Hu Bing / Beijing Pizza
糊餅
Hu Bing, sometimes known as ‘Beijing Pizza’, has an interesting folklore attached to it. The Chinese often claim that when Marco Polo came to Beijing in the 13th century, he was so inspired by the many types of pancakes (bing), that on his return to Italy, he took Naples by storm and invented the pizza. It appears to be nothing but a fun story, however, the surprise to many in the tale is that Chinese cuisine even has something resembling a pizza. Indeed, there may be no Cheese or even tomato, but breads with toppings is not something unique to Italy; all across China something similar exists.
Hu bing is only seen in Beijing and the surrounded province of Hubei, and proudly so. Locals have an affection for their bisa (Mandarin for pizza) made from cornmeal and fried. It’s a relatively simple recipe, but there is a bit of skill in getting the pancake as thin as possible in the pan. If there’s any thickness, the base won’t turn crispy. You want a similar texture and thickness as burnt cheese that oozes out of a toasted cheese sandwich. Once you drop a ladle of batter into the pan, it will spit and fizz, but this is the moment to spread it out as best as possible. A few holes here and there will do no harm, so don’t worry too much.
Makes 2 ‘pizzas’. Plenty for 2 people with a few other dishes.
Ingredients
80g cornmeal - coarsely ground, rather than fine (if you can find it)
120ml hot water
1/4 teaspoon - salt
1 heaped tablespoon - small dried shrimp
2 eggs - beaten
2-3 tablespoons - cooking oil
125g Chinese chives (jiucai) or chives - finely chopped
Salt
White pepper
Sesame oil
Method
Mix the cornmeal with a pinch of salt together with the hot water and leave for 5 minutes. Whisk into a thin batter, adding more water if needed. Depending on the cornmeal, you might need a lot more water; some cornmeal might need closer to 160ml.
Wash the small dried shrimp, then squeeze out as much water as you can and dry them with a kitchen towel.
Add about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to a frying pan, fry the shrimp at a medium heat for about 1- 2 minutes. You want to cook out the fishy taste by turning them a light brown. Once cooked, remove to a mixing bowl.
In the same pan, add a bit more oil and drizzle in the beaten egg, stirring constantly to break up the egg as it cooks into small bit of scrambled egg. This will take about 1 minute. Add the cooked egg to the bowl with the shrimp.
Add the Chinese chives to the bowl, season with salt, a bit of white pepper and a drizzle of sesame oil, then mix together.
Heat the pan again and add a bit of cooking oil (about 1/2 tablespoon per ‘pizza’). Give the batter a quick whisk, then drop a ladle of batter into the pan, tilting the pan around until the mix is even and round. Thin the mixture out if necessary. Add a handful of the mix on top of the batter and spread it evenly on top.
Put a lid on the pan, turn down the heat and cook for about 6 - 8 minutes. You want the steam to cook the chives as the crust of cornmeal turns crispy and brown. You’ll notice the edges start to curl as it cooks, which is a good sign. For the last minute, take the lid off, then transfer to a plate.
Cook the second pizza with the remaining batter and repeat the process.
To serve, you can cut it into wedges, or serve it whole to be rolled up like a pancake, or folded like a taco and eaten with hands.
