Sichuan spicy beef pancakes (军屯锅盔)

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

Hey guys, a few notes: 1. Hot water temperature should be around 60-70C, sorry that in the video it sounds like I said "7 degrees" haha. Hot water dough makes a very soft and extensible base for shaping, it’s a common dough for making flat bread or pancake in Chinese kitchen. 2. Taking the flour and yeast mixture out first is to make sure the hot water that we’re adding in doesn’t kill the yeast. 3. If your room temperature is very low, like between 10-15C, you can use a bit more yeast, say take a 1/4 tsp and use about 80% of it so that it still ferments during the resting time. 4. The dough should only be *slightly* leavened. The purpose of leavening is to create a little bit of air bubbles so that it’s puffy and has that airy crispiness after frying. But you don’t want it to be fully fermented because that’ll create way too much bubbles and absorbs too much oil. There’re also fully fermented pancakes in Chinese cooking, but those are usually fried with a lot less oil or even just baked. 5. SThere’re other options for seasoning the beef. Some places would add in Sichuan sweet bean paste tian mian jiang (甜面酱), or Sichuan fermented mustard green yacai (芽菜) for some more depth, or huajiao Sichuan peppercorn oil for a stronger numbness. So feel free to play with what you have, but remember to adjust the salt quantity if you’re doing so because sweet bean paste and yacai are both quite salty. 6. You can also control the spicy level with the chili flake you use; we like ours to have a kick so we use a mix of kashimiri and Thai bird’s eye for both fragrance and heat. 7. At guokui shops in Sichuan, beef guokui usually got black sesame seeds and pork ones got white sesame seeds to distinguish the two, but we only got white at home so that’s what we ended up using. 8. To make a big batch and freeze: you can roll out all the pancakes into the final wide disc shape (the pre-frying shape), then stack them up with parchment paper on both sides, freeze it in a zip lock bag, thaw it overnight in the fridge before frying. Stays good in the freezer for about 2 months. However, the ones fried after thawing would be a bit denser than the freshly made ones. 9. The oil type and quantity in the yousu roux may vary. Lard and caiziyou rapeseed oil are the two most classic oil used in the yousu for Sichuan guokui. Some shops would use a mix of lard and caiziyou in their yousu, and a ratio of 2 part flour and 1 part oil to create a solid yousu. Some shops would even just finely mince pork fat, mix it with salt and some spices, then use that as the oil component, the fat would melt and render during frying. The spices can also vary, five spice, Huajiao Sichuan peppercorn, and white peppercorn are the most common ones. 10. So some shops in Sichuan would apply yousu twice, that is applying the yousu once, roll it up into a log, press flat and then out into a strip again, and then apply both yousu and beef. The purpose of applying yousu twice is to create more layers, but after testing both methods I don’t think it create too much of a difference. So to make things easier to follow here in the final recipe, I put the yousu and the beef together in one step, just like the shop we filmed in Sichuan. 11. The toasting step before adding oil is quite important. I know we’re frying it with oil later anyway, but this toasting creates a soft “crust” and kinda “seals” the outer layers of the pancake and makes it less greasy inside. 12. In Sichuan, especially around Chengdu, guokui is often sold at or next to a spicy intestine noodle soup (肥肠粉) shop. Somehow having a guokui together with that sweet potato noodle smothered with ultra soft braised intestine and spicy soup becomes a set meal. And it is a pretty good way to enjoy it, so if you’re having guokui, you can also try to have it alongside or dip it in some hot soups That's all for now! CCs will be out in a couple hours, sorry about that :)

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

This looks better than IHOP, for sure!

[@billywillaims293]

This will sound odd, but I am curious if you know what this is called. So all the american chinese places i've been to (Buffets, which are admittedly a mix of all of Asia, and hyper american foods) it's a meatball wrapped in dough, but the top of the meatball is still exposed. They are at least kept warm in a steamer tray. They are my absolute favorite thing in a chinese buffet, but they only ever label things in the normaler parts of the buffet line up, and my very terrible description doesn't really help googling, and I've moved far away so I can't just ask the employees.

[@IAmTheUltimateRuler]

@@billywillaims293 siu mai?

[@billywillaims293]

@@IAmTheUltimateRuler Googling it, that does seem to be the thing. All google images have something orange on top that none of them had, but that might just be a thing of them being from a buffet, and thus not much efforts taken to make them look that pretty.

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

@@billywillaims293 Yeah, that does sound like siumai to me (our video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pomkY3tsoZKqn6M). There're many variations of siumai, often they don't have the orange roe on top, and that'd probably be the case at the buffet you go to.

[@shyamdevadas6099]

Wow! This was the second thing I ordered to eat when I first arrived in China ten years ago. The morning after I arrived...didn't speak a word of Hanyu. I went wandering through an alley in Kunming, near my language school. I came across an older couple making these in a little street front stall. The wife was forming them on a huge cutting board and the husband was frying them up on a greasy griddle on top of a stove made from an oil drum. I remember taking them back to my room and eating them. Absolutely delicious, but I was unprepared for two things. First, I had never had anything with mala Sichuan peppercorn seasoning. My face went numb and I really wondered if I was in the beginning phases of a stroke. Second, these things were super rich! I gobbled down two of them and felt like my liver was going to seize up. (Hint: Eat them slow with something hot to drink. One of them is plenty for a single sitting.) Great video...and thanks for teaching me the name of these things. (My classmates kept calling them jian bing, but I knew that was something else.)

[@PeaceLoveHonor]

Thanks for the (warnings...) tips!😂

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

Yeah they're very rich haha. I'd have one and maybe some soups and that's a proper big dinner right there.

[@SlimJim3082]

You thought u were having a stroke but still ate two of them. If that's not dedication and love for food, I dunno what is. 😅

[@shyamdevadas6099]

@@SlimJim3082 LOL... I'm ashamed to say I was so hungry that I gobbled them down, as if they were doughnuts or bagels. It was only after that I felt the face numbing. When these things are piping hot, they are irresistible.

[@A_T216]

I love how you're always cognisant of presenting accurate information/authentic food while keeping in mind your audience's capabilities and means. Things like the yeast substitute are super appreciated.

[@lewismaddock1654]

5:16 dogo asking for some attention just melted my heart.

[@flowerpt]

He's checking on her - she seems to be talking to the wall from his perspective!

[@OptimusWombat]

Yeah, I'm gonna pass on this. _Because I'd be eating them constantly._ Spicy beef inside a deep fried pastry. What's not to love?

[@alansilva5252]

You had me worried at the first half not gonna lie

[@satoshiketchump]

Bruh ☠️

[@OptimusWombat]

@@alansilva5252 lol. Unfortunately my self control when it comes to delicious foods is somewhat lacking. The best way for me to avoid eating stuff that's bad for me is to just not have any around.

[@gregdubya1993]

That's why I stay away from the Jamaican restaurant near me...I can eat beef patties all day.

[@CaptainPupu]

The diabetes and the 3x the recommended fats in your diet are a few things not to love.

[@ccaa7674]

01:35 this looks just like nooneh sangak. It's an Iranian wheat based flat bread. It's baked against small stones in some kind of oven so there are little indentations and holes. Very crispy and delicious fresh.

[@fryingpancakes8445]

This make a lot of sense. Various Chinese dynasties had military outposts along the silk road in the eastern parts of central Asia. It's very possible they learnt how to make these recipes from Persian traders and travelers, maybe during the Abbasid period, and brought them into central China.

[@ccaa7674]

@@fryingpancakes8445 yeah you should see Iranian art, the Persian miniatures are super Chinese influenced. I do my shopping at this Chinese grocery and some of the snacks overlap with typical Iranian ones.

[@lukasoitzl133]

I just made this today for my parents and me. We all loved it! It is surprisingly easy to make and soo delicious. I think I will make it again soon and freeze a few for another time. Thanks a lot for the recipe!!!

