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Home » Asian

Published: Sep 29, 2018 · Modified: Nov 27, 2021 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Xian Bing | Chinese Stuffed Pancake - Vegetarian

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xian bing in white plate

Xian Bing or Chinese Stuffed Pancake is a dough based popular street food recipe. My vegetarian version of this recipe is made with vegetables and tofu.

I can't express my joy and excitement when I found a recipe starting with the letter X. Xian Bing is one of my best ever recipe, not just because it is something that starts with one of the hardest alphabets to find recipe with, but because my family loved it.

Chinese Stuffed Pancake in a dish

My little one asked me if Xian Bing, is an easy recipe to make. I replied that it was not too bad. Then he asked me if I could make it for his school lunch as he loves it a lot. You can imagine a mother's excitement when your kid asks to make a dish for school lunch.

What is Xian Bing -

So coming to the recipe, I accidentally came across this recipe when searching for a flatbread from China. I realized that I did not cover any Chinese recipe and wanted to make something from this cuisine. That is when this recipe for Chinese Stuffed Pancake came up and I was too excited.

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The Xian Bing is a popular street food which originated in the city of Xi'an. There are many kind of similar recipes there because of the large number of Chinese Muslims in the regions.

Even though the recipe says pancake, it is made with a dough stuffed with meat and cooked. I immediately started thinking of making it vegetarian and came up with this Vegetable and Tofu filled Xian Bing.

The Xian Bing | Chinese Stuffed Pancake turned out to be amazingly flaky and the filling was the best ever yet. I made this a 'No Onion No Garlic version as we are in the 2 week fasting period where we don't consume onion or garlic. I absolutely felt no need for the onion or the garlic. It has a very basic seasoning and the flavor is all from the vegetables and the tofu.

Make sure you make either make the Ginger Soy dipping sauce or the Spicy peanut sauce for dipping.

Preparation time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 45 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Recipe adapted from - China Sichuan Food

Ingredients to make Xian Bing - makes 12

For the outer covering -

  • All Purpose flour - 2 cups
  • Salt - 1 tsp
  • Oil - 2 tsp
  • Warm water - as needed to form a stiff dough
Chinese Stuffed Pancake

For the Tofu and Vegetable filling -

  • Extra firm or firm Tofu - 12 oz (chopped into very tiny pieces)
  • Cabbage - 2 cups
  • Carrot - 1 cup
  • Soy sauce - 3 to 4 TBSP
  • Chili paste - 1 tablespoon (adjust based on your like)
  • Sugar - 1 tsp
  • Corn starch - 2 tsp
  • Water - 3 TBSP
  • Oil - 2 tablespoon + more to cook the pancakes

Procedure to make Chinese Stuffed Pancake -

To make the outer covering / dough -

  • Mix the flour and the salt together and add enough water to make a stiff dough.
  • Add the oil and knead the dough for about a minute.
  • Cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes
Xian Bing dough

To make the Tofu and Vegetable filling -

  • Drain the tofu and wrap it couple of layers of paper towels and place some weight over it git rid of excess water. Now chop the tofu into very tiny pieces.
  • Heat a wide pan and add 2 tablespoon oil. Add the tofu and fry it medium-high heat until it is golden brown.
  • Now add the chopped cabbage and carrot and let the vegetables cook until half way done.
  • Add the sauce and the chili sauce and mix well. Let it cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
  • Mix the corn starch in water and add this to the tofu and vegetable mixture. This helps combine everything together.
  • Cook for a minute more and then turn off the flame and let the filling cool entirely before stuffing.
Saute the vegetables
  • Pinch out tiny pieces from the dough. I got about 12 to 13 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and keep it aside.
  • Working with one piece at a time, dust it with enough flour and roll it into a very thin circle. I made about 5 inch wide circles from the dough balls. Make sure that the edges are rolled very thin so the Xian Bing is not very doughy.
  • Place about 2 heaping tablespoon of filling in the center and start to seal the edges by bringing them together forming a pleat. It is somewhat like making the modak / kozhukattai.
  • Now flatten the pancake, so it is about ½ inch thick.
Shaping the pancake
  • Heat a heavy bottom pan. I love my cast iron pan for this as I got a beautiful crust with it.
  • Add about 1 tablespoon of oil and place the formed pancakes on the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook about 3 to 5 at a time.
  • Cook on both the sides until golden brown and then remove it on a plate.
Cooking the Pancake
  • Serve warm with ginger soy dipping sauce or Spicy peanut sauce.
xian bing with dipping sauce

Serving suggestions

Makes sure to make these two dipping sauce to serve along with it. They are so easy to make and works beautiful.

  • Chinese Scallion Pancake With Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce
  • Spicy Asian Peanut Dipping Sauce

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

stuffed pancakes

Xian Bing | Chinese Stuffed Pancake

Xian Bing or Chinese Stuffed Pancake is a dough based popular street food recipe. My vegetarian version of this recipe is made with vegetables and tofu.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Flatbread, Street Food
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12 pancakes
Calories: 131kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients

For the outer covering -

  • 2 cups All Purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 teaspoon Oil
  • Warm water as needed to form a stiff dough

For the Tofu and Vegetable filling -

  • 12 oz Extra firm or firm Tofu chopped into very tiny pieces
  • 2 cups Cabbage
  • 1 cup Carrot
  • 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Chili paste adjust based on your like
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar
  • 2 teaspoon Corn starch
  • 3 tablespoon Water
  • 2 tablespoon Oil

Instructions

To make the outer covering / dough -

  • Mix the flour and the salt together and add enough water to make a stiff dough.
  • Add the oil and knead the dough for about a minute.
  • Cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes

To make the Tofu and Vegetable filling -

  • Drain the tofu and wrap it couple of layers of paper towels and place some weight over it git rid of excess water. Now chop the tofu into very tiny pieces.
  • Heat a wide pan and add 2 tablespoon oil. Add the tofu and fry it medium-high heat until it is golden brown.
  • Now add the chopped cabbage and carrot and let the vegetables cook until half way done.
  • Add the sauce and the chili sauce and mix well. Let it cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
  • Mix the corn starch in water and add this to the tofu and vegetable mixture. This helps combine everything together.
  • Cook for a minute more and then turn off the flame and let the filling cool entirely before stuffing.

To shape and cook the Xian Bing | Chinese Stuffed Pancake -

  • Pinch out tiny pieces from the dough. I got about 12 to 13 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and keep it aside.
  • Working with one piece at a time, dust it with enough flour and roll it into a very thin circle. I made about 5 inch wide circles from the dough balls. Make sure that the edges are rolled very thin so the Xian Bing is not very doughy.
  • Place about 2 heaping tablespoon of filling in the center and start to seal the edges by bringing them together forming a pleat. It is somewhat like making the modak / kozhukattai.
  • Now flatten the pancake, so it is about ½ inch thick.
  • Heat a heavy bottom pan. I love my cast iron pan for this as I got a beautiful crust with it.
  • Add about 1 tablespoon of oil and place the formed pancakes on the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook about 3 to 5 at a time.
  • Cook on both the sides until golden brown and then remove it on a plate.
  • Serve warm with ginger soy dipping sauce or Spicy peanut sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 131mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1793IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly says

    October 29, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    5 stars
    These were amazing and so fun to make! Thank you so much for this recipe - all was great advice and I can't wait to try out other stuffing variations the next time I make them! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      November 02, 2020 at 9:56 am

      Thanks a lot Holly! It is one of our favorite recipes as well.

      Reply
  2. Padmajha PJ says

    October 23, 2018 at 5:17 am

    5 stars
    X is one of the toughest alphabet to get recipes and you have literally found a gem of a recipe!! Love the tofu stuffing in it. When my daughter was little she was so used to eating tofu that she did not like paneer when we came back. I used to make her eat paneer telling her it was tofu! Another nostalgic post for me!

    Reply
  3. code2cook says

    October 22, 2018 at 7:02 pm

    5 stars
    you must be enjoying this pancake while eating, I can makeout with the look. Girl you rocked it. lovely recipe to try . Bookmarked.

    Reply
  4. Renu says

    October 17, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    I can understand your excitement, it was getting so difficult with the last letters. Wonderful find and delicious looking stuffed flatbread

    Reply
  5. Srivalli Jetti says

    October 16, 2018 at 7:01 am

    This one not only looks fantastic, it is so inviting Sandhya..I so relate to what you felt..when my kids ask me to repeat something, that surely makes me so happy!

    Reply
  6. Mayuri Patel says

    October 15, 2018 at 1:38 pm

    5 stars
    Another new recipe for me, it looks so delicious and filling. Love it as one can fill so many different things in it. A wonderful find for the difficult letter X.

    Reply
  7. M.Gayathri Raani says

    October 10, 2018 at 5:44 am

    I went for Chinese cuisine for the alphabet x because I knew that I would get a perfect recipe there. This is a wonderful find and the breads look awesome.

    Reply
  8. Vaishali Sabnani says

    October 07, 2018 at 9:00 am

    Yes she can imagine the joy and excitement when you would have spotted something starting with X . This feeling only we BM ers can understand !

    The bread looks fantastic , a bit like momos , and how nice when the little boy appreciates , such a great feeling na .

    Reply
  9. harini says

    October 02, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    5 stars
    That is a fantastic find, Sandhya. The filling is something my kids would love. I have die-hard Tofu fans at home. Beautifully done.

    Reply
  10. Priya Suresh says

    September 30, 2018 at 3:26 am

    X is definitely a hard alphabet to find a dish to fix with. Well done Sandhya, and those stuffed chinese pancakes looks absolutely incredible with my kind of stuffing. Cant ask more. Truly inviting me.

    Reply
  11. Sowmya says

    September 29, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    5 stars
    I can totally imagine your excitement....X is a tough one indeed. These chinese pancake reminds me of our momos...lovely idea for snacks and when the kids ask for it, you have truly cracked it!!

    Reply

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Sandhya

I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

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