Peanut Pancakes (improved version) 麵煎粿
Peanut Pancakes (strong flour, direct proofing)
After some more experiments after my last attempts to find a recipe that produces good honeycomb structure in the pancake, I can say this is the closest I have come to of being able to taste it as I remember the texture a good Peanut Pancake should be – that is, soft in texture but still with a bite or chewyness (Q texture) to it, and of course that distinct faint smell of the alkaline water – well, that’s the type I grew up eating anyway. This time, I did batches using sponge dough proofing method and batches using direct proofing method, I found it not too much of a difference, except maybe the sponge dough method producing a bit more stable honeycomb structure. So I will post the direct proofing method here as the sponge dough proofing method takes longer to make.
Then I tried with using different type of flour, low gluten to high gluten. Again not too much differences also, maybe with a more slightly, mind you just very little, chewyness as the gluten is increase. But it is very hard to tell without tasting them side by side as comparison though. Although this recipe I’m posting here is still not 100% as I remember the texture from back home in Malaysia, it is close enough for me to cure my craving for now.
Makes approx. 4 small pancakes of about 15cm diameter each.
[Ingredients]
Pancake:
150g plain flour (see Tip)
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
35g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
200ml tepid water
2 eggs (at room temperature), lightly beaten
60ml (3 tablespoons) canola oil
½ teaspoon alkaline water 梘水
extra tepid water if necessary
Sesame Peanut Mix:
100g peanuts
25g white sesame seeds
50g caster sugar, or to taste
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Pancake:
1. Mix together flour, dry yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add in 200ml tepid water and stir to mix well. Put in a warm place, cover loosely with a piece of cling film, and let proof until bubbly and double in size.
Peanut Pancake batter after proofing, before adding eggs, oil and alkaline water
2. Once the batter is double in size, add lightly beaten eggs, oil and alkaline water (if alkaline water is not available, I think you can replace with ½ teaspoon baking soda dissolved in ½ teaspoon water – but I haven’t try this myself). Beat to mix in well. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cooking. The pancake batter at this stage should be of pouring consistency. You can check when cooking the first pancake, the batter should immediately flow into a circle as soon as you pour into the pan. If it is too viscous and takes a little while to flow into a circle, mix another tablespoon or so of tepid water into the batter.
This is Crêpe Pan I used to make my pancakes
3. Heat a non-stick crêpe pan (top about 20cm diameter) until hot, pour a little canola oil into the pan then wipe over the surface with a piece of kitchen paper (paper towel). Pour about ½ cup (125ml), or more if you want it thicker, of pancake batter into the hot pan. Cover the pan with the lid and cook over medium to low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes (if you use bigger pan, you need to pour in more batter and will takes longer to cook), or until the top is bubbly and just set.
4. Spoon about 2 heaped teaspoons of Sesame Peanut Mix onto half of the pancake. Lift the other side of the pancake and fold over. Best serve hot or warm.
Sesame Peanut Mix:
1. Dry roast peanuts (in skin) over moderate heat in a frying pan for 5-8 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly brown. Cool, then skin the peanuts.
2. Dry roast sesame seeds in the same way for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly brown.
3. Blend or ground the peanuts and sesame seeds into powder.
4. Mix in sugar and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
[Tip]
For a very slightly softer or chewy texture, although the difference in texture is really very little:
- replace plain flour with 125g plain flour + 25g tapioca starch (softer), or
- replace plain flour with strong (bread) flour, or add 1 teaspoon gluten flour to the plain flour (chewy).
Peanut Pancakes (plain flour + tapioca starch, direct proofing)
Peanut Pancakes (plain flour, sponge dough proofing)
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Then I tried with using different type of flour, low gluten to high gluten. Again not too much differences also, maybe with a more slightly, mind you just very little, chewyness as the gluten is increase. But it is very hard to tell without tasting them side by side as comparison though. Although this recipe I’m posting here is still not 100% as I remember the texture from back home in Malaysia, it is close enough for me to cure my craving for now.
Makes approx. 4 small pancakes of about 15cm diameter each.
[Ingredients]
Pancake:
150g plain flour (see Tip)
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
35g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
200ml tepid water
2 eggs (at room temperature), lightly beaten
60ml (3 tablespoons) canola oil
½ teaspoon alkaline water 梘水
extra tepid water if necessary
Sesame Peanut Mix:
100g peanuts
25g white sesame seeds
50g caster sugar, or to taste
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Pancake:
1. Mix together flour, dry yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add in 200ml tepid water and stir to mix well. Put in a warm place, cover loosely with a piece of cling film, and let proof until bubbly and double in size.
Peanut Pancake batter after proofing, before adding eggs, oil and alkaline water
2. Once the batter is double in size, add lightly beaten eggs, oil and alkaline water (if alkaline water is not available, I think you can replace with ½ teaspoon baking soda dissolved in ½ teaspoon water – but I haven’t try this myself). Beat to mix in well. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cooking. The pancake batter at this stage should be of pouring consistency. You can check when cooking the first pancake, the batter should immediately flow into a circle as soon as you pour into the pan. If it is too viscous and takes a little while to flow into a circle, mix another tablespoon or so of tepid water into the batter.
