Tengzhou Vegetable Pancakes

Tengzhou Vegetable Pancakes

Tengzhou Vegetable Pancakes is a home-style staple dish at difficulty 2/5 (Easy), about 800 kcal. Tengzhou Vegetable Pancakes are a traditional snack from Tengzhou City, Shandong. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.

Difficulty

2 / 5

★★☆☆☆

Easy
Estimated Calories

800 kcal

Ingredients

  • Wheat flour pancake (store-bought Shandong style or homemade)
  • Chinese cabbage
  • Glass noodles (dried)
  • Tofu
  • Carrot
  • Chinese chives (optional)
  • Eggs
  • Ham sausage (optional)
  • Cooking oil
  • Salt
  • MSG (optional)
  • Cumin powder
  • Chili powder (optional)
  • Black pepper
  • Guo (Round griddle) or 28 cm non-stick flat pan (diameter no less than 28 cm)

Steps

  1. Soak dried glass noodles in warm water for 10 minutes until soft. Drain and cut into pieces not exceeding 5 cm. Set aside.
  2. Wash the Chinese cabbage and cut into very thin strips no more than 1 cm wide; peel the carrot and cut into thin strips no more than 1 cm wide; cut the tofu into small cubes no more than 1 cm each side; wash and cut the chives into pieces no more than 1 cm. Place all vegetables in a mixing bowl.
  3. In the mixing bowl, add cooking oil 15 ml, salt 2 g, MSG 1 g, cumin powder 2 g, black pepper 1 g, and chili powder 2 g. Stir with chopsticks until evenly distributed so that the vegetables are coated in the seasoning. Set aside.
  4. Preheat the flat pan (or guo) over medium heat, pour in cooking oil 5 ml and tilt the pan to coat the surface evenly. Crack an egg into the pan and use the spatula to scramble the egg white and yolk, spreading it into a thin round egg skin slightly smaller than the pancake.
  5. Spread 1 pancake flat on the egg skin so that the pancake adheres to the egg skin. Flip the pancake over (egg skin facing up) and turn the heat down to low to keep the pancake warm.
  6. Spread the prepared vegetables evenly over the pancake (egg skin side up). Leave about 1 cm of edge uncovered to prevent leaking when folding.
  7. Place the 2nd pancake over the vegetables and press gently with the spatula to seal the two layers together.
  8. Turn the heat to medium-low and heat for 2 minutes until the bottom is lightly golden. Flip the whole vegetable pancake and continue heating for 2 minutes until the other side is slightly golden and oily.
  9. Turn the heat to the very lowest setting and heat for 1 more minute until both sides are golden-yellow and the vegetables are cooked through (you can insert a chopstick into the center to confirm there is no resistance from raw vegetables).
  10. Turn off the heat. Fold the two sides of the vegetable pancake towards the center to form a long rectangle about 10 cm wide. Use a spatula or knife to cut in half down the middle and serve.

Notes

Tengzhou Vegetable Pancakes are a traditional snack from Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, created in the Qing Dynasty by Wang Niugao. They consist of a wheat flour pancake wrapped around seasonal vegetables like Chinese cabbage, glass noodles, and tofu, sometimes paired with eggs or ham sausage, and pan-fried with oil and spices. The finished product is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, savory and refreshing, ideal as a main dish or breakfast. It takes approximately 15 minutes from preparation to serving.

Est. Cooking Difficulty: ★★
Est. Calories: 800 kcal

Calculations:
Prepare the quantity needed based on the number of servings. One serving is exactly enough for 1 person.

Total ingredients per serving:

- Wheat flour pancake = Servings * 2 sheets
- Chinese cabbage = Servings * 100 g
- Glass noodles (dry weight) = Servings * 50 g
- Tofu = Servings * 80 g
- Carrot = Servings * 50 g
- Chinese chives = Servings * 30 g (optional)
- Eggs = Servings * 1 piece
- Ham sausage = Servings * 40 g (optional)
- Cooking oil = Servings * 20 ml
- Salt = Servings * 2 g
- MSG = Servings * 1 g (optional)
- Cumin powder = Servings * 2 g
- Chili powder = Servings * 2 g (optional)
- Black pepper = Servings * 1 g

- Vegetables can be substituted to taste: Spinach, pumpkin, water radish, shepherd's purse, etc. The total vegetable weight per serving should remain between 300-350 g.
- Vegetable pancakes are best eaten while hot. If left at room temperature for more than 30 minutes, they will soften and lose their crispy texture.
- If you do not have a guo (round griddle), a 28 cm diameter non-stick flat pan works fine. Be careful not to use too high heat to avoid burning the pancakes.
- Wheat flour pancakes can be bought; alternatively, mix 100 g flour with 150 ml water to form a thin batter and make them on a flat pan.
- Reference: [Tengzhou Vegetable Pancakes - Baidu Baike](https://baike.baidu.com/item/滕州菜煎饼/2512643)

If you encounter issues or find improvements to the procedure, please open an Issue or Pull Request.

More in this category