Yum Brands likes to adapt to the Chinese market - after all, KFC China is a smorgasbord of cultural influences. But Taco Bell Shenzhen? Such a disappointment - so, we decided to take the case of "how could this be improved"? The answer was obvious: Jianbing, the classic northern Chinese street snack.INGREDIENTS, JIANBING* AP Flour (中筋面粉), 180g.* Cornmeal (玉米面), 60g.* Mungbean flour (绿豆面), 60g.* Five Spice Powder (五香粉), 1 tsp.* Salt, 1 tsp.* Water, 420mLPROCESS, JIANBINGFor this recipe you will need a gas stove, detachable stove grates (to double up on), a metal spatula (to use in place of that sharp sort of spatula/knife), and something to help spread the batter. For an alternative approach, check out Andong's video: https://youtu.be/2eLbLEiW1Bk1. Mix the dry ingredients, then add in the water. Use a rubber spatula or egg whisk to incorporate the water and break up the clumps. Do not over-mix, but there should be no clumps remaining.2. Heat up your large cast iron skillet to ~100C - medium high flame - then ladle in your Jianbing batter. Each Jianbing will use roughly a quarter of your batter. Spread it evenly, and if there's any missing spots, add a spoonful or two of batter to patch it up.3. Once the batter is set and no longer liquidy (~15-30 seconds), crack 1-2 eggs, break them up, and spread them over the bing. Optionally sprinkle over some toasted black sesame seeds.4. Wait until the edges curl up and the jianbing no longer sticks to the pan. This will take a bit. Depending on the intensity of the flame and residual heat in the pan (if making multiple), we've found that this will take at least three minutes, or up to eight. It can be a nice idea to adjust the position of the pan if certain areas are looking more done than others.5. Flip. Brush on your sauces and sprinkle on your toppings. Fold the sides over the toppings (we find it easiest to leave the ends open), slice down the middle, and stack.INGREDIENTS, TACO BELL MEATWe used pork belly in addition to beef because beef in China is often quite lean. We used loin, but feel free to use cheaper cuts like chuck.* Beef loin (外脊肉) -or- chuck (牛腱肉), 400g; pork belly (五花肉), 100g.* Salt, 5g; water, 30g. Adding and mixing the salt and water in with the beef meat paste at first will help it break down.* Seasoning: 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp MSG (味精), 1/2 tsp cumin powder (孜然粉), 1/2 tsp spanish smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp Mexican-style chili powder, few cracks of black pepper. Pretty sure Taco bell doesn't season this aggressively, but whatever.* Chopped oats, 10g. * Slurry of 15g water chestnut starch (马蹄粉), 30g water, 1.5 tbsp tomato paste.* Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tsp* Water, 1-3 tbsp. To be added near the end of cooking.PROCESS, TACO BELL MEAT1. Dice the meats, then hand mince using a couple cleavers, ~5 minutes. We got this pretty pasty for this video, but you don't have to be as paranoid with this one as you do with a proper Chinese meat emulsion.2. Add the salt and water, mix well.3. Add the seasoning and the chopped oats, mix well.4. Add the starch/water/tomato paste mixture, mix well.5. Medium high flame, fry the meat mixture and break it up as it's cooking. After ~8 minutes of continuous breaking up, the meat should be cooked. Add the dark soy sauce, mix well, and add in the water - how much water will depend on how water-y you'd like the mix. I added two tablespoons in the video, but feel that I actually could have added more.OTHER TOPPINGS FOR THE JIANBING* “Fire sauce" - mimicked with a mix of two parts hot sauce to one part tomato paste* Sour cream* Shredded cheese* Diced onions* Tortilla chips (would likely be better with, like, a proper tostada)* Diced tomatoes* Shredded lettuceAnd while we didn't include this in the video (because Taco Bell doesn't use these ingredients IIRC), brightening this up with a bit of cilantro & a tiny spritz of lime would probably make for the most delicious end result. Oaxaca cheese would also likely be a more delicious option than our mystery 'mexican cheese' mix.Footage of the upscale pizza hut in Shanghai was courtesy of the Cantonese vlogger ToORiMa: https://youtu.be/a15MWaLcn8gFootage of the street Jianbing is courtesy of food ranger: https://youtu.be/jKXOh5wrzK4The Mythical Kitchen taco bell meat copycat video is here: https://youtu.be/sGI-zbQn_S8(Not the hugest fan of some of their more 'reality TV' esque videos, but I've got an enormous appreciation that Mythical Kitchen actually, like, take fast food copycat-ing seriously)And our original Jianbing video is here: https://youtu.be/JGpuTEvgr-YAnd check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystifiedOutro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพFound via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg