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

That's quick hahaha. Glad you like it~

[@PenDanger2]

This channel is a unicorn in that it just continually gets better over time.

[@chefrbs]

This beef pancakes recipe was fantastic! 🤩😍 I loved the way the flavors blended together, and the step-by-step instructions made it easy to follow. Thank you for sharing! 👍🙏

[@talonhammer]

My best friend would go crazy for these. He's Hungarian so I would probably change the spices to Paprika and onion 😊

[@leoszilard7542]

your comment just made me realize some sour cream with these would go crazy hard. Like a fusion of the ma-la beef and perogies

[@talonhammer]

​@@leoszilard7542 YES. you see the vision ❤

[@wezzuh2482]

It is kind of similar to some of the pastries you find in the Balkans, albeit with different seasonings of course.

[@marybergquist8017]

so you're thinking chebureki but with a strudel method... I dunno, I think I'm gonna need to try 10 or 15 of them before I can say if it's a good idea or not

[@xuedalong]

For anyone in 🇸🇬 Singapore, you can get something similar in basement 2 of the Funan mall. They're the thinner and baked kind though, like the 烤饼 you get in Zhejiang, not fried like these Sichuan ones.

[@strickeN96]

Just made them today and they came out absolutely amazing!! I felt like I was in Sichuan again! Thank you very much for this recipe, 100% accurate!

[@witmoreluke]

The helmet thing, my mom was in the American military, stationed in West Germany, and most of her meals were cooked in her helmet. Some things transcend cultures. Thanks for the video, looks delicious!

[@UraniumFire]

I would never stop eating these. I'm sure these would hasten my death my coronary failure by a good ten years. Yum!

[@taoiseachjager9643]

Have you ever considered doing some pre-columbian exchange chinese recepies. There is quite a lot written about how american ingrediants changed european cooking, but I can find very little on how it changed chinese food (or any asian food for that matter). It seems hard to imagine chinese food without ingrediants like chilis, tomatos, corn or potato.

[@davidgriffin9247]

This sounds amazing, I love it! Pretty please?

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

How about an arrow proof guokui lol? In all seriousness though, there're many dishes that has it origin before 15th century, but they all became part of this massive cuisine(s) that we know of as "Chinese food" nowadays. Like this guokui, if you do the pork version, which is not spicy at all and that'll totally be something that can be pretty old. We got books about dishes and cooking that dates before 15th, they can be a fun read but most of them are very obscure and most of time not even a dish in our modern sense. But right, I do know what you mean, when we can find things that's actually a solid historical dish, we sure would do it.

[@flowerpt]

Skip the chili and MSG, use chicken fat for the roux, and add more salt, mushroom powder and Szechuan pepper. Done! Generally - skip the nightshades and refined chemicals and amp up the similar flavor profiles to compensate. Plus every household will have its own recipe.

[@tktyga77]

Maybe some such dishes & videos on certain sections to start off in?

[@tonyfromthebl9ck]

Thanks for keeping this content free

[@nannakurzhaar]

" one of the easier Chinese pastry" oh boy 🥺 this looks like a huge challenge but also nice!

[@thejuiceloosener150]

My wife said “just spend 3 rmb and buy them in a street car next time we are in China” after watching. Haha

[@ipv6tf2]

sounds like something you would eat before and after the gym.. who am i kidding i’d eat it all the time!

[@KINGIBEXX]

Yall should come to America and do a tour of Chinese food in the states. Not so much a westernized Chinese food tour but the places that may be more traditional Chinese food with a western spin. I wouldn't know how to find those places, I assume some exist. I love your content. thanks!

[@fernmaier6842]

Those "pastelitos chinos" look delicious. Thanks!!

[@larryleventhal4833]

I love these! When I was in Chengdu, I ate them all the time. Excellent!

[@elijahberegovsky8957]

De! Li! Cious! It took wayyyy too much time for my liking, so I don’t think I’ll be making them again any time soon. But it was an instant hit with my whole family 😊

[@goonerp.7131]

Hi Steph and Chris! I’ve tried making this recipe multiple times and it always turned out great! However the only issue I’m having is that every time I fry the Guo Kui, the surface does not look smooth and flaky as yours on the video, instead it’s crispy and bubbly. Could you let me know if there is any way to remedy this? thank you so much!

