P
Chinese · Beijing
Jian Bing — Beijing Crêpe (煎饼果子)
Beijing's iconic street breakfast: a thin crêpe made from a mung bean and wheat flour batter cooked on a flat griddle, spread with sweet bean paste (tian mian jiang) and chilli paste, topped with a fried egg, green onion, and a crispy wheat cracker (bao cui). Folded into quarters and eaten hand-held. Made fresh to order at street carts across Beijing — the entire production takes 90 seconds.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the batter
100 g
mung bean flour
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
50 g
plain wheat flour
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 ml
water
cold; adjust to achieve a thin, pourable consistency
Your own market
For assembly
4
eggs
one per crêpe, broken whole onto the batter
Your own market
4 tbsp
tian mian jiang (sweet bean paste)
one generous tablespoon per crêpe
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 tsp
chilli paste
one teaspoon per crêpe, adjusted to taste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
bao cui (脆饼 — dry wheat cracker)
one per crêpe; must be the flat, dry-fried variety
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
spring onions (green onions)
finely sliced
Your own market
1 small bunch
fresh coriander
leaves picked
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Whisk the mung bean flour and wheat flour together in a bowl. Add the cold water gradually, whisking to a smooth, lacy batter with no lumps. The consistency is correct when the batter runs off a ladle in a thin, unbroken sheet — thinner than a pancake batter, closer to single cream.
2
Heat a flat griddle or wide, heavy pan over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the surface. Ladle one portion of batter onto the griddle and spread immediately in a circular motion with the back of the ladle to produce a thin, even crêpe of approximately 25 cm diameter. The surface should set to a dull, lacy appearance within 30 seconds — no wet pools remaining.
3
This is where the dish lives or dies: break one egg directly onto the surface of the setting crêpe and spread the yolk and white evenly across the entire surface with the back of the ladle before the crêpe is turned. The egg must coat the crêpe in a thin, continuous layer — not sit as a pooled mass. Flip the crêpe egg-side down onto the griddle and cook for 15 seconds. The underside should be uniformly golden and just firm to the touch of a spatula — not wet, not leathery.
4
Transfer the crêpe egg-side up. Working quickly, spread tian mian jiang across the egg surface, then apply the chilli paste. Scatter sliced spring onion and coriander leaves evenly over the sauced surface. The sauces should meet the egg while it is still warm enough to carry their fragrance — the smell shifts from raw bean paste to a roasted-savoury note.
From the canon — Tian mian jiang (甜面酱, literally sweet flour sauce) is the fermented wheat and bean paste of northern China — used as a condiment, a cooking sauce, and a mari… Tian Mian Jiang (甜面酱) — Sweet Bean Paste: Beijing's Essential Condiment →
5
Lay one bao cui cracker across the centre of the dressed crêpe. Fold the crêpe in on itself in thirds, enclosing the cracker within the layers. The cracker should audibly resist the fold — a clean, dry snap confirms it is intact and will provide structural crunch on eating.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Stone-milled mung bean flour from a specialist supplier; bao cui sourced from a Beijing-style bakery or made fresh on a dry griddle; egg from a heritage breed; tian mian jiang from an established Northern Chinese producer (e.g. Six Must-Try brand).
02
Estate — Good-quality mung bean flour from a Chinese grocery; imported tian mian jiang; fresh free-range eggs; bao cui purchased from an Asian supermarket.
03
Market — Mung bean flour supplemented with a slightly higher proportion of wheat flour if pure mung bean is unavailable; bao cui approximated with a plain, dry wheat crisp of similar thickness and neutral flavour.
04
House — A mixed mung bean and wheat flour batter at the proportions given; any clean, dry, neutral wheat cracker that shatters under pressure; standard supermarket sweet bean paste and chilli paste.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The raw batter trails off the ladle in a continuous, translucent sheet — if it falls in droplets or blobs, thin it further with cold water.
◇Sight. After spreading on the griddle, the crêpe surface turns from glossy-wet to dull and lacy within 30 seconds, signalling it is ready for the egg.
◇Touch. After the flip, the egg-covered underside yields a faint resistance under a spatula — firm but not rigid — indicating the egg is just set.
◇Sound. The bao cui snaps cleanly as the crêpe is folded; a muted or soft response means the cracker has absorbed moisture and will not deliver the intended texture contrast.
◇Where it lives or dies. The egg must be broken whole onto the live crêpe and spread to a thin, even sheet before flipping — too thick or too late and the crêpe loses its defining unity of texture.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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