Chinese

Serving

Chinese Quick & easy

Jianbing (Chinese Crepe)

Name: Jianbing (Chinese Crepe)
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Mung bean flour; 1/2 cup All-purpose flour; 1.5 cups Water; 2 Large eggs; 2 tbsp Sweet bean sauce (Tianmianjiang) or Hoisin sauce; 1 tbsp Chili oil or paste (Lao Gan Ma); 2 Scallions (finely chopped); 1 tbsp Cilantro (chopped); 2 Fried wonton wrappers (Bao Cui - for crunch)

A savory, crispy crepe folded with eggs, sauces, and a crunchy fried cracker.

30 minutes

Serves 4

Breakfast/Street

14 min prep

23 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg Wheat Soy

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Good to know

Crispy
Ready in under 30 minutes

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: crispy recipes 30-minute meals

Instructions

6 steps

1
Make the Batter: In a bowl, whisk together the mung bean flour, all-purpose flour, and water until completely smooth. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
2
Pour the Crepe: Heat a large non-stick crepe pan or flat griddle over medium-low heat. Brush very lightly with oil. Pour 1/2 cup of the batter onto the pan and immediately use a crepe spreader or the back of a ladle to spread it into a very thin, even circle.
3
Add the Egg: As the batter just begins to set (about 1 minute), crack an egg directly onto the crepe. Quickly spread the egg evenly over the entire surface of the crepe using a spatula.
4
Garnish and Flip: While the egg is still wet, sprinkle the chopped scallions and cilantro generously over the top. Once the egg sets and the edges of the crepe pull away from the pan, carefully flip the entire crepe over.
5
Sauce and Crunch: Brush the now upward-facing cooked side heavily with the sweet bean sauce and chili oil. Place the crispy fried wonton wrappers directly in the center.
6
Fold and Serve: Fold the sides of the crepe over the crispy wrappers to form a neat rectangle. Fold it in half once more, remove from the pan, and eat immediately while it is hot, chewy, and crunchy.

Jianbing (Chinese Crepe) — plated and served — Serving moment. How Jianbing (Chinese Crepe) looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

63/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 70

Kid-friendly 27

Weeknight-easy 86

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 50

Pantry-friendly 51

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

200

Calories

7 g

Protein

28 g

Carbs

6 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Jianbing is a northern Chinese street food crepe that originated in Shandong province and is now the most common street breakfast food in Beijing and Tianjin, where vendors sell them from flat griddles mounted on tricycles or cart stalls every morning. The crepe is made from a thin poured batter of mung bean and wheat flour, spread with egg, hoisin and chili sauce, scallions, and then wrapped around a crispy wonton cracker for crunch. It exemplifies the ingenuity of Chinese street food: assembled in under two minutes, eaten while walking, and completely satisfying.

Listahan note

This version keeps the essential three-element balance of the original: a thin, pliable crepe, a rich savory sauce, and a crispy inner layer for textural contrast, without requiring specialty equipment beyond a flat non-stick pan.

Technique cues

The batter should be thin enough to pour in a lazy circle and self-level to about 2 millimeters thick; batter that is too thick sets before you can spread it and produces a chewy pancake rather than a delicate crepe.
Crack the egg directly onto the poured batter immediately and spread it in a thin layer with the back of a spoon; this bonds the egg to the crepe so it does not slide around when you fold.
Work quickly when adding sauce and fillings since the crepe sets in about 60 to 90 seconds; have all components within reach before the first crepe hits the pan.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Set up a complete assembly station before starting: batter, cracked eggs, sauce brush, all fillings in bowls, and wonton crackers at the ready; once the pan heats, assembly happens in under 90 seconds per crepe.
Make-ahead: The batter can be made the night before and refrigerated; stir well before using as the flour settles.
Leftover move: Batter keeps refrigerated for 2 days; if you have assembled jianbing that have cooled, reheat briefly on a dry pan over medium heat to restore the texture before folding.
Cleanup rhythm: Wipe the non-stick pan with a dry paper towel between each crepe rather than rinsing; rinsing drops the pan temperature and results in the next crepe sticking at the start.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

mung bean flour

batter base

Purpose: Mung bean flour gives jianbing its characteristic slightly green-grey color and an earthy, subtly bean-forward flavor distinct from a plain wheat crepe.

Handling: Whisk with water until fully smooth; let rest for 10 minutes to hydrate fully.

Adaptation: If mung bean flour is unavailable, use 100% wheat flour; the flavor profile shifts to more neutral but the technique remains identical.

eggs

binding layer

Purpose: The egg cracked onto the hot crepe surface creates a thin, cooked layer that adds richness and helps bind the sauces and fillings.

Handling: Have eggs cracked into a bowl at the side of the stove rather than cracking shell-to-pan to avoid shell fragments.

Adaptation: A thin layer of beaten egg from a bowl works identically for those who prefer not to crack eggs directly onto the pan.

hoisin sauce

sweet savory spread

Purpose: Hoisin provides the sweet, fermented backbone of the sauce layer that balances the chili heat and the eggy crepe.

Handling: Use straight from the jar; thin with a few drops of water if it is too thick to spread easily.

Adaptation: Tianmian jiang (sweet bean sauce) is the traditional spread and can substitute directly.

crispy wonton crackers

texture and structure

Purpose: The crunchy layer is not optional; it is the textural contrast that makes jianbing a complete sensory experience rather than just a savory crepe.

Handling: Buy from an Asian grocery store as ready-made fried wonton squares; they require no prep.

Adaptation: A fried spring roll wrapper cut into a smaller square, fried thin and crispy, is the closest homemade substitute.

Technique notes

A ladle with a flat bottom (or a dedicated crepe spreader) dragged in concentric circles is the fastest way to get even coverage; the faster you spread, the thinner and more consistent the crepe.
Flip the crepe only once, and gently; it is delicate and should be handled as little as possible once the egg layer has set on the first side.
Fold the finished jianbing in thirds rather than rolling; the folding technique is traditional and also makes the crispy cracker less likely to break through the crepe wrapper.

Ingredient swaps

Gluten-free direction: Use a blend of mung bean flour and rice flour for the batter and substitute gluten-free tamari for soy-based sauces; ensure the wonton cracker substitute is made from rice paper.
Vegan direction: Substitute the egg with a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water) poured and spread like an egg; it sets similarly and binds the filling though with less richness.
Weeknight shortcut: Use store-bought rice paper sheets as the crepe base rather than making batter; dip in warm water, lay flat on a hot pan, add toppings, and fold.

Serve alongside

warm soy milk (doujiang)
congee
simple pickled vegetables
hot black tea
fresh-squeezed orange juice

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Assembled jianbing should be eaten immediately; they do not hold well once folded as the cracker absorbs moisture from the sauce and softens within 20 minutes.
Batter can be stored refrigerated for up to 2 days; assembled fillings and sauces keep separately for up to 3 days.

Equipment

flat non-stick pan or crepe pan
offset spatula or crepe spreader for thin even coverage
pastry brush for applying sauce in a thin, even layer

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