Ingredients
- Mung-bean or wheat batter, depending on the city
- Egg
- Crisp fried cracker, youtiao or a thin sheet
- Cilantro and scallion
- Savory and sweet sauces
How it is cooked
- Batter is spread paper-thin on a hot griddle.
- An egg is cracked on top and broken across the surface.
- Sauces, herbs, and a cracker go on. The crepe is folded and cut.
- Eat it immediately. It is a walking breakfast, and it dies as it cools.
Taste
Crisp, eggy, and both savory and sweet. The cracker is the crunch. Beijing’s version and Tianjin’s are not identical. Both are jianbing.
Possible allergens
- Egg.
- The batter may be wheat or mung bean. Ask if wheat is the problem. The cracker is almost always wheat.
- Soy sauce, which in China is often brewed with wheat.
- Sesame oil or sesame paste.
- Sweet sauce and chili sauce are where peanut sometimes hides.
- A shared wok or a house chili oil can add peanut, sesame, or shellfish even when the recipe does not.