hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re adding to our series dedicated to Chinese breakfast foods with a shot at a dim sum dish that I’ve been eating for pretty much my whole life, but never once considered trying to make, mostly because I always assumed they were a lot harder to make than they actually are. The Chinese minced pork meat pie, or Xian Bing is made up of a pretty simple flour and water based dough, then filled with a minced meat filling, flattened, and finally pan seared and steamed.
For those keeping track, the concept of a meat pie is certainly not unique to Chinese food. You’ll come across the similarly assembled “minced pie” in England, the “empanada” in Latin America, the Jamaician Patty in Jamaica, the variations are truly endless. What has always stood out to me about the xian bing, however, is the pleated pattern that appears on the top of the pie as a result of the way that it is assembled, which you’ll notice looks a lot like a baozi or xiao lom bao, because they are all folded in the same method. So, we’re gonna take a look at all of that today, as well as a few of my favorite additions to a xian bing, including some celery heart and a bit of white pepper and chinese five spice for their aromatic qualities. Hope you try it.
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS (dough)
2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup water (plus ~1/4 cup reserved)
pinch kosher salt
INGREDIENTS (filling)
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
8oz ground mince (pork, beef, chicken, or turkey)
2 stalks celery hearts
2 green onions
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
PREP
COMBINE AP flour with 1/2 cup water, adding additional water until a smooth dough forms, then cover with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
DICE the celery, set aside
SLICE the green onions, set aside
COMBINE all filling ingredients
DIVIDE the dough into eight equal pieces, then roll into coins about 6 inches in diameter, rotating 1/4 turn after each roll
ROLL the dough into a coil, then turn and roll again, then flatten and roll out again into a coin about 6 inches in diameter (optional)
ADD 1 tbsp filling to the center of the wrapper, then pinch shut with pleats, rotating after each pinch
REMOVE the top of the dough, then flip pleated-side down, and gently flatten
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a skillet on medium high heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil, and long yao
SEAR in batches for 1 minute pleated side down, cover and fry for an additional 2 minutes, then flip, cover, and fry for an additional 3 minutes
REMOVE from heat, and rest for 10 minutes before eating