[@NovaNocturneArt]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I haven't been able to find guokui recipes at all and I have been missing the flavor and taste of them for years now!

[@druidOcelot]

those look like they'd be amazing to eat while drinking! and i am massively curious about the pork version, makes me wanna break out my big ol rimmed cast iron griddle, seems like the perfect kinda pan to cook them in. (since the lip allows for pretty generous room for shallow frying, but its not as deep as a normal skillet, its great for making sure steam can get out of the pan and away from the food)

[@mrloboto]

Definitely gonna try making this. Thanks for the approachable explanation.

[@stan.stawski]

Hi there, I have a question related to sichuan pepper corns - every time I'm making anything with them I fight myself spending 20-30 minutes just separating the ones with black seeds out. Does it have to be like this every time? If seems like I need to separate about 30% of the product I have. Do I just have 'lower grade' sichuan pepper corns or it's just the way it is? Are there any tricks to it other than painstakingly doing it one by one?

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

It seems like the Sichuan peppercorn you have is unfortunately the lower quality ones. We found most of the Sichuan peppercorn outside of China to be not so good quality, often with seeds and twigs inside. But even the random ones from Asian super market in the US are not too seed-y. Not sure actually how much seeds are in yours though. But yeah, unfortunately you do need to pick them out before using. If you're not really going for the numbness, maybe try the powder. Or if you can find Sichuan peppercorn oil, you can use that, it's way easier.

[@melissa1150]

Looks delicious 😋

[@CookinWithSquirrl]

This looks right up my alley! Nicely done!

[@misters86]

Yup. Definitely making these.

[@borbetomagus]

Thanks for this recipe. I know I and a few others who would devour them. I look forward to making it! Recently I found Huang Fei Hong 'Spicy Peanuts' and can't imagine your viewers wouldn't love these crunchy, spicy and numbing peanuts. I was hoping your 'Real Chinese Appetizer' video would have given a recipe for 'Drunkard Peanuts' or 'Mala Peanuts'. I hope to find XSD (Xing Sheng De) spicy peanuts, and also try their Sichuan peanuts and Five Spice peanuts, but easily finding all of these XSD products in the US (as opposed to the Huang Fei Hong 'Spicy Peanuts') may be more of a challenge. Any other brands you'd recommend???

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

Huang Feihong seems to be the most popular brand nowadays. If you can get your hands on other Huang Feihong products, try their crispy chili chips, it's something like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIq4koKqr7KZhdk. Snack peanut brands are something that's quite regional in China, I have some very obscure preference that you can't even find them once you leave that city hahaha, so I'm not gonna make you get out of your ways trying to find them when nothing can be found.

[@ST31N42]

Great information and wonderful instruction on technique.. thank you!

[@dianahowell3423]

Oh, my! You can hear them crunch! *swoon*

[@Rapha142]

Had these in Pudong. Love em ❤

[@mannaporanna2678]

I just really liked this whole background history that you gave in this video. So interesting! 🫶👍👏

[@9Godslayer]

I like how you guys show how much filling you're supposed to have on even though you say how much. I'm not very good with centimeters.

[@teadivamuse]

Love! Looks yummy!

[@ShavaNerad]

I have arthritis in my wrists. Using a cleaver for 10min is not an option -- I'm not a masochist. ;) Kneed for five min+ is also hard. Can I use a food processor or other tool for these things without sacrificing quality? I would welcome any suggestions -- the recipe looks lovely.

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

Yeah for sure, use any tool to help if it fits your situation. Like a food processor for the beef and a stand mixer for the dough is totally fine. We like to show recipes using hands because not everybody got gadgets.

[@VoltaDoMar]

Looks so good!

[@Pugilation]

That looks soooooo good!

[@TomBalazs]

"You are so Lihai". serious, formidable, fierce, violent 😊

[@TheDistur]

Those look delicious!