This is Crêpe Pan I used to make my pancakes
3. Heat a non-stick crêpe pan (top about 20cm diameter) until hot, pour a little canola oil into the pan then wipe over the surface with a piece of kitchen paper (paper towel). Pour about ½ cup (125ml), or more if you want it thicker, of pancake batter into the hot pan. Cover the pan with the lid and cook over medium to low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes (if you use bigger pan, you need to pour in more batter and will takes longer to cook), or until the top is bubbly and just set.
4. Spoon about 2 heaped teaspoons of Sesame Peanut Mix onto half of the pancake. Lift the other side of the pancake and fold over. Best serve hot or warm.
Sesame Peanut Mix:
1. Dry roast peanuts (in skin) over moderate heat in a frying pan for 5-8 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly brown. Cool, then skin the peanuts.
2. Dry roast sesame seeds in the same way for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly brown.
3. Blend or ground the peanuts and sesame seeds into powder.
4. Mix in sugar and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
[Tip]
For a very slightly softer or chewy texture, although the difference in texture is really very little:
- replace plain flour with 125g plain flour + 25g tapioca starch (softer), or
- replace plain flour with strong (bread) flour, or add 1 teaspoon gluten flour to the plain flour (chewy).
Peanut Pancakes (plain flour + tapioca starch, direct proofing)
Peanut Pancakes (plain flour, sponge dough proofing)
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Labels: Asian Buns and Pancakes, Kuih-Muih
posted by SeaDragon @ 16.4.06
19 Comments:
Seadragon, really appreciate your efforts in posting the pics for different flour types and methods. Shall give it a try soon :)
thank you thank you! my favourite!
May I know what is tepid water and how to make alkaline water?
Angie,
It's no problems, my pleasure to do it :)
rokh,
You're welcome!
Jolene,
Tepid water is just water that is lukewarm to the touch.
You can buy alkaline water from the larger Chinese supermarkets, labelled as 'Lye Water' on the bottle. If unavailable, you may omit it from the recipe, but make sure you don't over-proof your batter. Alkaline water is usually used to balance out the acidity (sourness) in the batter.
Hi Seadragon! Thanks for this pancake recipe. I made it last weekend and it turned out really wonderful. I didn't use alkaline water, but used the alternative of baking soda. Just want to let you know that it works. Thanks again!
Rene,
Thank you for the feedback :)
Glad to hear the alternative does work for the recipe too.
Congrats on making pancakes close to the taste you craved for.
Thank you for sharing in so much details. I might have mentioned before that I had found that hotcake mix in Japan gives me the taste and texture close to minjiang kuah I remember. So, I took the easy way out and just made the sesame and peanuts filling following your recipe. The result? I was brought back to my childhood minjiang kuah eating days. Thank you so much!
I seem to recall eating corn n coconut fillings in Malaysia too. Or was I mistaken? Do you know?
tabehodai,
You're welcome. Yes, I remember you mentioned about the Japanese pancakes before.
I think there are a number of different fillings for this pancake nowadays in Malaysia but I have not tasted them as I haven't been back home for a few years now, having said that I still think they cannot beat the classic peanut filling.
I have tried this peanut pancake recipe several times. Its the closest in terms of taste n texture to the original thing back in Malaysia! I like the version using strong flour best.Thks very much for sharing this recipe.
Melissa, Perth
Melissa,
You're welcome, glad to hear you like it :)
Hi, thanks for sharing your recipes with me.....hope you do not mind clarifying Alakine water and the using the alternative soda instead, living in Germany, doubt if available here. many thanks
Hi,
Yes, use baking soda dissolved in a little water to substitute alkaline water if you cannot get that. Both alkaline water and baking soda have similar properties in reacting with the acidity in the batter to produce bubbles.
Hi!
I've tried your pancake through another blogger last saturday. The pancakes were well-received by my family. :)
May I know whether the proofed batter can be left in the fridge overnight for next morning frying?
Hi MyHomeKitchen,
Glad to hear you like the recipe.
I haven't tried it myself but I think you can do step 1 and leave it in the fridge to proof overnight. Then take out the next morning to check, if it has double in volume then continue with step 2 to cooking it. Hope this help :)
I made these today without alkaline water. They were the softest pancake I ever made. Thanks for sharing!
Anna,
You're welcome. Glad to hear you liked the recipe.
hi! how long did it take for the proofing - the doubling in size! Thank you :)
hi seadragon, i have tried many min jiang kueh recipe and none seems to work. if i want to find the perfect one, i wouldn't mind the long process of proofing. so would you mind sharing the sponge proofing method please?
thank you so much.
Hi! Your recipe looks really good :)
How long does the proofing take? I wonder if I can prepare the batter overnight for next day's breakfast ;p
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