Mock Mandarin Pancakes Recipes

MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Place flour in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water in a thin stream while stirring with chopsticks or a wooden spoon. It helps to set the bowl in a heavy saucepan lined with a dish towel to keep it stable, or a friend stabilize the bowl as you do this. Add the cold water in a thin stream, continuing to mix the whole time. Stir the mixture until it turns into a shaggy ball, then dump the ball out onto a lightly floured work surface.
• Knead the dough with your hands until it forms a smooth ball, about 5 minutes. Cover the dough ball with a damp dish towel and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to a couple hours.
• Roll the dough into a log roughly 10 inches long, then cut it in half crosswise. Line up the two small logs, then section each one in 6ths to form 12 pieces (for approximate 8-inch pancakes); in 8ths for 16 pieces (for approximate 7-inch pancakes) or in 10ths for 20 pieces (for approximate 6-inch pancakes).
• Roll two pieces into smooth balls between your hands, working with one piece at a time. Then, using a rolling pin or wine bottle, gently roll each of the two pieces into circular disks about 1/4-inch thick. (You'll cook two pieces at a time and proceed through the end of Step 7 before rolling out the remaining balls.)
• Brush the top of one disk with a thin, even layer of oil, then stack the second disk on top. Using a rolling pin, roll the stacked disks into a 6- to 8-inch circle. The size will depend on the number of balls you made in Step 3.
• Heat a cast-iron, carbon steel, or nonstick skillet over medium until a drop of water flicked onto the surface immediately bubbles and evaporates (about 2 minutes), then add the rolled, stacked disk. Let cook on one side until blistered and browned in spots, about 1 minute. Flip and cook until second side is blistered and browned. Sometimes the pancakes will bubble up with steam as they cook, preventing the second side from making good contact with the pan. You can gently press down on them with a flat spatula if this happens.
• Remove the cooked disk, then carefully peel it apart into two thin pancakes while still hot. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean dish towel.
• Repeat Steps 4 through 7 for the remaining dough balls, adjusting heat as necessary to make sure the pancakes brown in spots but don't blacken. Finished pancakes should be served while still warm. To store leftovers, place the pancakes on large squares of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then roll them up like a jelly roll and refrigerate. Reheat covered in the microwave, or briefly heat one at a time in a hot, dry skillet.

MU SHU PORK AND MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Combine soy sauce, sherry and hoisin sauce in a bowl.
• Add the pork, toss to coat evenly, cover, refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, soak the mushrooms in enough hot water to cover for 20 minutes (no soaking if using button mushrooms).
• Drain and thinly slice.
• Set aside on a plate, along with the cabbage, carrot and scallions.
• Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and swirl to coat.
• Pour in the eggs, swirling and tilting the wok to form a thin film.
• Cook just until the eggs are set and feel dry on top, about 1 minute.
• Transfer to a platter, let cool slightly and cut into 1 inch strips.
• Return the wok to high heat, and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
• Add the garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry to release the aromas, about 1 minute.
• Add the pork and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
• Add the reserved mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, and scallions, along with the chicken stock, and stir-fry another 2 minutes.
• Stir in soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and sugar, and cook, stirring until sauce boils, about 1 minute.
• Add egg strips and mix well.
• To serve, spread a small amount of hoisin sauce on a warm Mandarin Pancake.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup mu shu mixture in center of pancake, wrap like a burrito, folding the ends to close, and serve.

MOO SHU CHICKEN WITH MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Mix hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and Chinese five-spice powder together in a bowl. Add chicken strips and let marinate for 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add marinated chicken. Stir-fry until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a bowl. Wipe out wok.
• Pour remaining tablespoon sesame oil into wok over medium-high heat. Add shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage, carrots, red cabbage, and scallions; stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Pour in water.
• Pour beaten egg into vegetable mixture; stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes. Add cooked chicken and stir-fry to combine.
• Heat pancakes according in a microwave oven until warmed, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Divide stir-fry mixture between pancakes and fold over like a taco or wrap like a sandwich wrap. Serve.

