How to Make Chinese Pancakes (Bing)

This type of Bing, Chinese Pancake, is commonly eaten to celebrate the start of spring, as "chun" means "spring" in Chinese.

1. 
   1
   Make the dough. To do this, mix the flour and water until they form a nice consistency. It should be soft and not sticky. Make sure you have enough dough for your desired amount.

   • Usually, the best flour to water ratio is 3:2.
   • It's recommended to use hot water.
2. 
   2
   Cut the dough into pieces. Like the cong you bing, you can cut it into any shape you want, but a circle is usually preferred.

   • You can also stack the pieces to form a thicker dough.
3. 
   3
   Cook the dough in a heated pan. While doing this, flip the dough over as needed. The sides usually will have brown spots around them.
4. 
   4
   Serve the chun bing with other savoury dishes. These can include tofu, eggs, meat, and vegetables. It's also possible to put some ingredients on the pancake and roll it up.

   • You can also spread a dip on it for extra flavour!
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This recipe makes ten xianbings.

1. 1
   Mix 250 grams of meat and 500 grams of vegetables separately and put them into separate bowls.

   • You may choose from cabbage, Chinese chives, and other vegetables.
2. 2
   Sprinkle the vegetables with one teaspoon salt and season the meat with one teaspoon salt, pepper, ginger powder, and one tablespoon minced green onion, vegetable oil, and soybean sauce. You may adjust the amount according to your preferences.

   • If you chose a watery vegetable such as cabbage, you need to squeeze the water out after sprinkling it with salt. Let it sit for one to two hours and squeeze the water out with your hands.
3. 
   3
   Mix the vegetable and meat together after seasoning them and store in the refrigerator for an hour to let the seasonings flavor the mixture thoroughly.
4. 4
   Make the dough (the wrapper) in the meantime by combining 500 grams of flour with enough water to knead into a soft dough. Knead until smooth.

   • Depending on where you are, you will need different amounts of water. You will need, for example, more water in arid regions than in humid regions. It is all a matter of personal preference. Some people like a softer dough, while others prefer a firmer texture.
5. 5
   Heat up the pan while still working on the dough. It will then be ready for you when you need to cook.
6. 
   6
   Come back to the dough and divide it into ten equal pieces. Each dough will become a single wrapper for a single xianbing. Roll each one out into flat, round pieces, 10-centimeter in diameter.
7. 
   7
   Scoop up some of the meat-vegetable mixture previously made onto a wrapper and close it up at the top by folding wrinkles on the top side. Flatten it lightly into a 1-centimeter thick round pad. Repeat with each wrapper.

   • Depending on your xianbing skills, you may add more or less filling. Try to add only enough filling that you know you can close up. Later on, when you become more and more skilled, experiment with more filling and thinner wrappers.
8. 
   8
   Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and place the uncooked xianbings in it. Place a lid on the pan and wait for two minutes, after which you will need to flip the xianbings. It will be done when both sides are cooked golden yellow.

   • You probably cannot add all the xianbings into the pan at once unless you have an extremely large pan. Feel free to cook them in different batches.
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