Beijing Street Food - Jianbing guo zi

Jian bing guo zi is one of Beijing's most popular snacks to eat on-the-go. It is a savoury pancake, sold in the morning and mid-day all over the city. You can usually buy them at mobile stalls built on the back of a bicycle, as seen on the photos and video clip.

On the street

Moi, buying jianbing on the street - it's the one in the plastic bag!

There is a little man just outside our local supermarket, who makes jianbing in a jiffy. But you really have to see it to believe it! Click on the video for a quick, amusing clip.

Two more happy customers purchasing a snack from the street vendor

At The Hutong (here)

I took a cooking class at The Hutong with Sophia, who always shows me how to make the most delicious Chinese food, as well as explaining about the benefits of each ingredient, the various traditional customs and anything you need to know to make wonderful Chinese dishes.

Jianbing is really inexpensive in the streets of Beijing - RMB 5, about 50p - but if you are not living in this capital, you can still make it yourself and although it takes a bit longer than the street vendors on the video clip, it is worth the effort!

After we made the batter, with wheat and mung-bean flours and water, Sophia's first recommendation was: "Patience, patience, patience". In order to be able to fold the jianbing four times, the pancake has to be - as Monty Python would say: "wafer-thin". And to avoid burning or breaking the batter, you have to start off with a cool pan, lightly brush with oil, and spread the batter as thin as you can - from the edges to the centre. On a very low heat, patiently wait until the batter slowly cooks. Sophia has practiced a million times, until she got the exact method to make it in a pancake pan. This jianbing will be smaller than the original street-version, but just as good, if not tastier!

deep fried, crunchy, crispy dough

a 'wafer-thin' pancake made at home

crack an egg on top

add toppings

flip over, fold and serve - this is the one I made, woohoo!

Once the pancake is slightly cooked on one side, you crack an egg on top, break it up a bit and let it cook evenly. Then comes my favourite part: flipping over the pancake - so much fun! Brush with hoi sin sauce (sweet wheat-flour paste),  chilli sauce and fermented red bean curd. Sprinkle with chopped green onions, a bit of coriander and some black sesame seeds. On the video clip, you can see the guy asking me if I want some chilli and I replied  'only a little bit, please' in my best Mandarin: "Errr". Add a small sheet of fried, crispy dough and break off with a spatula. When all the ingredients are in place, fold one side, then the other, then the top and finally the bottom, like a small parcel. If you don't have a big pan, the pancake will not be big enough to fold in four (a bit like the one I made at The Hutong), but it doesn't matter, it still tastes delicious! Serve on a plate - or in a plastic bag! And enjoy.

PS: Did someone say 'Food Hygiene at street food-stalls'? Errr, sorry, we don't know what that means :-)