Chinese Burgers Are NOT Hamburgers

The so-called "Chinese hamburger" is not a hamburger at all. Put simply, it's a loose-meat sandwich. Between the buns of a "Chinese hamburger" is shredded or coarsely chopped pork that is never formed into a patty. In no way is it a "hamburger" or "burger." A hamburger requires a patty of ground meat. No patty, no burger. This isn't rocket science.

To anyone who cares about truth and accuracy, it's a myth worth debunking. Unfortunately, this perversion of language is perpetuated by people who know better, "food experts" who lazily call Rou Jia Mo a "Chinese burger" just because "it's easier." Easier? So why, then, don't they call Fettuccini al Pomodoro the easier name of "spaghetti?" It would be no less accurate than calling a loose meat sandwich with no patty a "burger."

The Chinese name for it is "Rou Jia Mo" (肉夹馍), which loosely translates to "meat in a bun." But that could describe a bologna sandwich or a hot dog, a sloppy joe or a pulled pork sandwich. Crucially, "Rou Jia Mo" does not specify a PATTY of meat. After seeing otherwise-respectable food experts refer to "Chinese hamburgers," it was refreshing to find Andong, a renowned food expert and YouTuber who notes that "the Chinese burger is a myth." He sums it up perfectly: "No patty, no burger." 

It doesn't matter if the Rou Jia Mo loose pork sandwich was created before the German-American sandwich known universally as a hamburger. It doesn't matter which came first. Rou Jia Mo is still not — and never has been — a hamburger. Dinosaurs came before horses. That doesn't make them horses.

Related:

• Does the "Chinese Hamburger" Deserve Its Name? - YouTube
• Here's How Hamburgers Got Their Name - tastingtable.com
• Minced Meat Vs Ground Meat - foodsguy.com
• Where Hamburgers Began - history.com 
• His Name Is Andong - YouTube