Bing! Which recipe is the best?

[Mianbao]

 

As you can tell by my name I love bread, and serendipitously people mispronounce my name Brad/Bread so that's a bonus.

 

 

Though I am new to making bread and I am starting with bing. My grandpaw-inlaw taught me how to make giant scallion bing and it is delicious! Though he does not use sugar (he uses too much salt though, haha).

 

 

I want to make small bings for my Rou Jia Mo tomorrow and i found many recipes but they are usually divided by sugar and no sugar. so my question is:

 

 

Which is the best to use Sugar or No sugar? or am I way off base and need to change my recipe completely?

 

 

Thanks Everyone!

 

 

Recipe examples:

 

• ▢3½ cups all-purpose flour(by weight, each cup is equivalent to 150 grams)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (about 8 grams)
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups warm water (depending on humidity)
• ▢ 1 tbs veg oil (optional)
•  
• or
•  
• 1 tbsp organic evaporated cane juice/rock sugar/ granulated sugar
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups  flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup water
• vegetable oil (for the pan)

[liuzhou]

I'm confused. 肉夹馍 (ròu jiā mó) isn't served in 饼 (bǐng). It is is served in 馍 (mó), hence the name. 馍 (mó) are never sweetened. Alternatively they are served in 白吉饼 (bái jí bǐng) which are also unsweetened and almost identical to 馍 (mó)

 

饼 (bǐng) are cakes, so usually sweetened. I would call them pancakes, sweetened or not. Certainly not bread..

 

This previous topic, dedicated to Rou Jia Mo, contains a recipe for 白吉饼 (bái jí bǐng).

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Mianbao]

Thanks for the clarification!  I am very new to making Chinese breads so its easy to get lost. 

 

Very interesting I have never had a sweet bing ever, only scallion and savory like these https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_(bread). The bing have a very similar recipe and cooking style to the Mo where you make a dough rather than making a batter like a pancake or crepe which is why I mistakenly called it Bing.

 

 

The recipe you posted looks alot like the first recipe i posted but without vegetable oil. it looks like as long as its 1:2 water to flour I should be ok?

 

When I searched the forum for rou jia mo your post about making it came up but not the recipe so I appreciate you posting it here, thank you!

[Mianbao]

Also I am pretty sure the original recipe is not sweet at all but they are using sugar as a feeder for the yeast. So forgetful of me i should have clarified as I was probably trying to ask does the sugar with yeast cause the dough to become more glutinous, and make for a better combination?

[liuzhou]

39 minutes ago, Mianbao said:

I have never had a sweet bing ever, only scallion and savory

 

Never had a mooncake - 月饼 (yuè bǐng), spring pancake  - 春饼 (chūnbǐng), Beijing breakfast pancake - 煎饼(jiānbǐng)?

 

饼 (bǐng) means cake; not bread. All my dictionaries define it as cake or pancake, sweet or savoury.

 

[Mianbao]

ok well I am not here to argue linguistics especially because I dont know enough to do so. I was just explaining my reasoning for calling it bing. 

I am simply trying to find out about how to make bing or mo. like in 腊牛肉夹馍 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

I can personally vouch for @liuzhou's recipe. He gave it to me some years ago when I had a Chinese luncheon. I served it with rave reviews.

I'm glad you posted this topic because I had almost forgotten about them. I'm going to make them for dinner tonight. They are outstanding.

[Mianbao]

Ok it looks like this forum is not full of friendly advice, it's just full of people who want to argue semantics and be 'right' rather than assist people looking for information about the dynamics of Chinese cooking.

[liuzhou]

22 hours ago, Mianbao said:

ok well I am not here to argue linguistics especially because I dont know enough to do so. I was just explaining my reasoning for calling it bing. 

I am simply trying to find out about how to make bing or mo. like in 腊牛肉夹馍 

 

 

 

22 hours ago, Mianbao said:

Ok it looks like this forum is not full of friendly advice, it's just full of people who want to argue semantics and be 'right' rather than assist people looking for information about the dynamics of Chinese cooking.

