Asian Pancake / Mian Jian Kueh

Mian Jian Kueh or Asian Pancake as some of you might call it, is one of the favorite snacks that I grew up eating. I remember I would be the first in the family to munch it up every time my mum buys it fresh from the market in the morning. So it comes to no surprise that I will eventually make this delicious treat at home. Well, maybe the delay is due to having no confidence in finding and trying out a good recipe. Since I have tasted very good ones in Singapore....which are the store bought ones of course, so that kind of discouraged me even further, haha! Anyway, this lazy Sunday morning with nothing in particular to do, I decide the time has come for me to finally to do it.

Some of you readers out there must be going like....err why is it so flat? Well, I got the recipe from Baking Mum but I did made some changes to the ingredients (maybe that's why!) but strictly follow the steps, even allow it to proof for 2 hrs before using. But in terms of taste and texture, it's still good, so I was not totally disappointed. :)

So for my own reference in the future, here is my recipe:

Ingredients forMian Jian Kueh:
Pancake batter:
300g Hong Kong flour
20g Tapioca flour
5 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp alkaline water
1 tsp instant active yeast

Cheese Filling for the pancake:

3 wedges Laughing Cow cheese
2 ripe small bananas

• Slice the cheese wedges into thinner slices. Also slice the banana, length wise .

Chocolate Filling for the pancake:
60g Lindt chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped small
1 tsp light corn syrup
(Alternatively, you can use Nutella)

• Melt the chocolate in double boiler with the light corn syrup till smooth. You can add 1 tbsp of caster sugar if you prefer sweeter version.

Peanut Filling for the pancake:
4 tbsp Organic creamy peanut butter (no sugar added)
2 tbsp ground roasted peanuts
(Alternatively, you can use chunky peanut butter)

Method & Assembly:

• Mixed all ingredients for the pancake batter together in a large mixing bowl.
• Let batter proof for at least 2hrs before use.
• Heat up a non-stick frying pan of at least 15 inches wide. Cooking oil is optional is your pan is non-stick.
• Add 1/3 of the batter into the pan at low to medium heat, cover the lid and let cook for 2 minutes.
• Remove lid and reduce the heat to small. Then add one of the filling on one side of the pancake.
• For cheese filling; Gently place the sliced wedges on one side of the pancake surface, follow by the sliced banana.
• For Chocolate filling; Gently spread the chocolate on one side of the pancake.
• For Peanut filling; Gently spread the creamy peanut butter on one side of the pancake, then sprinke the roasted gound peanuts over it.
• Then you gently using the spatula, flip the other side of the pancake without the filling over to close up the pancake, making it a semi-circle.
• Remove from it and place on a clean chopping board and cut it into 4 wedges.
  

Frankly speaking, this is a pretty easy recipe to make, but to get the correct fluffiness of the pancake and the perfect filling to go with it, it ain't a walk in the park! But I will cut myself some slack since this is indeed my first attempt, so I will definitely try it out again with better technique and recipe. ;)

Personally, I love the peanut version...what can I say, I am nuts over peanuts, haha! Love the extra crunch from the roasted peanuts added on top....and it was not too sweet like those store bought ones, since mine was a organic peanut butter with no sugar added. Yum-O!

Okay, I admit, this Cheese and Banana is a HoneyBeeSweet's original concoction, haha! Some people might be a little turn off with the thought of these 2 ingredients together. But guess what, I like it! If you have tasted the Laughing cow cheese before, you would know it's creamy, smooth and slight salty taste....usually can be found in those store bought Mian Jian Kueh too. Then I thought perhpas adding alittle sweet ripe bananas into it might enhance the texture and taste....and indeed it was a winner too! I guess the above picture tells it all...

The chocolate filling was actually my girls' favorite. I was kind of surprise because it is slightly on the bitter side since I did not add any extra sugar to the 70% cocoa chocolate and corn syrup. But I am glad that they like dark chocolate since it is healthier then the milk version.
Perhaps the next time I make, I will try a different recipe. Also will try filling it with traditional red bean filling. ;) Have a great week all!