Doumo Millet Porridge 豆沫

Doumo Millet Porridge (豆沫) is a savoury millet preparation eaten in Handan (邯郸). People’s Daily writer Ning Yu (宁雨) describes a bowl as translucent and creamy yellow, with peanuts, chopped soybeans, kelp, green leaves, shredded carrot and fine noodles visible in the liquid. Sesame salt can be added at the table for a stronger fragrance.

How it is made

A People’s Daily account describes a seller from Fengfeng (峰峰) and a preparation that begins the night before: fennel seeds and star anise are toasted, while soybeans and noodles are soaked. In the morning, soaked millet is stone-ground with the spices into a slurry. The chopped beans, noodles, cooked peanuts, kelp and vegetables go into simmering water in stages. Diluted millet slurry is added near the end, then the mixture is stirred as it cooks for about twenty minutes.

How it is eaten

The seller suggests baked flatbreads or fried dough sticks alongside a hot bowl. Corn cakes with a small plate of sweet garlic and chive-flower relish are another combination described in the account. The same writer encountered doumo served with sesame salt at a Handan hotel.