 

You said you wanted to make rou jia mo. You said they come in something called bing. I merely pointed out that they don't and explained what bing really are. That is not linguistics or semantics.

I pointed you towards a recipe. I'm sorry you think that isn't a friendly thing to do.

The recipe was taught me 26 years ago by a chef in Xi'an who had beeen making them all his life.

I don't know what else you expect. I've tried to answer all your questions. Even if you still think that was unfriendly, that is no excuse for saying this forum is "just full of people who want to argue". Not true at all.

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

19 minutes ago, Mianbao said:

Ok it looks like this forum is not full of friendly advice, it's just full of people who want to argue semantics and be 'right' rather than assist people looking for information about the dynamics of Chinese cooking.

You couldn't be more wrong. If one hopes to duplicate or copy the food of another culture you must first understand exactly what it is.

Without knowledge one is doomed to failure.

[Mianbao]

yes and i said:

 

"
 

Thanks for the clarification!  I am very new to making Chinese breads so its easy to get lost. 

 

Very interesting I have never had a sweet bing ever, only scallion and savory like these https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_(bread). The bing have a very similar recipe and cooking style to the Mo where you make a dough rather than making a batter like a pancake or crepe which is why I mistakenly called it Bing.

 

"

 

after I said this I asked more questions which you ignored.

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Mianbao said:

after I said this I asked more questions which you ignored.

 

1) I'm not at your beck and call.

2) I would have answered in time, until you got shirty about it.

I gave you the recipe. It doesn't use sugar.

 

[Mianbao]

Once again Liuzhou I thank you for your recipe.

[Tropicalsenior]

This article on common baking ingredients will give you an overview on the action of sugar and yeast.

 

[pastrygirl]

1 hour ago, Mianbao said:

does the sugar with yeast cause the dough to become more glutinous, and make for a better combination

 

no, it just makes the yeast more active, more quickly

[Mianbao]

Thanks, Tropicalsenior, I knew some of this but learned more reading it.

 

Thanks, Pastrygirl as well!

[Duvel]

5 hours ago, Mianbao said:

Ok it looks like this forum is not full of friendly advice, it's just full of people who want to argue semantics and be 'right' rather than assist people looking for information about the dynamics of Chinese cooking.

Please don’t be discouraged 🤗

 

This forum is full of good, sometimes great advice. It just doesn’t come in the form of easily digestible, „friendly“ packages, though. As often, the knowledge provided by renowned experts comes at a price. Rest assured that your intentions of asking your questions are clear, and any semantic dissections of your question and linguistic teaching moments are just part of establishing the groundwork to increase your appreciation of the actual answer to your questions (should it finally arrive, and should you not have given up, as many newcomers have, should they have been unlucky enough asking questions combining food & language of the middle kingdom).

 

In case you have not the patience for waiting for the ultimate and - needless to say - only true answer: you are looking at a basic pan fried bread (Chinese or not): flour/water 50:50-45:55. Salt 1-2% of flour weight (Chine will be on the lower side). Oil 3% of flour weight (this will produce a softer dough than traditional Chinese flatbreads, but is more pleasant to Western palates). Yeast as per type of yeast; sugar about 1% of flour weight will not produce an noticeable sweet taste, but will support the yeast and harmonize the taste.

Mix all together, bulk ferment for 30 min, roll up into sausages and thin thel out. Roll up into coils, flatten them, ferment for 30 min more, flatten out more and dry fry in a hot pan until slightly puffed up.

 

Chinese flat breads in mainland Chine have always been a bit stale to my taste. Taiwan versions have been a bit more „fresh“ and fluffy, so that’s what above instructions will give you.
 

Enjoy 👍

[Tropicalsenior]

Just finished making a batch exactly to @liuzhou's recipe.

