Comments on: Jian Bing (Chinese Breakfast Crepes)

By: alaya

alaya — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:03:45 +0000

Does anyone knows how to make or what they put inside the Crepe? Not the sauce but that one long thing that is added in to make the crunchy taste!?

By: Divina Pe

Divina Pe — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:28:38 +0000

I can eat this anytime of the day.

By: penny aka jeroxie

penny aka jeroxie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:23:35 +0000

I had this in Beijing and we eat it everyday when we were there. Lovely to have the recipe! mUst try this.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:54:03 +0000

the flour they use in the authentic jian bing is a mixture of mung bean flour and millet flour, no baking sode or other rising agents. just the flours and water. these two flours give the pancake its springy consistency, isntead of being mushy like normal flour.

the crispy bit your husband had in his jian bing is called "bao cui", which has a literal translation of "thin crispy". basicly just like wonton wrappers except made with plain flour.

traditionally the toppings are as follows: Tian mian Jiang (its a sweet/savoury sauce used often with peking duck), chili paste, red pickled tofu juices, finely chopped spring onions, toasted sesame seeds and bao cui.

they spread the batter on a hot plate (which is on a very low heat), making a very thin pancake. then they break 1 or 2 eggs on top of the pancake when its ~80% cooked. they spread the eggs evenly around the pancake and then flip it so the egg may cook. while the egg cooks they brush on the various sauces and sprinkle on toppings. they then fold the pancake around the piece of bao cui so it forms a parcle with it inside.

there you have it, how to make jian bing from a guy who has worked on of the stalls before.

By: Steph F.

Steph F. — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:06:54 +0000

Oh, how interesting! My Taiwanese mom makes a Sandra Lee-d up version of this with flour tortillas, egg and scallions. My brother and I love it with hoisin and chili paste. I had no idea it had an actual name or recipe.

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:53:00 +0000

I don’t think I tell you enough how much I LOVE your blog! I really love the article at the beginning of each post to entice us, the great pics and how you follow up with the recipe. I really feel like I am flipping through a cookbook written by a favorite friend. :)
I am so jazzed by you, I just may put a plug in for ya over on my blog…
♥ Jen

By: Fuji Mama

Fuji Mama — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:38:00 +0000

Oh Leela, that sounds beyond good! Do you have a recipe? YUM!

By: Leela

Leela — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:05:00 +0000

This looks delicious. Once you’ve mastered the crepe, you can play with many different fillings too. I like that.

I grew up eating the long churro-like fried dough which you mentioned. The Thai people have borrowed that from the Chinese and changed its appearance a little bit. Ours are shorter and come in pairs in the manner of the Siamese twins. I eat them dipped in sweetened condensed milk while pretending I’m eating raw carrot sticks to minimize the guilt. :)

By: Christy

Christy — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Those sound so good, better than the stuff I ate in Beijing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

By: HK Lam

HK Lam — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:49:00 +0000

Surprise to see they have adopted the French method of cooking crepe, especially the griddle and the crepe spreading tool. Those commercial crepe griddle are very efficient and able to precisely set the right temperature. The crepe spreader is very foreign to the Chinese. Have a look at the French (Brittany) crepe cooking at http://ethnocooking.blogspot.com/search/label/buckwheat%20crepe