How to Make Chinese Pancakes (Bing)

Bing, also known as a Chinese pancake, is a traditional Chinese recipe, similar to crepes or pancakes. It is commonly made of dough or 面 in Chinese and has a pancake-like consistency at the end. If this is already mouthwatering to you, be prepared to learn how to make this yummy recipe!

[Edit]Ingredients

[Edit]Cong You Bing

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• Handful of spring onions
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil

[Edit]Chunbing

• Flour
• Water

[Edit]Xianbing

• 500g flour
• 250g meat
• 500g vegetable of your choice
• Water
• Oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Pepper
• Ginger powder
• Soybean sauce
• Minced green onion
• 1 tablespoon Chinese black bean sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Asian pepper sauce

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Making Cong You Bing^[1]

1. Combine the ingredients for the dough (flour, salt, and cooking oil). Knead the dough until it has a soft consistency that isn't too wet.
   
   
   
   • During this time, you can adjust the consistency, for example, by adding more oil or flour.
   • Make sure you have enough dough for your desired amount and size of the pancake.
2. Separate the dough into different pieces, the size that you want. If you want to make the pancake bigger, don't separate it too much, and vice versa.
   
   
   • You can use a rolling pin to help with making a circle.
   • Chinese Pancake is commonly made in a circle shape, but can be any shape you want!
3. Add spring onions to the dough. Cut the onions into tiny chunks and sprinkle it on the bing. This gives the flavour for the cong you bing.
   
   
   • The name "cong" in cong you bing actually refers to the spring onions.
   • These can also be called scallions, green onions, and onions.
   • You can also knead the dough again to mix the onion in.
4. Fry both sides of the pancake on low-medium heat until the sides are golden brown. It typically takes 3-5 minutes per side.
   
   
   • Remember to take it out before the sides get dark brown.
   • Fry for a short time if you want soft pancake, and fry it for a longer time to make it crispeir.
5. Serve and enjoy! It can be eaten as a casual food, but can be incorporated into formal meals as well.
   
   
   

[Edit]Making Chunbing ^[2]

This type of Bing, Chinese Pancake, is commonly eaten to celebrate the start of spring, as "chun" means "spring" in Chinese.

1. Make the dough. To do this, mix the flour and water until they form a nice consistency. It should be soft and not sticky. Make sure you have enough dough for your desired amount.
   
   
   • Usually, the best flour to water ratio is 3:2.
   • It's recommended to use hot water.
2. Cut the dough into pieces. Like the cong you bing, you can cut it into any shape you want, but a circle is usually preferred.
   
   
   • You can also stack the pieces to form a thicker dough.
3. Cook the dough in a heated pan. While doing this, flip the dough over as needed. The sides usually will have brown spots around it.
   
   
4. Serve the chun bing with other savoury dishes. These can include tofu, eggs, meat, and vegetables. It's also possible to put some ingredients in on the pancake and roll it up.
   
   
   • You can also spread a dip on it for extra flavour!

[Edit]Making Xianbing

This recipe makes ten xianbings.

1. Mix 250 grams of meat and 500 grams of vegetables separately and put them into separate bowls.
   
   • You may choose from cabbage, Chinese chives, and other vegetables.
2. Sprinkle the vegetables with one teaspoon salt and season the meat with one teaspoon salt, pepper, ginger powder, and one tablespoon minced green onion, vegetable oil, and soybean sauce. You may adjust the amount according to your preferences.
   
   • If you chose a watery vegetable such as cabbage, you need to squeeze the water out after sprinkling it with salt. Let it sit for one to two hours and squeeze the water out with your hands.
3. Mix the vegetable and meat together after seasoning them and store in the refrigerator for an hour to let the seasonings flavor the mixture thoroughly.
   
4. Make the dough (the wrapper) in the meantime by combining 500 grams of flour with enough water to knead into a soft dough. Knead until smooth.
   
   • Depending on where you are, you will need different amounts of water. You will need, for example, more water in arid regions than in humid regions. It is all a matter of personal preference. Some people like a softer dough, while others prefer a firmer texture.
5. Heat up the pan while still working on the dough. It will then be ready for you when you need to cook.
   
6. Come back to the dough and divide it into ten equal pieces. Each dough will become a single wrapper for a single xianbing. Roll each one out into flat, round pieces, 10-centimeter in diameter.
   
7. Scoop up some of the meat-vegetable mixture previously made onto a wrapper and close it up at the top by folding wrinkles on the top side. Flatten it lightly into a 1-centimeter thick round pad. Repeat with each wrapper.
   
   • Depending on your xianbing skills, you may add more or less filling. Try to add only enough filling that you know you can close up. Later on, when you become more and more skilled, experiment with more filling and thinner wrappers.
8. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and place the uncooked xianbings in it. Place a lid on the pan and wait for two minutes, after which you will need to flip the xianbings. It will be done when both sides are cooked golden yellow.
   
   • You probably cannot add all the xianbings into the pan at once unless you have an extremely large pan. Feel free to cook them in different batches.

[Edit]References

1. ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/264199/cong-you-bing-chinese-scallion-pancakes/
2. ↑ https://redhousespice.com/easy-chinese-tortilla/

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