Beijing Street Food: egg crepe (jianbing 煎饼)

Tianjin is the birthplace of jianbing, but here in Beijing there is no shortage of this street food. In researching how to make our own version of this street snack, we are shamelessly eating jianbing as we see fit (which is often).

This stand outside the Wukesong Photographic Equipment Center appealed because 1) this Beijing variation was fragrant with toasted black sesame seeds sprinkled on top, and 2) they were enormous. For 2.3RMB (40 cents) we got this one-pounder, two-egg jianbing monster that pretty much served as breakfast, lunch, and at least half of dinner.

Here is the step-by-step birthing of a jianbing.

1. A crepe-like batter is spread over a cast iron griddle and spread out into a thin circle
2. One (or two) eggs are cracked on top of the crepe
3. The yolks are broken and the eggs are scrambled and spread into a thin layer over the crepe
4. Once the eggs have set, the crepe is flipped over
5. The sauces – a sweet bean paste, or hoisin (tianmianjiang 甜面酱), hot sauce, and a pink paste (we think fermented tofu) – are lightly brushed on top with a paintbrush
6. Scallions and cilantro (and sometimes some type of pickled radish) are sprinkled on top
7. The bing – a deep fried cracker – is placed in the middle of the crepe
8. The crepe is wrapped around the bing
9. The whole thing is folded into a rectangle , and the knife breaks it down the middle – crack! crack! crack! – and it is folded in half
10. Then the whole thing is tossed into a plastic bag and served

And there you have it, ten easy steps to the perfect breakfast/lunch/post-bar snack. Stuffed into a plastic bag, and consumed hot, lukewarm, or cold – it’s pretty much all delicious. Next, we will track down the best vendor in Wudaokou and weasel out tips on how to make this addictive tastiness at home.