What was left behind was a large, bumpy cutout shaped like
the letter C, with a tiny dot of Hebei proper remaining behind as a provincial
outpost between the almost equally-proportioned clasp of Beijing and Tianjin.
The northern part of Hebei seems mainly dominated by mountain ranges and
stretches of the Great Wall, which makes for a relatively sparse population,
while the rest is part of the enormous North China Plain, meaning that the
foods here center on meat and breads and pasta.
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| Hebei, courtesy Wiki Commons |
As a result, one thing they do especially well up in Hebei
is pasta. Noodles of all forms – including many that remain a surprise even to
me after all these years of eating my way through China’s numerous cuisines –
are doted on with particular affection.
One of the reasons for this is that flour is a cheap energy
source. And if you go one step further and make a meatless meal centered on
pasta, you find that you can easily feed a number of people well for very
little money.
That is not to say that the food isn’t good. On the
contrary, inventiveness is prized here almost as much as pasta.
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| Hidden Hebei gem of a dish |
I first enjoyed them in Taiwan, where military families (who
were almost always on very tight budgets) rolled out thin rounds of bread
dough, grilled these on both sides with very little oil, and then cut them into
thin strips. These were then stir-fried with bean sprouts, green onions, and pork,
with only a few dashes of soy sauce seasoning the dish. It was a perfectly
balance meal that also soothed parts of my soul.
These rolled crepes, though… these are really ingenious.
Bouncy and chewy, they work as wonderful little intermissions between bites of
crunchy vegetables and a savory sauce. As with all of the local pasta dishes, this is as good a reason as any to finally put
Hebei on the map.
Fried rolled crepes
Chǎo miàn cài
Hebei
Chǎo miàn cài
Hebei
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| Like pancake batter |
Serves 4 as a main dish
Crepes:
2 cups Korean noodle flour
Freshly ground black
pepper to taste
2 cups cool filtered
water
Peanut or vegetable
oil
Vegetables and seasonings:
½ medium onion,
peeled
6 large fresh Chinese
black mushrooms, stems removed
½ sweet red pepper
½ medium head cabbage
1 pound mung bean
sprouts
4 tablespoons peanut
or vegetable oil
¼ cup finely chopped
fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic,
finely chopped
¼ cup rice wine
4 tablespoons toasted
sesame oil
4 tablespoons sweet
wheat paste
4 teaspoons sugar
Regular soy sauce to
taste
1. First make the crepe noodles: Mix the flour and pepper
together in a medium work bowl. Stir in the water to form a batter the
consistency of heavy cream. Heat a flat skillet (as smooth as possible to keep
the crepes from sticking) over medium heat and then film the bottom of the
skillet with a tablespoon or so of oil. Pour in just enough of the batter to
thinly cover the bottom, rolling the skillet around to encourage the batter to
fill in bare spots. Cook the crepe on one side only, until the edges loosen
from the sides of the pan, the top of the crepe is still wet, and the bottom of
the crepe is not yet browned. Use a spatula to remove the crepe to a clean
cutting board. Quickly add more oil, if needed, to the pan and make another
crepe. While that crepe is cooking, roll up the semi-cooked crepe very tightly,
lightly squeezing it with your fingers and rolling it back and forth; the
remaining heat in the crepe will cook the raw batter and – if all works right –
seal the crepe into a tight cylinder. Repeat this with the rest of the batter
until you have a bunch of rolled-up crepes. When the crepe rolls are cool, cut
them crosswise into ½-inch to ¾-inch pieces.
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| Lumpy batter quite all right |
2. Next, prepare the vegetables: Cut the onion, mushroom
caps, red pepper, and cabbage into ½-inch (or so) dice. Rinse the bean sprouts
in a colander and let them drain in the sink.
3. First fry the crepe noodles: Heat about 2 tablespoons oil
in the wok over high until the oil starts to shimmer, and then add the noodles.
Gently toss them over the heat until they are lightly browned all over. (If
some come uncoiled, that’s fine. No one will notice.) Remove the noodles to a
large serving bowl.
4. Then, fry the vegetables: Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in
the wok over high and immediately add the ginger, garlic, and onions. Stir-fry
them for a minute or so to lightly brown them, and then add the mushrooms.
Stir-fry them until all the oil has been absorbed, and then toss in the rice
wine. Quickly toss the mushrooms and onions in the wine, and then add the red
pepper and cabbage. Toss these as they fry and wilt, and when they have shrunk
to about half their original volume, scoot them up the side of the wok. Add the
sesame oil and sweet wheat paste to the bottom of the wok and stir them around
to cook the wheat paste. Add the sugar and fried noodles, and then toss
everything together. Taste and adjust the seasoning with soy sauce, if needed.
Serve hot.
Tips
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| Roll up tightly into a cigar |
Korean flour works best here, which is the same as two parts all-purpose flour to one part pastry flour.
Shredded pork or chicken can be added with the mushrooms, if
you like.
Vary the vegetables, using whatever you like and is in
season. Aim for a variety of colors, textures, and flavors.
The sauce, too, can be adjusted to fit your tastes. Like chili
oil? Add some!
