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Food February 16, 2018

Happy Chinese New Year! How to make Chinese crepes

WATCH: Celebrate Lunar New Year with Chinese crepes

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s officially the Year of the Dog, and we’ve fetched a doggone delicious recipe to help you celebrate.

In honor of China’s largest and most celebrated holiday, we teamed up with a local restaurateur to learn how to make Peking duck jianbing. These “Chinese crepes” are sold from street carts back in China and are a cultural staple.

Brian Goldberg, the owner of Mr. Bing in New York City, lived in China for 14 years and speaks fluent Mandarin. He’s also an excellent cook.

PHOTO: Celebrate Lunar New Year with a bianjing.
Celebrate Lunar New Year with a bianjing.

Goldberg shared his technique for making the perfect jianbing:

Ingredients

For the batter:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup mung bean flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups water

For the crispy wontons:

1 cup vegetable oil
16 wonton wrappers

For the crepes:

5 teaspoons vegetable oil
5 eggs
Crepe batter
½ cup of roast duck
1¼ cups scallions, thinly sliced
5 teaspoons black sesame seeds
5 tablespoons hoisin
5 tablespoons chili paste
1? cups crispy wontons
1¼ cups cilantro leaves

Directions

Make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and mung bean flours and salt. Whisk in the water, and once a smooth batter forms, set aside.

Make the crispy wontons: In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Fry the wonton wrappers in 4 batches of 4 until golden brown, 30 to 45 seconds. Remove and cool completely on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. When cool, crush the wontons into 1-inch chips with your hands.

Make the crepes: In a crepe pan or a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium heat. Using a whisk, scramble 1 egg in a small bowl. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the pan and, using a bench scraper, work quickly to spread the crepe along the entire surface of the pan.

Once the crepe begins to curl at the edges, about 1 to 2 minutes, pour the scrambled egg mixture on top and spread into an even layer over the entire surface. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the scallions and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds over the egg. Cook for 1 minute more until the egg begins to set. Carefully flip the crepe and brush with 1 tablespoon of the hoisin and 1 tablespoon of the chili paste, then scatter 1/4 cup of the crushed wonton chips, ¼ cup of the cilantro leaves and roast duck on top.

Fold the crepe, like a letter, horizontally and vertically to form a squared pancake. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Makes 5 jianbing

PHOTO: Celebrate Chinese New Year with a Peking duck bianjing.
Celebrate Chinese New Year with a Peking duck bianjing.