Tag: flatbread

Jiucai you bing

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Sliced jiucai you bing or scallion pancake with chilli, garlic, ginger sweet dipping sauce | @hisforhome

Shrove Tuesday falls on 17th February this year and Chinese New Year (it’s the year of the goat which is my sign) follows on the 19th. To celebrate both days, I’ve tried my hand at jiucai you bing. Jiucai you bing is also known as scallion pancakes (scallions is ‘American’ for spring onions).

dough resting in a glass bowl

Apparently they’re eaten in China at breakfast time and are a widely available street food. They’re more like flatbread than what we’d usually recognise as pancakes. In fact, what they’re more similar to is Indian paratha.

Rolled out jiucai you bing dough

I don’t think I’ve ever come across these for sale in UK Chinese restaurants or supermarkets but after looking online they seem to be quite popular in the States.

Jiucai you bing dough filled, rolled and sliced

This was my first attempt at making them and they went down so well I think I’ll be giving them a go again very soon.

Jiucai you bing dough rolled, twisted and flattened

They’d make a great starter paired with a little bowl of soy sauce, peanut sauce or chilli, garlic ginger sweet dipping sauce.

Sliced jiucai you bing

Jiucai you bing

Chinese spring onion pancakes
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Course Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g/18oz plain flour plus extra for rolling out
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • ½ bunch thinly sliced spring onions about 6 stems
  • 2 tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp cracked peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a food mixer, combine the flour, baking powder and sea salt. Make a well in the centre
  • Add 315ml/11fl oz water into the well and, using the dough hook attachment, mix until the dough comes away from the sides and forms a ball (less than a minute)
  • Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for about an hour
  • Turn out on to a lightly floured surface, divide into halves, putting one back into the bowl and recovering with cling film
  • Roll the first ball of dough out into a rectangle ½cm thick
  • Brush the rolled out dough with 1tbsp sesame oil
  • Sprinkle 1tsp chilli flakes, ¼tsp cracked peppercorns and half the sliced spring onions
  • Roll up the dough tightly along the long side into a cigar shape and cut into 3 equal pieces
  • One by one, gently stretch each piece before rolling it into a spiral and tucking one end under
  • Flatten each spiral into a disc of about 1cm thickness
  • Repeat stages 5-10 with the second half of the dough
  • Put a heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet over a medium flame and add vegetable oil
  • Once hot, fry the pancakes for 5-8 minutes on each side until browned
  • Serve hot with soy sauce and/or sweet chilli, garlic, ginger dipping sauce
Jiucai you bing / scallion pancakes ingredients
Keyword flat bread, flatbread, pancakes

Cakes & Bakes: Paratha

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Paratha with curry & rice | H is for Home #recipe #paratha #flatbread

When we order an Indian takeaway we always include a portion of breads to go with our curries. Our favourite is paratha – an unleavened, fried flatbread made with wholemeal flour. The name originates from the words ‘parat’ and ‘atta’ which means layers of cooked dough.

They can sometimes be made stuffed with vegetables, paneer or potatoes (aloo). We prefer them plain – and this time I’ve made half the batch studded with pan fried cumin seeds (geera).

Traditionally they’re cooked on a tawa but a large, cast iron frying pan will do. If you don’t want to eat all the parathas in one go, you can prepare the dough up to stage 10 and freeze the extra. Just place each circle between 2 pieces of parchment paper, stack them one on top of the other, wrap in cling film or zip-lock bag and store flat.

Paratha

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Ingredients
  

  • 450 g plain flour I used an equal amount of chapatti flour + a little extra for dusting
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 350 ml water approx
  • 45 g ghee clarified butter or vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds geera
  • 55 g vegetable oil for brushing
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Instructions
 

  • Sift together the flour, baking powder & salt
  • Add enough of the water to form a smooth, soft dough
  • Knead well and leave to relax for ½ hour covered with a damp cloth
  • In a small frying pan over a medium heat, dry fry the cumin seeds for about 3 minutes, shaking continuously to stop burning. Set aside
  • After the dough has relaxed, re-knead and divide into four balls (loyah)
  • Flour surface and roll out each dough ball into 20-23cm/8-9inch circle
  • Sprinkle half the dough with the cumin seeds
  • Spread with some ghee and sprinkle with a little flour
  • Cut rolled dough circles from centre to edge. Roll each tightly into a cone. Press the peak of the cone into the centre and flatten. Leave to rest for 30 minutes
  • Flour the surface again and roll out the dough very thinly with a rolling pin
  • Cook on a moderately hot, greased tawa/frying pan for 1 minute
  • Turn over, brush with ghee/oil and cook for another minute
  • As each one is cooked, stack on top of each other, wrap them in a clean tea towel and move on to the next
  • Eat immediately