Chinese Egg Pancake (蛋餅 - Dan Bing)

Breakfast tends to be my favorite meal of the day - that is when I manage to wake myself up early enough to have enough time to make breakfast.  And of all the breakfasts, I love Chinese breakfasts.  I had gone to Taiwan this past October & my little tummy (which expanded quite a bit during the trip) enjoyed every moment of the trip that when I came back it had Chinese food withdrawal & threw tantrums at me.  My stomach & taste buds were not happy campers until I made Chinese egg pancakes, called 蛋餅 - dan bing.  蛋餅 is basically a savory pancake with green onion & egg.  It's a simple breakfast that is just oh so heavenly & should be shared with everyone so that they can all discover just how amazing it is so here's my version of 蛋餅.  Yummers!!

Chinese Egg Pancake - 蛋餅

1/2 cup flour

1/6 cup hot water, barely boiled

1 ts canola or vegetable oil or unsalted butter

1 stalk green onion, finely chopped

2 eggs

salt to taste

Makes 2 servings.

- Combine & quickly stir flour & water until just combined.

- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about a minute & let dough rest for a few minutes.

- Divide dough into two equal parts.  Take one part of the dough & roll flat on a lightly floured surface until the dough is about 1-2mm thick.

- Spread 1/2 ts oil onto the dough from end to end.

- Sprinkle salt & half of the chopped green onion onto oiled dough.

- Roll up dough into a long log & tightly wrap the log around like a coiled snake.

- Roll out the coiled dough into a flat circle until it is about 1-2 mm thick.

- Place pancake onto a heated & lightly oiled pan on medium-low heat.

- Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the pancake begins to barely turn golden & flip to cook the other side & beat one egg while the pancake is cooking.

- Take the pancake out of the pan & pour egg into a lightly oiled pan.  Quickly swirl the pan to spread the egg on the bottom of the pan & place the pancake on top of the egg.

- Cook until the egg is done then roll the pancake up, place on a plate & cut into several slices.

- Eat immediately! 

 

New Years Breakfast - Fluffiest Pancakes!

I have been thinking about starting a cooking blog for a while now so I thought it would be fitting to start it on New Years day - the day everyone begins their resolutions.  You've heard of the phrase, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," right?  Well, I figured I should start off the day with apples but I'm not a huge fan of eating apples on their own.  Since pancakes have been on my mind lately I decided to make fluffy pancakes with an apple topping for breakfast.  These pancakes are so fluffy that you could use them as pillows!  What makes pancakes fluffy you ask?  Well, it's the little addition of vinegar which reacts to the baking soda.  The combination of the two causes carbon dioxide to form - just think of the volcano experiments that are conducted in classrooms across the nation. 

Doesn't it just look scrumptious? 

The recipes serve 2-3 hungry mouths.

Apple Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tb unsalted butter

1/4 ts ground cinnamon

1/2 ts cornstarch

3 tb cold water

2 sweet and tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced (any apples like Gravensteins, Jonathans, Rhode Island Greenings, Winesaps, and etc)

- In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch and mix until cornstarch is dissolved.

- Toss sugar, butter, cinnamon, and cornstarch water into a pan over medium heat.  Stir until butter is melted, about 2-4 minutes.

- Toss apples in, stir until apples are evenly coated and cook until apples are tender, about 10 minutes.

Fluffy Pancakes

3/4 cup milk

2 tb vinegar

1 egg

2 tb butter, melted

1 cup flour

2 & 1/2 tb white sugar

1 ts baking powder

3/4 ts baking soda

1/4 stick butter, frozen (keep this in the freezer until you are ready to cook the pancakes)

- Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl and let it curdle for about 5 minutes.

- Stir in melted butter.

- Stir in egg.

- Stir all the dry ingredients in until majority of the lumps have disintegrated.

- Bring a skillet or pan up to medium heat.

- For each pancake, add a sliver of frozen butter and pour 2-3 spoonfuls of batter over the butter.  Cook until the pancakes are bubbling then flip and cook until lightly browned.

Enjoy!!