Xuecheng Grain-Thickened Soup 薛城糁汤

Xuecheng Grain-Thickened Soup (薛城糁汤) is the local form of sa (糁), a thick breakfast soup of wheat kernels and meat, as made in Xuecheng District (薛城区) of Zaozhuang (枣庄). Chinese Wikipedia notes that the character is normally read san or shen, but in Shandong and Henan dialects it is pronounced sa. The Shandong news site Qilu Net (齐鲁网) reported in 2024 on a local saying that the mornings in Xuecheng are woken by a bowl of sa. It calls sa the favourite traditional breakfast of Xuecheng people.

Ingredients

The government of Zaozhuang's Shizhong District (市中区) lists chicken, or beef or mutton, with wheat kernels (麦仁), flour, scallion, ginger, salt, ground pepper, five-spice powder, sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar. Chinese Wikipedia names wheat kernels and chicken as the main ingredients and says the stock is boiled from large bones, mainly beef bones, which turn it milky white. Scallion, garlic, ginger, coriander and pepper go in as seasoning, and sometimes an egg is beaten into the hot soup.

How it is made

A 2026 food feature on Lunet (鲁网) describes the Zaozhuang method in four stages: beef bones for the stock, soaked wheat kernels simmered soft, finely diced meat, then a final simmer until everything blends. The bones are simmered over a low wood fire through the night until the stock turns thick and white. The kernels, soaked for half a day, cook in it until they burst open. The soup is stirred to keep it from catching and is ready when it coats the ladle.

How it is eaten

The soup is thick and strong-tasting, and the Shizhong government says it should be "hot, spicy, fragrant and rich" (热、辣、香、肥). In Xuecheng it goes with youtiao (油条) fried dough sticks, sanzi (馓子) fried dough twists or steamed buns, a pairing Qilu Net describes as crisp, salty and spicy. The aroma of meat and grain comes up from the bowl together. For Zaozhuang as a whole, the Shizhong government also names shaobing (烧饼) and kaopai (烤牌) flatbreads. The Lunet feature adds coriander, garlic shoots and home-made chilli oil as seasonings, with a vegetable jianbing (菜煎饼) on the side.