Recipe#2125

Title: Chinese

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 From: eastman@solstice.jpl.nasa.gov (eastman) 
 Subject: Chinese Pancakes 
 Message-ID: <2qdo63$2oi@solstice.jpl.nasa.gov> 
 Date: 6 May 1994 15:36:35 GMT 

2 cups flour
 1 cup boiling water
 3 Tablespoons oil for brushing
 Measure the flour into a large bowl and add the boiling water
 gradually as you stir with chopsticks or a wooden spoon until the
 mixture resembles lumpy meal.  Press the mass into a large ball.
 Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it.
 Knead it, pushing with the heels of your hands and turning it, for
 5 minutes, until it is no longer sticky.  Dust lightly with flour
 whenever necessary.  Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for
 30 minutes.
 Flour the work surface again and knead the dough another 5 minutes
 until it is soft and smooth, dusting with flour when necessary.
 Shape the dough into a log, cut it in half lengthwise, and then
 roll each half back and forth with your palms to form a sausage
 shape about 15 inches long.  Cut each sausage into 1-inch pieces
 and stand them up on their edges on a floured surface.
 Brush 1 side of a piece of dough with oil and press this side onto
 another piece; then roll into a double pancake measuring about 6
 inches in diameter.  Repeat until you have made 15 double pancakes.
 Doubling is to cut the pan baking time and effort in half.
 Heat a heavy skillet over low heat until hot.  Place a pancake in
 the center and "bake" it for about 1-1/2 minutes, until the surface
 puffs into a bubble and the bottom is speckled with small light
 brown spots.  Flip and bake the other side about 45 seconds.  These
 pancakes should be soft and slightly chewy.  The crucial point in
 making them is the heat level; if the pan is too hot the pancakes
 will be covered with large burned spots and if it is not hot enough
 the pancake will dry out in cooking.  Be careful to bake only 1-1/2
 minutes and test for light brown spots, and you'll have a perfect
 pancake. ake.
 Remove the double pancake to a plate while you put another one into
 the skillet; then peel off the finished top one to give you 2
 individual pancakes.  Fold each one to make a half moon and place
 on a plate.  Repeat the baking, peeling and folding until all 30
 pancakes are made, lowering heat if pancakes are browning too fast.
 Steam the folded pancakes on a heatproof plate for 5 minutes before
 serving them.  You may make them hours or days in advance, and you
 can freeze them.  Wrap tightly in plastic for refrigerating or
 freezing.  Reheat by steaming 10 to 15 minutes until soft and
 resilient.