[@kae2018]

I wonder if that poor lil bug got mushed into the dough @3:38

[@hi6go7]

I was browsing the comments to see if anyone else caught that lol

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Protein!

[@alf5706]

I hope it's an optional ingredient.

[@Brosemon]

@@alf5706 I dont think its possible to make this without the little bug sorry

[@alf5706]

@@Brosemon Not as sorry as all those bugs will be.

[@benjaminlipson4313]

If you don't feel like making the dough by hand, would store bought puff pastry dough be a good substitute?

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

I never test it myself but I think that may also work, you can give it a try, why not. This dough is quite to similar to scallion and other fluffy layered pancakes anyway.

[@justmutantjed]

Those pancakes look delicious! I've never heard of them before.

[@gaber1346]

11:27 Ooh I get to eat guo kuei with menudo! 😍🤤

[@Majorjabroni]

As an American student living in a city, do you have recommendations for quick recipes I can make or Instant Pot ideas? I made chili oil so that definitely helps speed up meal time without sacrificing flavor ❤

[@FreeBroccoli]

Oh man, I'm definitely going to try this. Thanks!

[@renaenglish8256]

Dear Stephanie, Bravo!! well done in getting this "pong pang" possible for us to enjoy anytime becos in Malaysia we can only buy it from Sitiwan, Perak. May i know whether i can heat it up next day in an oven? Thank u very much

[@genderender]

So the original form was basically hardtack? Interesting to see how it developed from ration to something more refined

[@Funglutton]

It could be something similar to the Cornish pasty, which was an incredibly dense and thick pastry surrounding a potato and vegetable filling. The reason for its thickness was that the miners would take them down the coal mines and would not be able to surface for lunch. So they could be eaten easily in the dark and with dirty hands; the outer crust was discarded. They were also resilient enough to be dropped onto hard stone and remain intact. (Originally, pasties were part of the noble diet and had more exotic fillings of meats, gravies and fruits.)

[@ToraFamiliar]

Look so yummy!

[@liamtahaney713]

That looks too amazing

[@onocoffee]

Holy Fried Pancakes! I'm heading to Kuala Lumpur this week. I hope I can find a place there for this!

[@cheesilyentertained3264]

it honestly reminds me a bit of an arabic dish my mom would make growing up called bourek. does the dough come out similar to fried phyllo?

[@cookingwithmimmo]

Your recipe is delicious👍

[@GoblinGoblet]

0:34 the second example image almost looks like a savoury beavertail

[@Avendesora]

I love that "very close" 727 km drive

[@none941]

Top marks for making this complex item so clear and accessible. I'm going to have to take a swing at these. They look delicious! 😋

[@JoeAuerbach]

Looks amazing. I think I have all these ingredients. Sounds like a party.

[@cckonettaxptor611]

Bonus dog moment at 5:17!!

[@avr198]

3:59 did you guys just visit Thailand? looks like a 7/11 bag there.

[@julianl.109]

I do have laomian starter on hand… maybe I’ll have to try these out with that

[@jamariowoodard281]

From 3:35 to 3:42 you kneaded a bug into the dough.

[@Ben-kv7wr]

I'd love a deeper look at liaoman, how to start your own, and what to make with it

[@FutureSight01]

Your dog is so cute! And you did a good job of talking despite having a dog distracting you

[@camiloquiroga9123]

is the oil you add to fry them in after toasted hot or room temp?

[@chrisw3904]

KIind of a random or weird question, but do you guys live in China? If so, how do you upload onto KZbin or use Google Maps?

[@MrRatFinkster]

Does pouring in cold oil to the pan result in an oilier dough?

[@hmar9599]

Would Indian mustard seed oil sub well for the rapeseed oil here?

[@jimphubar]

What time should I be there for dinner?

[@Kevin-rk4qu]

Huh, I think I just saw something like this at sheng kee bakery. Just didn't think to try it lol

[@smolsmol4638]

Does this have like a Turkic root or smth? Feels like something I’d eat in turkey

[@obnoxiouspriest]

The spicy whatnow noodle soup?

