Ingredients
Batter
- 100 gmung bean flour
- 100 gplain flour
- 50 gmillet or cornflour
- 500 mlwater
- ½ tspsalt
- ½ tspfive spice
Per crepe
- 1egg
- 1baocui cracker or 1 sheet of fried wonton skin
- spring onions
- coriander
- toasted sesame seeds
Sauces
- 2 tbspsweet bean sauce or hoisin
- 1 tbspfermented chilli sauce
- 1 tspsesame paste
Optional
- pickled mustard stem
- lettuce
- sausage
Directions
- Whisk the flours, water, salt and five spice into a thin, smooth batter and rest it 20 minutes. The batter should be thinner than for a crepe, closer to single cream, so it can be spread paper-thin.
- Heat a large flat griddle or the widest flat pan you have over a medium heat and grease it very lightly.
- Pour a ladleful into the centre and spread it into a thin circle with a wooden scraper or the back of the ladle, in one continuous outward spiral. Going over the same spot twice tears the batter, and a hesitant spread gives you thick patches that stay raw.
- Scatter spring onion, coriander and sesame seeds over the egg and press them in lightly.
- Brush the now-upward side with sweet bean sauce, chilli sauce and sesame paste.
- Lay the crisp baocui cracker in the centre, add any pickles or lettuce, then fold the sides in over it and fold again into a rectangle.
- Fold it while the crepe is still hot and pliable, and eat it immediately. The cracker is the whole texture of the dish and it goes soft within minutes, which is why jianbing is eaten standing at the cart.
Technique
- Baocui is a large flat fried cracker made for this purpose; fried wonton skins are the usual home substitute.
- Sweet bean sauce, tianmianjiang, is the correct sauce and hoisin is close enough.
- Two eggs is common and is worth asking for.
Substitutions
- All plain flour if mung bean flour is unavailable, accepting a plainer taste.
- A crushed prawn cracker or a sheet of crisp filo in place of baocui.
Variations
- With a fried sausage or a ham slice inside.
- Shandong style, with a thicker crepe.
- Vegetarian, with extra pickles and lettuce.
History
A savory crepe made from a thin batter of wheat and mung bean flour, cooked on a hot griddle and folded around a filling of egg, crispy fried cracker, spring onion and a savory-spicy sauce, developed as a popular Chinese breakfast street food, particularly associated with northern China though now sold nationwide from mobile carts and stalls. Its combination of a soft crepe with a crunchy fried element inside, giving jianbing a distinctive textural contrast, distinguishes it from many other simpler Chinese breakfast foods, and the dish is traditionally cooked to order in a single continuous motion by an experienced vendor, spreading the batter, cracking the egg, adding fillings and folding the finished crepe all in one quick, practiced sequence.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jianbing?
Jianbing is a street food from China: savory mung-bean crepe with egg, crisp cracker, spring onions and hoisin-chili sauce. A savory crepe made from a thin batter of wheat and mung bean flour, cooked on a hot griddle and folded around a filling of egg, crispy fried cracker, spring onion and a savory-spicy sauce, developed as a popular Chinese breakfast street food, particularly associated with northern China though now sold nationwide from mobile carts and stalls. Its combination of a soft crepe with a crunchy fried element inside, giving jianbing a distinctive textural contrast, distinguishes it from many other simpler Chinese breakfast foods, and the dish is traditionally cooked to order in a single continuous motion by an experienced vendor, spreading the batter, cracking the egg, adding fillings and folding the finished crepe all in one quick, practiced sequence.
How long does Jianbing take to make?
Jianbing takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 crepes. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Jianbing?
Yes, within limits. All plain flour if mung bean flour is unavailable, accepting a plainer taste. A crushed prawn cracker or a sheet of crisp filo in place of baocui.
What is the most important thing to get right in Jianbing?
Fold it while the crepe is still hot and pliable, and eat it immediately. The cracker is the whole texture of the dish and it goes soft within minutes, which is why jianbing is eaten standing at the cart.
