Jian Bing - A Traditional Chinese Breakfast
http://bbs.chijiawang.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=18987
Speaking of Chinese breakfast, many people would think of sweet pork steam buns served with congee or tea in Dim Sum restaurants. Well, that indeed is Chinese, but it wouldn't be the first thing to come to mind if you ask a Northern Chinese, such as me. As a Beijinger, when asked about my typical breakfast, my answer is undoubted Jian Bing and soy bean milk.
7:00AM on a usual foggy day in Beijing, Jian Bing sellers park their tricycles at almost every corner of the city, heating up the pans and preparing the ingredients. "Jian Bing only 4 Yuan!" They would shout. As waves of students rush to school, line-ups would form in front of those tricycles, hurrying the pedlars. My friends and I used to each get one Jian Bing and a cup of soy bean milk at the stand right across our high school. We had neither the money nor the time to go to McDonald's to get a luxurious breakfast as it was (and still it) rather expensive in China, and a Jian Bing was all we needed. The steam of the freshly made Jian Bing, the mixture of crispiness and softness, and the aroma of the warm soy bean milk stick deep in my mind, and they shall never be replaced by any other food.
Jian Bing is one of the most commonly eaten traditional breakfast for average Beijingers and many northern Chinese people. As wheat is the primary grain product in northern China, noodles, pancakes, and other wheat based products are commonly ate. Jian Bing is an example for this. It is made essentially with a batter of grain flour, usually wheat or mung bean, fried on a griddle. The crepe is then topped with egg, green onion or scallion, and baocui, which is a crsipy or chewy fried craker. A sweet sauce made of fermented flour called Tian Mian Jiang is also commonly used to give Jian Bing a salty taste, which is preferred especially by Beijingers. Jian Bing is cheap, and it is always served in a plastic bag. It is usually folded several times before being put into the plastic wrapper so that it is easy to carry and bite.
Here is a video clip of how Jian Bing is made at a typical street stand:
It is difficult to find Jian Bing stands even in southern China, so as a student studying in Canada, I decided rely on myself and to make my own Jian Bing.
Here comes the recipe:
- 2 cup of all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of corn flour (it is suggested to use mung flour since it strengthen the crepe, but I am using corn flour instead because I couldn't find mung flour. )
- 1/4 cup of sweet soybean paste (Tian Mian Jiang)
- 2 green onion
- 1 egg
- Cold water
- 2 tsp of Five-Spice powder (Wu Xiang Fen)
- 3tsp of oil
Directions:
5, chop the green onions to about the size of half of a pinky nail.
7, Heat on medium high heat, wait until the pan is heated.
8, Add oil to the pan and fry the dough strips to golden colour (make sure they are fully cooked before you take them out of the pan.)
9, Now it is time to make the wrapping crepe for Jian Bing. Take a large spoon and pour the mixed flour liquid into the pan, using a large rectangular spatula, spread into thin layer. Cook for about 30 seconds.
*** To avoid breaking the crepe, put one nice big scoop of the mixed flour liquid into the pan. Do not take multiple small scoops like I tried to do in the GIF! I made the crepe very easy to break! |
10, Flip the crepe, be careful to not break it.
Beverage Suggestion
Soybean milk, a very important beverage in Chinese culture, is believed to have more nutritional values than milk. The abundance of Vitamin B2 and E in soybean milk contributes to maintaining healthiness of hair and skin and accelerating metabolism, while the soya protein lowers the cholesterol and cleans the blood. Soybean milk also contains higher amount of iron, calcium and other minerals comparing to all dairy products, which strengthens one's health.
It is a part of the Chinese culture to serve hot drinks. Same applies to soybean milk - it is rarely served cold, as people believe that drinking cold beverage is bad for health. A warm cup of sweet soy bean milk mixes with the salty taste of Jian Bing, Sweetened soybean milk is a preferred beverage to go with Jian Bing as well as other breakfast dishes. It is, too, usually sold in soft plastic cups so that it is easy to carry and drink.
Nutrition
This breakfast combination not only resemble the food culture of Beijing and northern China, but also provides sufficient nutrient. Jian Bing contains mung bean and egg, which provide a large amount of protein; and the recipe I introduced to you contains corn flour, which is a source of fiber that can be used for food digestion. Wheat flour used in this recipe to make the batter provides one with calcium, iron, protein, vitamin A, and other minerals. Green onion contains a large amount of vitamin C, which helps in accelerating blood flow and preventing high blood pressure.
Comments
After making this breakfast, my friends Jianne (from Hong Kong,) Haeji (from Korea,) and Caroline (from India,) tried it.
Here are some of their comments:
1, How did you like the breakfast? What aspect of it did you like the most?
I really liked the idea of putting the fried dough inside the egg since dough is a very good source of carbohydrates, which makes us feel full. The fried dough also made it more fun and interesting to eat since the outside (egg) was soft and the inside (dough) was a bit harder.
2, How did you feel when you first ate this breakfast?
Since it is winter, I felt warm when I had my first bite at this breakfast. Although the whole breakfast was fried, I really like the fact that it wasn't oily.
3, How did trying a new breakfast make you feel?
After trying a breakfast I have never had before, it has widen my choice of breakfast and taught me what Northern Chinese breakfast tastes like. Overall, I felt fulfilling.
4, Did the breakfast sustain you until lunch?
The breakfast sustained me until 10:45 (about 1 and a half hours). A larger Jian Being will be better.
Here are some of their comments:
1, How did you like the breakfast? What aspect of it did you like the most?
I really liked the idea of putting the fried dough inside the egg since dough is a very good source of carbohydrates, which makes us feel full. The fried dough also made it more fun and interesting to eat since the outside (egg) was soft and the inside (dough) was a bit harder.
2, How did you feel when you first ate this breakfast?
Since it is winter, I felt warm when I had my first bite at this breakfast. Although the whole breakfast was fried, I really like the fact that it wasn't oily.
3, How did trying a new breakfast make you feel?
After trying a breakfast I have never had before, it has widen my choice of breakfast and taught me what Northern Chinese breakfast tastes like. Overall, I felt fulfilling.
4, Did the breakfast sustain you until lunch?
The breakfast sustained me until 10:45 (about 1 and a half hours). A larger Jian Being will be better.
Sources Used
Nutritional Values:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/30870.htm green onion
http://baike.baidu.com/view/25129.htm mung bean
http://baike.baidu.com/view/29757.htm#3 soybean milk
http://baike.baidu.com/view/22057.htm#5_1 wheat
Recipe Ideas:
http://shehui.daqi.com/ori_slide/3098029_1.html
http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/86945498-1525577855.html
http://home.meishichina.com/ucnews.php?ac=recipe&id=64588
http://baike.baidu.com/view/30870.htm green onion
http://baike.baidu.com/view/25129.htm mung bean
http://baike.baidu.com/view/29757.htm#3 soybean milk
http://baike.baidu.com/view/22057.htm#5_1 wheat
Recipe Ideas:
http://shehui.daqi.com/ori_slide/3098029_1.html
http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/86945498-1525577855.html
http://home.meishichina.com/ucnews.php?ac=recipe&id=64588