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Chinese

Jianbing (Chinese breakfast crepe)

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

煎饼 · jiānbing

A thin crepe cooked with an egg on top, brushed with sweet bean sauce and chilli, scattered with spring onion and coriander and folded around a crisp fried cracker. Northern China's favourite street breakfast.

Jianbing (Chinese breakfast crepe) is a Chinese street food from China, ready in about 25 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and egg. It serves 2 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Folded jianbing crepe with egg and filling, steaming on a griddle
Photo: Amazingloong / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Serves
2
Level
Intermediate
Calories
353

Ingredients

2 crepes

Batter

Crispy cracker

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the flour, water and salt into a smooth, pourable batter.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Heat about 1 cm of oil in a small pan and fry the wonton wrappers, stacked in pairs, until golden and crisp. Drain on paper.

    • 3 min
    • 175°C
    • medium-high heat

    Food safety: Hot oil — keep children away and never leave the pan unattended.

  3. Step 3

    Wipe a large non-stick pan with a little oil over medium heat. Pour in half the batter and swirl quickly into a thin round.

  4. Step 4

    Once set, crack an egg (opens in a new tab) on top, break the yolk and spread it over the crepe. Sprinkle with sesame (opens in a new tab), spring onion (opens in a new tab) and coriander and cook until the egg is set.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Flip the crepe, brush with sweet bean sauce (opens in a new tab) and chilli oil (opens in a new tab), lay on the crisp crackers and fold into a rectangular parcel. Repeat with the rest and eat hot.

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Tianjin / Shandong, China · Commonly attributedMore food from China
Dish
Breakfast · Street food · Egg dishes
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Shallow-fried
Taste
savoury, sweet & savoury, spicy (chilli heat)
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Dairy-free
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Egg · Wonton / dumpling wrappers · Sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang) · Spring onion · Coriander leaves
Techniques
Pan-frying · Shallow-frying

Allergens

  • Contains: Eggsfrom wonton / dumpling wrappers, egg
  • May contain: Peanutsfrom chilli oil
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, wonton / dumpling wrappers, sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang)
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, wonton / dumpling wrappers, sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang)
  • Contains: Soyfrom sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang), chilli oil
  • Contains, can be adapted: Sesamefrom chilli oil, sesame seeds

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

353 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 239 g · recipe makes 2

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 15%
  • Carbohydrate 57%
  • Fat 28%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy353 kcal147 kcal
Protein12.9 g5.4 g
Carbohydrate49.3 g20.6 g
Net carbohydrate46.9 g19.6 g
Sugars——
Added sugars——
Fibre2.4 g1 g
Fat11 g4.6 g
Saturated fat2.1 g0.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol188 mg78 mg
Sodium748 mg312 mg
Salt equivalent1.9 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
214 mg
Calcium
71 mg
Iron
3.8 mg
Magnesium
28 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
105 µg
Vitamin C
4 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
178 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: chilli oil, sesame seeds.
  • Sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang): Hoisin sauce (FDC 172886) used as a stand-in; both are sweet, fermented soybean-and-wheat sauces.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A wide spatula or the back of a ladle helps spread the batter thin before it sets.

Common mistakes

  • Pouring the batter too thick — it should spread to a crepe you can almost see through.
  • Adding the crackers too early so they steam and go soft.

Storage

  • Best eaten straight from the pan; the crackers soften within minutes. Keep leftover batter covered in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Variations

  • With youtiao (China): Fold in a fried dough stick instead of crackers, as in Tianjin's jianbing guozi.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Egg2 piece · 100 g
Used in step 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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