Multi-layered Chinese pancakes with a super combined sauce. This dish appeals to almost every Chinese, but quite unknown outside China. In mandarin, we call this 酱香饼, meaning pancakes flavored by “酱” (sauces) in Chinese cuisine.
The folding process creates a multi-layer pancake. Two outside layers: crisp and spicy. The remaining inside layers: softer and milder. So this helps to create great taste layers too.
We use a high water ratio vs flour, which make the dough quite soft and easy to handle when rolling out. But the pancakes are less chewier than this version. By the way, if you garnish chopped scallion inside the pancake, you can make a multi-layered scallion pancake. The best partners of this wonderful pancakes can be a warm soy milk or porridge in the morning or a warm soup during the launch.
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 180ml to 190ml Luke warm water
- a small pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons of cooking oil+ plus more for brushing
- Chinese five spice powder or ground Sichuan pepper
Mixed sauce (4 pancakes only use half of the sauce, but I recommend simmering a larger batch each time)
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan Doubanjiang, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon black vinegar
- 2 tablespoon hot water
Garnish
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Chopped scallion
In a large bowl, mix a small pinch of salt with flour. Stir warm water in and then knead until get smooth and elastic dough. The dough should be much softer than normal pancakes. Then cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat around 2 tablespoons of cooking oil with minced garlic until fragrant. Add chopped doubanjiang, fry for 1-2 minutes over slow fire. Place black vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce and hot water. Mix well and let the sauce simmer for 4-5 minutes. Set aside.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take one out and roll out to a large rectangle piece on a slightly oiled operating board. Then cut 2 slices each long side of the dough to separate it into 9 portions.
Then we roll the large rectangle up. Start from the bottom part; fold the two side slaps over the middle one. And then fold the three layers over the most middle one.
Repeat to finish the top part and then fold the remaining piece over. You will end up with a small and neat rectangle.
Then roll it out to a larger circle or rectangle (about 2 or 2.5 times of the original size). This creates the multi-layered texture.
Then heat around 1 tablespoon of oil in pan and fry the pancake around 3-5 minutes each side with over medium fire. Brush a thin layer of sauce before garnishing toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallion.
Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
Spiced Multi-layer Chinese Pancake
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 180 ml warm water
- a small pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp. cooking oil , plus more for brushing
- Chinese five spice powder or ground Sichuan pepper
- 2 tbsp. of cooking oil
- 2 tbsp. Sichuan Doubanjiang , finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1/8 tsp. Chinese five spice powder
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. black vinegar
- 2 tbsp. hot water
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Chopped scallion
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In a large bowl, mix a small pinch of salt with flour. Stir warm water in and then knead until get smooth and elastic dough. The dough should be much softer than normal pancakes. Then cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
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In a saucepan, heat around 2 tablespoons of cooking oil with minced garlic until fragrant. Add chopped doubanjiang, fry for 1-2 minutes over slow fire. Place black vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce and hot water. Mix well and let the sauce simmer for 4-5 minutes. Set aside.
-
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take one out and roll out to a large rectangle piece on a slightly oiled operating board. Then cut 2 slices each long side of the dough to separate it into 9 portions. Then we roll the large rectangle up. Start from the bottom part; fold the two side slaps over the middle one. And then fold the three layers over the most middle one. Repeat to finish the top part and then fold the remaining piece over. You will end up with a small and neat rectangle. Then roll it out to a larger rectangle (about 2 or 2.5 times of the original size).
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Then heat around 1 tablespoon of oil in pan and fry the pancake around 3-5 minutes each side with over medium fire. Brush a thin layer of sauce before garnishing toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallion.
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Cut into one-bite sizes and serve warm.
Hi – I love cooking your different recipes. Thanks so much for these. The pancakes came out a bit dense in the center, did not separate into layers, as in your pictures. Possibly next time I will cook them over lower heat, for a longer time. The ingredient list shows some five spice powder with the dough ingredients, when am I supposed to add this?
Hi Bruce,
The five spice powder should be sprinkled around the larger rectangle. As for the layers, next time, brushing more oil among layers can help to create multi-layer texture.
You are definitely bringing back memories of my stay in Shanghai, oh I love these and world definitely give this recipe a try this weekned. Love ur recipes
Wow, thank you very much for sharing this recipe, Elaine – one of my breakfast choice when I lived in China. By the way, is it possible to put the dough on the fridge overnight? I plan to make the dough the night before and cook it the next morning.
One more question, I also ate 糯米饭团 as my breakfast, and I am craving for it right now haha. Do you know how to make yummy fantuan? Thank you.
The dough can be prepared in the previous day and fridge overnight. I love to make overnight pancake dough very much too. Thanks for the suggestion about 糯米饭团, I will make it on my cooking list. Happy cooking!
The recipe looks very tasty. A lot of recipes on your site do. I did bookmark quite a lot of them, in just half an hour.
Now, I was looking for a recipe of jian bing. (I’m not sure if I write it well.) It’s the pancake with scallions, but also an egg spread on top of it, and filled with deep fried wonton wrapper.
I know: if you hear about it, it sounds just too good to be true. But my wife did really eat this at a food stand on the street in Beijing. Some people did bring there own egg, that was reducing the costs.
I did make it at home a few times. But I do have only a complicated recipe, with all kinds of different flour and different partially home made sauces. Since you simplify some recipes (also pancake recipes), I thought you might have a simple version of this breakfast street dish.
Thanks for answering!
Marcel,
Jian Bing is not easy to make at home. We do need a mixture of several flours and sauces to reproduce the street taste. It is one of the most popular breakfast in China and I know there is a group of Jian Bing fans outside China. Will try my best to make it as simple as possible, but only to approach as close as possible. Thanks for the advice. I will post a recipe very soon when the ingredients is received.