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Jianbing
Jianbing
- Preparation time 20 mins
- Serves 4 people
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This dish is a popular morning street food, iconic to Tianjin but now served across China and the world. The batter can be made from various grain flours but I prefer wheat as it’s soft and flexible.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 wonton wrappers or 100 g bag crunchy fried noodles
- Neutral oil, to fry
- 4 eggs
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 4 tsps toasted sesame seeds
- 4 tbsps hoisin sauce
- Chili sauce, (ABC or sriracha) to taste
- small bunch of coriander, leaves picked
Method
- Combine flour, water and salt in a large jug and whisk til smooth. Set aside while you prepare the wonton wrappers, or rest 5 minutes.
- For the crispy wonton, place a small pot or pan on medium heat and add about 2cm of neutral oil. Once the oil has heated, drop in a wonton wrapper and fry until crisp and golden. Adjust the burner as necessary, each wrapper should only take 30 seconds or so to crisp up. Repeat and set aside in a sieve or paper-lined plate to drain.
- Alternatively, coat with oil and airfry your wrappers in a single layer for 5 minutes at 200°C.
Assemble all the ingredients next to the stove and place a large non-stick frypan over medium heat. Lightly oil the pan then pour a thin layer of batter, just like a crepe, onto the pan and using a spatula or flipper spread the batter out to fill any gaps. - Once the crepe has just set, crack an egg into the centre and spread it into a thin layer. Add a small handful of spring onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the egg is just set.
- Flip the crepe over so it’s egg-side down, then using the back of a spoon spread a thin layer of hoisin sauce and chilli sauce onto the crepe.
- Slightly crush and place two crispy wonton wrappers or fried noodles in an even layer on the crepe, leaving two parallel edges free. Fold those edges in to meet at the centre, then fold lengthways to enclose the filling. Remove from the pan and serve. Repeat for remaining three.
You may have some batter leftover but since getting a thin crepe can be tricky I’ve left a bit of contingency in the recipe.
Notes
Recipe by Camellia Ling Aebischer
