The Pattern Continues - Back to Asia as We Visit China

I'm sensing a pattern here, and me thinks it will continue next week once we're done with China.  So for Chinese pancakes, we did no research because I learned how to make Chinese pancakes several years ago from our friend Lei, who is from China.  While we didn't have to research a recipe for these, I have had to think about how to present this recipe, as I learned it without making any measurements for ingredients since this is the way Lei makes them.  I will give rough amounts, and show you what the consistency of the batter should look like once you're done.  That way if you decide to make them, you'll have an idea of what it's supposed to look like.  Here's what you need to make Chinese pancakes:

flour
green onions
water
salt
eggs (2 for each person you will be serving, so if you're serving 2 people, you will need four eggs)

First you'll need to chop the green onion.  We usually just chop the whole bunch of onions as you buy it from the store, because we really like green onions.  Adjust the amount to your personal taste preferences.

Next you'll need to "measure" out the flour.  I started out with about a cup and a half of flour.

After "measuring" the flour, you're ready to begin adding water.  I usually put the faucet on low and whisk the water in with the flour as the water is being put in.  The picture below shows that the batter is too thick and lumpy still.  There shouldn't be any lumps, this is how you'll know there is enough water.

This next picture shows the batter quite a bit thinner, although it's a bit blurry.  Don't worry, I do have some video to show you the final consistency of the batter.

Next you'll need to beat the eggs.  We used 6 eggs because we wanted some left over pancakes to eat later in the week.
 

Once you've beaten the eggs, you're ready to add them to the flour and water mixture.

You can add the green onions at this time too.  Now comes the tricky part.  Below you'll see a video of what the consistency of the batter should be like.  Add more water if you need a thinner batter or more flour if you need a thicker batter.  Just add a little at a time until you get it to the right consistency.  If you over add something, add the opposite to take it back to the right consistency.

 

 O.K., now we're ready to cook up some Chinese pancakes.  We always use our crepe pan to make these, but you can use any frying pan.  Spray some oil (we used olive oil from our misto) on the crepe pan and heat it up.  You can see in this next picture that we're also having some gyoza to go with our Chinese pancakes

Now ladle some of the batter into the pan, and swirl it around as you would when making a crepe.

Cook until the pancake begins to brown slightly around the edges and looks pretty dry.  The edges will go up slightly as well.  When the pancake is dry, spray more oil over the top and then flip it over. 

This is what the pancake should look like once flipped.

Cook it for a couple of more minutes and then remove from heat.  I suppose you could eat them flat, but Lei always rolls them for us, so we rolled our first one up and gave it a try.  It's important to try the first one before you make anymore so that you can adjust the seasonings.  If it's too salty, add a little more flour and water.  I usually err on the side of not enough salt and have to add more.

Continue cooking pancakes until all of the batter is used up.  Keep the pancakes warm in an oven or under a clean towel.  We also chopped up some cucumbers to go with our breakfast because, once again, Lei always serves cucumbers with the Chinese pancakes when she makes them for us. We usually sprinkle a little bit of salt on our cucumbers too, because that's what Lei would do.

 We were so happy that it was a beautiful, sunny, and warm winter day.  So we decided to take our meal outside.
 

It was yummy, as they always are when we eat them!

I'll leave this post with one more photo, an artistic through the glass shot.