At the table
Mix the sauce through the noodles and eat with the sliced donkey meat. Ask for any chili separately if you prefer a mild plate.
These are wheat noodles served with donkey meat. The mushroom sauce may also contain pork and tofu; check it if you avoid pork or soy.
Noodle thickness varies; mushroom, pork and tofu sauce is one accompaniment.
The chewy noodles and savory sauce can be shared in a small portion; cut the meat and noodles into manageable pieces.
Recipes vary. Ask the restaurant about ingredients and serving before you order.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Noodle thickness varies; mushroom, pork and tofu sauce is one accompaniment.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Savory meat and mushroom sauce.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Chewy noodles made slippery by their sauce.
- How it’s made
- Work flour dough with culinary alkali, pull into long noodles and boil; serve with sauce and donkey meat.
Noodle thickness varies; mushroom, pork and tofu sauce is one accompaniment.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Gansu.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有敦煌驴肉黄面吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
How Dunhuang’s doorway-pulled noodles met donkey meat
Dunhuang yellow noodles were once reserved for weddings and funerals. At temporary kitchens, skilled noodle pullers stretched long strands—sometimes two or three metres—out through the doorway as onlookers watched, giving rise to the local phrase “yellow noodles pulled beyond the door.” In later decades, donkey meat became a popular pairing; the dish entered Dunhuang’s first municipal intangible-heritage list in 2007.