[@matanbaranes3088]

Hey, Chris and Steph, 2:09 is this a scence from the video game "dyansty warriors"?!😂

[@Duiker36]

I don't... feel like that's how Dynasty Warriors looks? My first thought was Age of Empires 2, but I don't think that's right either, since the architetural style is definitely Chinese. Possibly Total War: Three Kingdoms?

[@wendyward2585]

1. Gong jiao, or Tribute Pepper, boasts fresh citrus and floral notes. VS 2. Da Hong Pao, or big red robe, which is large, bright-red and virtually seed-free, with a warm and woodsy flavor. Which variety of red Sichuan peppercorn is used in this video?

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

That's Da hong pao we used in the video.

[@benjaminjameskreger]

Based on the thumbnail alone I gotta get/make these, like who wouldn't love a spinoff (likely original?) beef patty?

[@scotthunter8034]

❤❤❤

[@tupperdoseplastique8707]

This does have many similarities with 馅饼,does it? Well I will give them a try

[@jaajames]

How is this different from a Rou Jia Mo?

[@gmikecstein]

can you tell us more about the spicy intestine noodles?

[@billywillaims293]

The way the old type of this is described it sounds pretty much like hardtack.

[@commenter4898]

It's interesting that Steph pronounce 盔 in the second tone instead of the dictionary standard first tone. Is that how the food is usually pronounced over there?

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

When it's in 盔甲 is first tone, but for 锅盔 it's always second tone.

[@commenter4898]

@@ChineseCookingDemystified I checked a couple online dictionaries and they all say first tone even for the word 鍋盔. I suspect the food originated from a place where the local dialect pronounce 盔 that way, and this become how everyone call the food, but the dictionary editors didn't catch up on that.

[@whale3473]

Is the "You are so lihai" a real line from subs? Beautiful

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

Not real hahahahah. Totally made up.

[@whale3473]

@@ChineseCookingDemystified Devastating depression

[@metasamsara]

Yes cooking inside of helmets was a thing in many cultures even medieval europe and even ww1 I believe.

[@agxryt]

Video suggestion - food handling & safety in China (restaurants & home)... I watch a lot of international cooking videos, and it always SEEMS like Asian cooks are more comfortable working with raw meat, using "undesirable" parts of veggies, and cross contaminating utensils a bit (like dipping an in-use spatula into an offset bowl of soya sauce) This isn't a critique, it just seems like they're more comfortable in the kitchen. Curious if this is reality, or just a side effect of editing

[@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407]

Do you think I could make something like this with store bought pastry dough or pizza dough? I know it's sacrilicious but the existence of an easy (lazy) version would increase the chance that I'll ever make this, so...

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

If you can get 手抓饼 or scallion pancake dough you can just use that, or frozen phyllo.

[@user-yo7fx2xn8m]

👏🏻👏🏻

[@lupolinar]

5:17 ..someone is hungry. :D

[@adamkinsey3139]

I love you guys. Thank you so much for your videos!!! And your wife is incredibly beautiful....you have a lucky husband!!

[@mikelul.-2873]

Now we need video with intestine soup 😁

[@bej4987]

Does China even have taco bell?

[@restaurantman]

​@@bej4987 There are 11 Taco Bell locations in China, not that many.

[@anton2956]

the abarchy in the back hehe

[@flowerpt]

The roux! So many recipes have never mentioned it. Those dirty liars! Thank you for cracking the code.

[@josephlucatorto4772]

im sorry Chris but the Stef led videos are the best lol

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

I think they're both good at it. I like how they take turns.

[@soggyprog]

Reminds of of phoenix cookie

[@Corum001]

😃❤👍✌

[@FlavourFool]

Interesting, this is pretty similar to how parathas are made.

[@mikerphone.]

That military outpost is looking an awful lot like Total War Shogan 2....

[@chrisspreacherman7400]

***Where did you get the butcher knife????***

[@tktyga77]

That's much like pupusas there