China – Jianbing

by Fauzan Anandika

China, one of the biggest countries in the world, has dominated Asia for a long time. The Chinese culture has influenced many other cultures there is a little China in every Asian culture, food, dance, or tradition. It happens because Chinese people have explored the world for many decades. They are renowned as explorers, conquerors, traders, and immigrant as we can see right now, they’re everywhere in the world.

In the culinary world, plenty of things originated from China, spices like soy sauce, tauco(fermented yellow soybean), shrimp paste, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and many more. These various spices make Chinese has an authentic taste and unique savory taste. That taste comes from a fermented ingredient that can not be found, except using a Chinese ingredient.

Chinese people eat rice and noodle as the main staple. They also have various delicious street food. One of the favorite street food is Jianbing that has a similar feature to a crepe but with a different filling. Jianbing becomes a Chinese favorite breakfast meal. Jianbing uses wheat flour, eggs, and sauce as the main ingredient. Fill with ham, mustard pickles, onion leaves, coriander, and hoisin sauce.

According to local history, Jianbing firstly cooks at the Three Kingdom age (220-280) and maybe become the first pancake in the world. Jianbing becomes popular because it’s simple food and always serve fresh. It can be modified base on everyone’s taste, so Jianbing can easily penetrate many countries like the US and Europe. Jianbing also contains healthy ingredients such as soybean, green bean, black beans, lettuce, and egg.

Cook Jianbing also easy. There is two-step to cook Jianbing. The first step is to prepare the skin and the second one is to make its filling. So prepare your cookware and start to make some Jianbing.

Crepe ingredient

• 150-gram wheat flour
• 30-gram multipurpose flour
• 30-gram cornflour
• 30-gram Mung bean flour
• 5-gram baking soda
• 50 ml of water

Filling ingredient

• 1 piece of egg
• 20-gram cheese nachos
• 15-gram onion leaves, chopped
• 15 grams celery, chopped
• 5-gram soybean, well steamed
• 5 grams green bean, well steamed
• 5 grams black beans. well steamed
• 1 piece of lettuce
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
• Butter

Dipping sauce ingredient

• 9 cayenne pepper
• 6 red chili
• 4 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon chicken broth powder
• 150 ml of water

Dipping sauce preparation

1. Boil in hot water garlic, red chili, and cayenne pepper until withered. Remove and strain
2. Blend garlic, red chili, and cayenne pepper using a food processor.
3. Boil water, strain, and pour the chili mixture into the water.
4. Add salt, sugar, lime juice, and chicken broth powder.
5. Add cornstarch, adjust the taste with sugar and salt.
6. Cook until boiling.
7. Remove to a medium bowl.

How to cook Jianbing

1. Mix all the skin ingredients with a food processor, strain, and remove them into a bog bowl.
2. Prepare a crepe pan, heat with a small fire.
3. Brush butter to the crepe pan.
4. Pour 25 ml of crepe mixture, quickly spread all over the crepe pan surface.
5. Add egg and spread it to the crepe surface
6. Pour onions leaf and celery.
7. Scrap under the crepe pan before it’s overcooked.
8. Fold into half, add some chili sauce, tomato sauce, and sweet soy sauce.
9. Add cheese nachos, soybean, green bean, black beans, and lettuce.
10. Fold each side over the filling, rolls the crepe.
11. Cut into two-part.
12. Jianbing ready to serve with a side of dipping sauce.