Chinese Pancakes Thin Steamed Pancakes Recipes

MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Prep Dough: Combine the flour with boiling water in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or chopsticks. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, gather up all the shaggy dough and knead it until smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, keep adding flour as needed, about a tbsp at a time. Cover with a clean towel and let it rest for ½ hour.
• Shape Pancakes: Shape the dough into a 16" log. With a sharp knife, cut into into 1" pieces, you should 16 equal size pieces. Roll out each piece so that it's about 2-inch in diameter. Brush the top of each round with sesame oil. Lay one round on top of the other, oiled sides together. Flatten the pair, so the two rounds stick together. Continue with remaining rounds, you should end up with 8 pairs.
• Roll: Roll each pair with a rolling pin, to create a thin pancake that's about 6 to 7 inch in diameter.
• Cook Pancakes: In an ungreased cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan cook the pancakes one at a time, over medium-high heat. Cook the first side, until it starts to bubble and the dough starts to get light brown spots on the bottom, should take about 1 minute. Flip and cook for another 30 seconds on the 2nd side.
• Finish & Serve: Stack the pancakes on a plate and while the pancakes are still warm, separate each one. Take a pancake, find its seam and peel it into two pancakes.

PAN-FRIED CHINESE PANCAKES

Steps:

• Dissolve salt in warm water, and mix in 1 cup of flour to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead until slightly springy, about 5 minutes. If the dough is sticky, knead in 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Divide the dough into 8 equal-size pieces, and keep the pieces covered with a cloth.
• In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of flour with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to make a mixture like fine crumbs.
• On a floured work surface, roll a piece of dough out into a thin square about 5x7 inches in size, brush the dough with toasted sesame oil, and sprinkle lightly with about 1 1/2 teaspoon of the flour-oil mixture. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of chopped green onion onto the dough, and spread the onion out evenly. Starting with a long end, roll the dough up into a rope shape, and pinch the seam and the ends closed. Roll the rope shape into a flat spiral, and press lightly with your hands to compact the spiral and keep it from unrolling.
• Place the spiral down onto the floured work surface, and gently roll it out into a pancake with the onions folded inside, turning the pancake over often as you roll it out. Roll gently and turn often to avoid making holes in the pancakes. Finished pancakes should be about 5 inches in diameter. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces, making 8 onion pancakes.
• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, and brush with vegetable oil. Pan-fry each pancake in the hot skillet until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

CHINESE STEAMED PANCAKES

Steps:

• Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt, then slowly add in the boiling water while mixing.
• Knead for 5 minutes until smooth and springy.
• Wrap the dough in clingfilm and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Once it has rested, knead it again for just 1 minute.
• Cut the dough into 16 equal balls.
• Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and then flatten them into discs.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the first disc into a thin pancake (as thin as you can go). You will need to ensure your surface is coated with flour regularly so it doesn't stick.
• Brush your steamer with a little oil to prevent the pancake from sticking.
• Place the first pancake into the steamer over a medium heat and cover with the lid.
• Roll out your next pancake, place it on top of the first and continue repeating until you have rolled out all of your pancakes.
• Let the last pancake cook for 1 - 2 minutes.
• Carefully peel the pancakes apart while still warm.

CHINESE PANCAKES - THIN STEAMED PANCAKES

Steps:

• The first time I was served these thin delicious pancakes was along with crispy duck, crispy vegetables and Hoisin sauce. I have previously bought these pancakes frozen from Asian stores, but it is always fun with homemade. So, I come up with ideas, and to see them flush it out, it's really fun. It's quite simple and they become absolutely perfect.
• Start by measuring the exact amount of flour. Use a weight. Pour the flour into a bowl and bring water to a boil. Measure out the right amount of boiling water and pour the salt into the hot water. Dilute with boiling water in the flour while mixing gently. Mix with a wooden spoon or chopsticks. Just mix lightly and cover with plastic wrap. Leave the dough for 10 minutes.
• Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until you get a smooth dough. Cover with the bowl and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough into a long round sausage and cut into slices of about 3 mm. There will be about 30 pancakes.
• Using a rolling pin, make all the small pancakes flat and about 6 cm in diameter. Stack them on top of each other under the bowl so they do not dry out.
• Find a neutral oil. Now you should stack 4-5 pancakes on top of each other, but you must be careful to brush the top of each small pancake with oil. This causes them to split apart afterwards. Use a rolling pin when you have stacked 4-5 pieces on top of each other and roll out to about 12 cm in diameter.
• Place on baking paper either in a steam basket or on a baking tray for a steam oven. Cover with baking paper on top as well. I steam 16-20 pancakes at a time. Steam for 15 minutes on full steam.
• You need to separate the pancakes while they are hot otherwise they will stick together. Divide the pancakes apart and stack again. Now the Pancakes are ready to serve. You can also put them in a plastic bag until serving so they do not dry out or freeze.
• I think these thin steamed pancakes go best with duck, hoisin sauce and finely shredded crispy vegetables. Good luck.