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RICE, NOODLES, FLOURS & WRAPPERS - PANCAKES

Reviewing the difference between pancakes and the Nonya spring roll pancakes

PANCAKES

|  Chinese: Bing |

Reheating Chinese pancakes

Asian pancakes are different from their western counterpart. For a start, Asian pancakes are almost always made from plain dough, rather than a batter, and more often than not, they are served with some savory fillings rather than sweets. There are two types of pancakes in China, either thick or thin. Thin pancakes (bobing) are also known as mandarin or duck pancakes, because they are used as wrappers for serving the famous Peking duck. The thin pancakes version are also served with other savory dishes, most notably, the very popular mu-shu or moo-soo pork, which consist of scrambled egg with pork and wood ears (dried black fungus). Making pancakes demands considerable nimbleness, so many cooks prefer to buy them frozen from supermarkets.

Thick pancakes are made with lard and flavored with savory ingredients such as spring onions and rock salt. In the northern region of China, thick pancakes are consumed as part of a main meal or treated as a snack, rather like the Indian paratha. Both varieties of pancakes are sometimes served as a dessert, with some sweetened bean paste filling.

NONYA SPRING ROLL PANCAKES

These are the exception to the rule that most pancakes in the East are made from dough. Typical of the Straits-born Chinese (known as the Baba and Nonya) cooking style, found in Penang, Malacca and Singapore, they are made from an egg, flour and cornflour batter and are traditionally served with a wide selection of fillings.

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