MOCK MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Brush one side of each tortilla with some oil and stack on a large sheet of foil. Wrap tortillas loosely in the foil and heat on middle rack of oven until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Serve pancakes whole or halved.

MOO SHU PORK WITH MOCK MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Thinly slice green onions reserving 1/4 cup for garnish.
• Coursely chop water chestnuts with a food chopper.
• Combine hoisen sauce and 2 teaspoons of oil in a cup and set aside.
• For the pancakes, heat remaining teaspoon oil over medium-high heat for 1-3 minutes or until shimmering.
• Lightly beat eggs in a coating tray.
• Dip 1 tortilla into eggs, and place tortilla in skillet.
• Cook 20-30 seconds or until lightly golden brown, turning once.
• Repeat with remaining tortillas.
• Cover pancakes and keep them warm.
• Flatten pork with toothed end of a meat tenderizer, and cut into 1/4 inch strips.
• Add pork to skillet, cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat or until no longer pink.
• Add remaining green onions, water chestnuts, cole slaw mix, and hoisen sauce mixture.
• Cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through, tossing to coat.
• Spoon pork mixture into pancakes, and garnish with reserved onions.

MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Gradually stir in boiling water until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Return dough to bowl and cover with a damp towel; let stand 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out circles from dough. Working with 1 round at a time, gently brush one side of dough with sesame oil, using your fingertip or a small pastry brush; top with a second round. Using a rolling pin, roll both rounds together into a 6-inch circle. Cover with a damp towel and repeat process with remaining dough rounds.
• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add one pancake to skillet and cook, turning once, until lightly golden and dry, about 30 seconds per side. Remove from skillet and let cool slightly; separate into 2 pancakes. Repeat process with remaining pancakes. Pancakes can be made ahead and wrapped with plastic wrap; to heat, unwrap pancakes and steam in a steamer basket set in a saucepan with 1 inch simmering water until warm.

CRISP-SKINNED DUCK WITH MOCK MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Rinse ducks inside and out and pat dry. Remove excess fat from cavities and truss ducks. On a metal rack set in a large roasting pan arrange ducks, breast sides up and several inches apart. Let ducks dry, uncovered and chilled, 3 days.
• In a small bowl stir together boiling water, honey, and vinegar and cool to room temperature. Brush ducks with some honey mixture, keeping them chilled, and brush again every 20 minutes for 1 hour. Let ducks dry at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pierce skin of ducks all over with a fork to allow fat to drain and help skin get crisp. Roast duck in middle of oven until mahogany brown and a meat thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F., about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let ducks stand 10 minutes. Discard string and carefully pour out juices from cavities.
• Cut around entire breast of each duck with a sharp paring knife and carefully peel off crisp skin in large pieces. Cut skin into 2 1/2- by 1-inch strips. Cut away and discard any fat on breast meat and remove breast meat from bone. Slice breast meat diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange on a platter with crisp skin. Remove legs from duck and arrange on another platter. Duck meat may be reheated and skin recrisped in a 350°F. oven until just hot.
• To make scallion brushes:
• If serving mock pancakes halved, 48 scallion brushes (one for each half) will be necessary for rolling inside the pancakes. If leaving the pancakes whole, 24 scallion brushes will be needed.
• Trim roots and green parts from scallions, leaving about 2 1/2 inches of stalk. Fringe ends of scallions by cutting slits about 1/2 inch deep all around both ends of each stalk, leaving about 1 inch of solid scallion in center, and spread fringed ends gently. Put scallions in bowl of ice and cold water. Chill scallions 2 hours, or until fringed ends have curled
• Drain scallions well.
• To assemble pancakes:
• Using a scallion brush spread some hoisin sauce on a pancake (whole or half) and top with the scallion brush, some breast meat, and some crisp skin. Roll up pancake to enclosed filling. Make more pancakes with remaining scallion brushes, hoisin sauce, breast meat, and crisp skin in same manner.
• Serve duck legs on the side.