently already closed permanently.
Wang says he is confident that Chinese-born Americans spread the great taste of donkey meat and create a market in the United States.
No matter who comes first, Wang says he is happy to wait since he is not worried about his competition.
"Their burgers will never taste like ours," he says.
Chinese foodBurgers