Mandarin Pancakes
Submitted by chad
Mandarin pancakes made from a simple hot water dough with sesame oil, rolled paper-thin and dry-cooked in an ungreased pan. The classic wrapper for Peking duck and mu shu pork.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
60 minMandarin pancakes are the traditional thin wrappers served alongside Peking duck and mu shu pork. They’re made from just three ingredients: flour, boiling water, and sesame oil. No yeast, no eggs, no milk.
The boiling water is what makes these work. It partially cooks the flour’s starches, creating a dough that stays pliable and doesn’t crack when rolled thin. Cold water would give you a tough, elastic dough that fights back and tears.
The clever trick here is rolling two rounds together with sesame oil between them, then peeling them apart after cooking. This gives you two ultra-thin pancakes from each rolling session, and the oil prevents them from fusing together. Each finished pancake should look blistered and parchment-colored, not browned.
Chef Tips
- Knead the full 10 minutes. The dough goes from shaggy to smooth and satiny, and that texture change means the gluten is properly developed.
- Rest the dough 30 minutes before rolling. This relaxes the gluten and makes rolling much easier.
- Cook on medium-high in an ungreased pan. Turn every 15 seconds. If the pancake browns, your heat is too high.
- These freeze well. Stack with parchment between each pancake, wrap tightly, and steam from frozen for 5 minutes.
Variations
- Scallion pancakes: Brush with extra sesame oil and sprinkle chopped scallions and salt between the layers before rolling for a different Chinese classic.
- Whole wheat blend: Replace up to half the flour with whole wheat for a nuttier, heartier wrapper.
Ingredients
Directions
Measure flour into a bowl and mix in water with a fork or chopsticks.
Work dough several minutes until it holds together, then knead on a lightly floured board until smooth and satiny (about ten minutes).
Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Roll dough into a 12 inch long log.
Cut into 12 equal pieces and keep covered.
To make each pancake, cut one piece of dough exactly in half.
Roll each half into a ball and flatten slightly.
Roll each ball on a very lightly floured board to a round 3 inches in diameter.
Brush sesame oil lightly on top of one round and cover with another round.
Press the 2 rounds lightly but firmly together.
Place the double round on a lightly floured board and roll out, from center to edges, until 7 or 8 inches in diameter (don’t worry if rounds are not perfect).
Turn frequently, brushing board lightly with flour as needed.
Repeat procedure until you have 2 or 3 pancakes; then cook before making more.
Heat a wide frying pan over medium-high heat, then place a pancake on the ungreased surface.
Turn about every 15 seconds until cake is blistered by air pockets, turns parchment color and feels dry.
Cake should not brown, but a few golden spots won’t hurt.
If overcooked, cake becomes brittle.
Remove from pan and carefully pull the two halves apart and stack them on a plate.
Keep covered as you cook remaining cakes.
Serve warm; or let cool, wrap airtight, and refrigerate of freeze for later use.
To heat for serving, thaw if frozen.
Line a flat-bottomed steamer with towel dipped in water and wrung dry; stack pancakes inside and fold towel over pancakes.
Cover and steam over simmering water for five minutes.
Fold hot pancakes in half, then in half again, and arrange in a serving basket.
Since they dry out quickly, serve just a few at a time and keep remainder covered.
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