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Check Out This Chinese Popcorn Stick (Mihuagun) Machine

Batter is dumped into a diesel engine and a long tube of popcorn stick, mihuagun, comes out like toothpaste. I have no idea how this machine works, but I thought it was pretty cool none the less.

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They call it mihuagun, which means popcorn stick, or laoshi baomihua, which means old fashioned popcorn. It’s essentially just corn, sugar, and flavorings mixed together, dumped into a machine, and squirted out in stick form.

I came across a group of street food vendors who were making mihuagun in Hangzhou a couple of months ago. They had an incredible operation going in a public square, which included a three-wheeled motorcycle that had a large diesel engine in its bed. A man fed a constant stream of batter into a funnel, where it was churned and cooked by the engine, and then, in a matter of moments, was pushed out through a circular opening as a long, crispy stick — kind of like squeezing toothpaste. As it came out, the worker would cut the stick into portion sizes, which would fall into a tub to cool.

As they worked, a crowd gathered around. Some were actually buying the popcorn sticks, while others, like myself, seemed to just be fascinated by the strange machine that turned batter into mihuagun.

Watch a video

Check out some photos

mihuagun-chinese-popcorn-stick-maker mihuagun-chinese-popcorn-stick-3 mihuagun-chinese-popcorn-stick-2 mihuagun-chinese-popcorn-stick-achine-2 mihuagun-chinese-popcorn-stick-macine

More on Vagabond Journey: Chinese Street Kitchens Series

Filed under: China, Food, Machines

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3697 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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VBJ is currently in: New York City

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