Tortilla Jianbing Wraps

These easy tortilla jianbing wraps are a godsend for anyone who loves this tasty and satisfying street food breakfast treat. Unless you live near a friendly local jian bing man or woman, though, it’s probably the case that this is a rare treat. UNTIL NOW.

Jian Bing: Love at First Bite

The first time we saw a street vendor in China make jian bing, we gawked like the slack-jawed tourists and food nerds we are. It’s fast but fairly involved:

An extremely thin crepe is cooked on a round spinning griddle. Some vendors use a crepe-like batter, spreading it out with lightning quickness using a special tool that looks like a tiny flat rake.

Others use a wet dough, dragging the dough ball over the hot griddle in one fluid, circular motion, leaving behind a thin layer that crisps in seconds.

That crepe is then filled with all manner of tasty toppings—an egg, sweet and/or spicy bean sauce, cilantro, perhaps a crispy fried dough stick (youtiao – fried dough sticks), shredded lettuce, or even a hot dog (globalization at its finest).

The Jian Bing Breakfast Experience, by thewoksoflife.com — Tortilla Jianbing Wraps 65

The result is a grab-and-go breakfast for locals, available at all hours of the morning. Check out the video below to see how they’re made:

When you take a bite, it’s a symphony of tastes and textures, with the spice, salt, and hit of protein you need to fuel you for the day ahead.

How Do You Make That Super Thin Jianbing Crepe at Home?

The answer is…we don’t.

We’ve gotten close to recreating the high-gluten cross between dough and batter at home, but it all falls apart in a rage-inducing crispy mess of crumbs without that giant, flat, round griddle (experiments using large cast iron skillets and nonstick pans have been conducted. A giant paella pan was even considered). And a thin crepe-like batter in our experience doesn’t yield the same crunch of a street jian bing.

Rather than fussing with raw ingredients to make your own jian bing, which is difficult to master, we say: just grab a large, thin whole wheat tortilla wrap.

When you warm it up, it gets pliable enough to fold and crisp enough to crunch. Toasted lightly on both sides and filled with all the jian bing goodies, you’ll still be transported to a street corner in China. Only this time, you won’t have to wait in line!

Tortilla Jian Bing with Different Fillings — Tortilla Jianbing Wraps 66

Great minds think alike…

This was actually one of the recipes in our upcoming cookbook (out November 1 and available for pre-order now), but we ended up cutting it from the book due to space constraints. That said, it’s an idea that is so good that we weren’t the only ones to think of it.

In J. Kenji Lopez’s new cookbook, The Wok, he has the same idea—using a tortilla to make jianbing more of an anytime indulgence, without the plane ticket to China.

tortilla jian bing recipe in The Wok cookbook — Tortilla Jianbing Wraps 67

When we had the special treat of getting to peruse Kenji’s manuscript ahead of time, we were dazzled by the sheer range and depth of his analysis of wok cookery.

If you’re looking for value for your book $ and you like to geek out on tools and cooking techniques (we know many of you do!), The Wok is definitely one to add to your shelf.

The Work by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt — Tortilla Jianbing Wraps 68

Kenji covers Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and other recipes—all the while showing off our most treasured cooking tool: the wok. Check it out!

Now, onto our version of the recipe!

Jian Bing Add-ins

People will fight you over what they think are the “right” add-ins for jianbing. While eggs, sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang), spicy bean sauce (la doubanjiang), and herbs like scallions and cilantro are table stakes, the rest is open to interpretation. Most street vendors usually have a handful of options on hand.

While youtiao is our favorite, these are some other popular options. Feel free to substitute or add any of the following. As long as you can fit it all in your wrap, it works!

2-4 wonton wrappers or egg roll skin, deep fried until golden, bubbly, and crispy (a decent substitute would be a large handful of your favorite potato chips–we never said this was winning any health awards)
2-4 leaves of crunchy romaine lettuce
3 tablespoons finely chopped salted preserved mustard stems (zhacai)
1 hot dog, cut lengthwise and lightly fried in a pan—each jianbing only needs a half (With a high-quality, snappy hot dog, this may just be the MVP!!!)

We’ll show all these options in the photos below.

jianbing ingredients — Tortilla Jianbing Wraps 69

How to make jian bing wraps

We use frozen, store-bought youtiao for this recipe. To toast it, pop one in the oven or toaster oven for 3-5 minutes at 350°F. (Lean towards the lower end of the range if it has already thawed in your refrigerator.) Leave it in the oven, turned off, while you prepare the jian bing. It should stay warm, but not get too crunchy and hard.

Heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of oil.

Heating Oil in non-stick pan — Tortilla Jianbing Wraps 70

Place a tortilla in the hot skillet, and toast each side for 15-20 seconds, until just warmed through but not crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside.