Jianbing...ish
This is my rather unorthodox version of the “Jianbing” crêpe, which is a ubiquitous street food sold at breakfast time all across northern China. I had read about this cultural gastronomic icon before I arrived in my new hometown of Tianjin, China in 2018, and on my second day in the city I made a beeline to the historic Nanshi Food Street to seek out my first Jianbing. Over the next four years I was to consume dozens, if not hundreds of these incredible creations, and my final meal in the city in 2022 before heading to the airport to return to the United States was, you guessed it, a Jianbing.
I improvised the recipe and didn’t exactly measure any of the ingredients, just dumping until it looked right, but here is roughly what’s in them.
For the Crêpe:
About 1 1/2cups white flour
About 1/2 cup Rye flour
A couple tablespoons of Cornstarch
A couple tablespoons of sugar
A rounded teaspoon of baking powder
Turmeric
Salt
Garlic powder
Paprika
Four eggs
A dash of olive oil
Enough water to form a thin batter
For the Secret Sauce (oh no! It’s not secret anymore)
Hoisin sauce
Chili crisp paste
Sriracha
Orange marmalade
A dash of Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
Mix this up ahead of time, and let it sit in the fridge for a while, so I’ll the flavors merge together.
For the Toppings
Green onions
Cilantro
Pork floss
Crispy fried onions
…or a wide variety of other items
I buy the crispy fried onions from an Asian supermarket, but they are vaguely similar to the American French’s crispy fried onions, like we use for topping casseroles, so these can be substituted also. The Chinese onions are just a bit less oily than their American counterpart.
And pf course, fresh green onions and fresh cilantro are ideal, but I wasn’t planning on making these today and had not shopped for it, so I substituted dried chives and dried cilantro (but I ran out of the chives on the first two trial run crêpes…which I quickly ate to give me strength to continue…and had to settle for just the cilantro on the one in the video.
Preparing the Batter:
The batter should be extremely thin, and flow easily over the surface of a griddle when poured. It’s best to mix the batter—really whisk in a bunch of air bubbles; really let it have it (of course an electric beater does the trick too, but where’s the fun in that. Build that wrist and forearm strength and whisk away)—anyway…mix it up ahead of time and let it rest in the refrigerator for a few hours to overnight. This will allow all of the ingredients to bond together and give you a stronger crêpe that will not rip as easily. The batter can be kept in the fridge for a few days if you want to mix up enough for multiple feastings.
Cooking Instructions:
Preheat a griddle or large skillet to a relatively high heat, grease it with a dash of oil, butter, or cooking spray, then pour about a cup of batter in the center and swish the skillet side to side so the batter flows across the surface to form a very thin layer. It should feel like, rather than pouring a circle of batter like you would for a pancake, that you are more rather just “coating” the surface of the griddle with the liquid batter like a layer of paint.
Either use your intuition, or peak underneath to monitor when it gets golden brown and develops good
strong air bubbles. Then carefully turn it over. If the batter has been prepared and rested right, the crêpe should be strong enough to lift it by its edge with your fingers and flip it.
While the second side is cooking, spread a a couple spoonfulls of the secret sauce over about half of the crêpe’s surface. The heat should allow some of the sauce to be absorbed into the poorest surface of the crêpe. Then sprinkle your toppings over the half of the surface with sauce on it.
(Aside from this filling, the sky is the limit with other fillings so long as they are relatively flat and allow the crêpe to be folded. The authentic version would have a couple sheets of crispy fried egg roll dough in the middle to give it some crunch, but I didn’t have any on hand for a westernized version you can also use corn chips.)
Once you have finished adding the toppings, and you feel the underside has crisped up sufficiently, gently fold the crêpe in half so that it lies flat and forms a half circle. Continue cooking, turning to each side, until both are crispy and golden brown.
Once it is cooked to the desired stage, fold it over a few times and chop it into two manageable sized pieces. Keep in mind the original is a grab and go street food that you might pick up from your favorite food cart as I often did when walking to the subway.
Enjoy!
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