Xian Bing 餡餅 (Chinese meat pie)

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog niconicoeats! On my blog I will be sharing my favourite recipes which I have tweaked and perfected over the years to achieve the most true and authentic local taste so I hope there is something delicious on here which will suit your fancy. 

So sit back and let me introduce you to the world of scrumptious food one post at a time! 

For my first post, I will be introducing a recipe for a traditional Chinese dish called Xian Bing which originated from the city famous for the Terracotta Army, Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province in Northwest China. 

These pancakes are very versatile and can be enjoyed as part of a main meal, as an afternoon snack or even a midnight snack. Though they are most delicious when eaten freshly pan fried with a generous heaping of chilli on the side, these can be prepared in advance for a packed lunch the next day. Simply pop them in a microwave in a suitable container for 30s to 1 minute until they are piping hot, and enjoy! 

Makes: 9 pancakes 

Ingredients for the meat filling : 

400 g mince beef meat (pork, lamb or 1/2 pork and1/2 beef are good alternatives) 

5 scallions (chopped finely)

1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns (crushed)

1 large thumb of ginger (minced)

1 tbsp of light soy sauce 

pinch of ground pepper 

1 egg 

1 tbsp of Oyster sauce 

1 tbsp of sesame oil 

1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine

1/2 tsp pf sugar 

1/2 middle sized or small onion (chopped finely) 

Method for the meat filling: 

 Step 1 :  Mix the 400g mince meat, thumb of ginger, 5 chopped scallions, 1/2 onion, 1/2 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns and pinch of black pepper together. Add an egg, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp of sesame oil, 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine and 1 tbsp of oyster sauce. Blend everything together in one direction until a sticky paste is achieved. 

Tip: If the mixture is very wet, leave the meat filling in the fridge overnight to firm up. To check the saltiness of the filling, fry a small scoop of filling in oil over low heat. Adjust seasoning to taste. 

Ingredients for the dough : 

450g of All Purpose flour 

24g of cooking oil (2 tbsp) 

2 g of salt 

230g of hot water 

Tip: If the filling is too wet, leave the mixture in the fridge overnight to firm up.

Method for the dough: 

Step 1 : Add 2 tbsp of cooking oil to 450g of flour and mix together. Rub the oil into the flour with your hands. This blocks the formation of gluten, which keeps the pancakes crispy. Add in a pinch (2g) of salt. 

Step 2: Next, add 230g of hot water and mix. Knead the dough mixture until it is round and smooth, and then leave it to rest for 20 minutes. 

Step 3: After 20 minutes of resting the dough, knead for an additional 2-3 minutes then separate into 18 equal sections. Flatten each ball into round disks ready for wrapping. 

Cooking: 

Step 1 : Heat up 2-3 tbsp of oil on low heat. 

Step 2 : Spread a generous amount of filling onto one round dough disk leaving a small edge of dough around the side for wrapping. Place another piece of dough on top and carefully seal around the edges. 

Step 3 : Add the pancake to the pan and fry on a low flame for around 2 minutes each side. Once one side is brown and crispy, flip and cook the other side. Flip occasionally to continue cooking both sides, 

Step 4 : Enjoy your pancakes with a generous amount of chilli or vinegar and soy dipping sauce. 

Lets eat!