Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Taiwanese Egg & Scallion Crepe (Dan Bing)

Dan Bing is a traditional Taiwanese breakfast/street food that is essentially a crepe with eggs and scallions, served alongside with a savory-sweet black vinegar & soy dipping sauce. I've fiddled around with this recipe for awhile and finally got the knack of cooking the crepes, which is actually super easy, so long as you cook each side long enough so they'll develop that signature crispy texture. My first try yielded slightly gummy crepes - um, yeah...not doing that again. Anyho0, these make for a very satisfying breakfast. I've even seen some non-traditional ingredients such as ham, avocado, even tuna (?!), added to dan bing, so feel free to embellish if you get a special hankerin'. 
  

Crepe Ingredients:
1 cup bread flour (all purpose flour is also ok)
4 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups water

6 large eggs
1 tbsp. sesame oil
4 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt

3-4 scallions, chopped

Sauce:
2 tbsp. black vinegar
4 tbsp. soy sauce paste
2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 clove garlic, grated

1. Place all the crepe ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk until thoroughly blended. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir well, cover, and set aside. 

3. Add the eggs, 1 tbsp. sesame oil, 4 tbsp. water and 1/2 tsp. salt to a measuring cup; whisk until well-combined; set aside.

4. Heat a 9" non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tsp. of oil. Stir crepe batter mixture, in case it has separated a bit; using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, ladle 1/2 cup of the batter over the hot pan and swirl to spread over the bottom. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the crepe has started to lightly brown. Flip the crepe over and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes until just starting to brown. Remove the crepe to a plate and continue cooking the remaining crepes in the same way (this recipe makes a total of 6). 

5. Return a crepe back to the skillet, bubbly side down, and let heat for 5-10 seconds, flip over, then add 1/4 to 1/3 of the egg mixture over the top. Sprinkle a handful of the chopped scallions evenly over the egg. Let set for a few seconds, then quickly flip over the crepe with a spatula. Let the egg set for another 5-10 seconds, then flip over again. 

6. Remove the finished crepe to a plate. Carefully (crepe will be quite hot) roll up the crepe from one side to form a roll; set aside. 

7. Continue cooking and rolling up the remaining crepes the same way. 

8. Assembly: Slice each crepe into 2" pieces and plate. Garnish with additional chopped scallions and serve with the dipping sauce on the side. Best served hot.


Crepe batter: bread flour, cornstarch, water and salt. 


For the sauce: black vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce paste and sugar.


Mise en place, if you will.., 


Heat 1-2 tsp. of oil in a 9" non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Pour in 1/2 cup of the batter and swirl around until the batter is evenly spread. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the crepe is lightly browned and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan anymore.  


Flip the crepe over with a spatula (I like to use a fish spatula, which is longer than your average spatula) and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes or until the other side is lightly browned.  


Remove each crepe to a plate and set aside.  


Return crepe back to the pan (bubbly side down first for a few seconds), flip over, then pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the beaten egg mixture over the top. Sprinkle with a handful of chopped scallions.  


Flip the crepe over again and let the egg cook for 5-10 seconds until just done. 


Remove the egg crepe to a plate, egg side up.  


Carefully roll the crepe up like a jelly roll. It will be hot so watch your fingers! 



Slice each Dan Bing into 2" pieces and serve hot with the dipping sauce on the side.  



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