Laobing is a variety of unleavened bread that is prepared in China. The basic dough is made from salt, water and flour but additional ingredients can be added to it according to personal preferences. Every culture has atleast one variety of unleavened bread in their culinary repertoire and Laobing is the Chinese version of this. Most researchers feel that the recipe is very similar to the Indian chapatti or flatbread.
Laobing recipe: Ingredients Used and Preparation Overview
The Laobing Chinese pancake is made from water, salt and flour. The thick batter is made and it is poured out on to the griddle to make a flat soft pancake. The pancake should be less than one centimeter thick and should be doughy and chewy in texture.
Serving and Eating Laobing Pancakes
These pancakes are eaten plain with a gravy or main dish. Cooks do add in scallions or chilies to the dish to make spicier versions.
Popular Variations of Laobing Pancake
· The dough can be folded over a sweet filling or a sesame seed filling and then baked. This is then referred to as the shaobing. The outside of the unleavened pancake turns crisp while the inside is stills soft and filled with the tart fillings.
· Another version that is prepared from the Laobing is called the chaobing. In this recipe, the prepared pancakes are then cut and stir fried with meat and vegetables.
· Another popular variation is called the green onion pancake. Chopped green onions, fennel greens and sesame seeds are wrapped in dough and cooked the same way. These are also called as cong u bing.
Health and Nutrition Related to Chinese Pancake
A single serving of Laobing has 120 calories. The protein content is 4 g, the fat content is 0.4g, the sugar content is 1 g and the sodium value is 0.1g.