It's only a half batch because we like smaller ones. I don't make the coil and flatten it because mine have had an occasion to separate. I make the initial role, cut them into rounds and roll them into flat biscuit like shapes with a rolling pin. Fry them on a dry Grill and then into a 370° oven for 10 minutes. They fluff up slightly on the grill and then more in the oven. The texture is perfect.

@Mianbao if you are looking to learn about Chinese food there is no better place than the Forum, both in articles that you will find from the past and from present members. If you get an answer from @liuzhou, @Duvel or from @KennethT you can take it as gospel. Information on the Internet is always iffy but these three will never steer you wrong.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[heidih]

26 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Just finished making a batch exactly to @liuzhou's recipe.

@Mianbao if you are looking to learn about Chinese food there is no better place than the Forum, both in articles that you will find from the past and from present members. If you get an answer from @liuzhou, @Duvel or from @KennethT you can take it as gospel. Information on the Internet is always iffy but these three will never steer you wrong.

I will add the posts from @hzrt8w are very informative. He is not active here anymore but is a nice clear source.  Example https://forums.egullet.org/topic/77679-pictorial-ma-po-tofu/

 

[KennethT]

@liuzhou Are bing the same as jianbing?  Lately, here in NYC, there has a been a jianbing craze (associated here with Beijing street food) with several storefront restaurants popping up devoted to it.  In Beijing (as in the places here), the jianbing were like savory crepes, made with a batter rather than a yeasted dough and stuffed with various types of savory fillings - either egg based or meat/vegetable.

 

@Mianbao I'm sorry that this discussion may have left you with a bad taste in your mouth (please excuse the horrible pun) but I would point out that @liuzhou is quite an authority on rougiamo as he was apparently quite an addict while living in Xi'an - their ancestral home.  He has made them at home and displayed them here many times and have always looked just like the ones I had while in Beijing.  By the way, @Tropicalsenior yours look fantastic as well!  I am by no means an authority on anything other than maybe some esoteric electrical stuff, but I appreciate your vote of confidence!

Edited June 8, 2023 by KennethT (log)

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

Are bing the same as jianbing?

 

jianbing are one, very well-known type of 'bing', especialy found in Beijing and often eaten for breakfast from road side stalls. 'Bing' covers many items we would call pancakes as well as small flat cakes, such as mooncakes 月饼 (yuè bǐng).

 

More western style cakes are called 糕 (gāo) or gāo 蛋糕 (dàn gāo, literally 'egg cake').

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

I am by no means an authority on anything

You are entirely too modest. Your dedication to authenticity and flavor is truly inspiring. Since I don't have a prayer of being able to source any of the ingredients that you use all I can do is admire and drool. Although your specialty isn't Chinese food, I would venture to say that you are familiar with most of the ingredients.

As promised. Here are the final results.

As everyone knows, I can't use garlic or peppers but other than that the recipe is just like @liuzhou's.

They were delicious.

[Dave the Cook]

Am I the only one who thinks those things look an awful lot like what we in the US call English muffins, which are also made from a yeast dough, are pan-fried and served in a split fashion?

(Image courtesy of Amazon.)

[Tropicalsenior]

8 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

those things look an awful lot like what we in the US call English muffins,

That could be partly my fault. The ones that I made and showed are smaller than the ones that you would get in China. Hence, they probably look more like English muffins. However the Chinese buns are thinner and have a bit chewier texture than English muffins. Another difference is that the English muffins are cut from a rolled dough where the Chinese buns are formed. English muffins have the shape of a hockey puck whereas these have the shape of a pillow. They also have a much finer texture.

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

Am I the only one who thinks those things look an awful lot like what we in the US call English muffins, which are also made from a yeast dough, are pan-fried and served in a split fashion?

(Image courtesy of Amazon.)

 

Visually, a bit. But the texture and mouth feel are very different. Also, I find English muffins to be sweeter.