Peking-style onion cake

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 350 g wheat flour type 550
• 210 g water, boiling
• 12 g broth, granulated (mushroom broth)
• 1 tbsp water, ice cold
• 1 tbsp sesame oil, light
• 30 g smoked bacon, lean
• 150 g onion(s)
• 2 spring onions
• 30 g carrot(s)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 pinches of black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 1 egg(s), size M
• e.g. goose fat or duck fat for frying
• n. B. Sesame oil, light
• e.g. romaine lettuce
• n. B. Tomato slices, seasoned

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes

An ideal snack on cold days. It’s usually enjoyed with tea.

A kitchen appliance for kneading dough and, if possible, a hand-operated pasta machine saves a lot of work here. Put the flour in a mixing or kneading bowl. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the mushroom broth in it. Add it to the flour and knead for 3 minutes, then add the cold water and knead for another 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil and knead until an elastic dough forms. Let it mature for 30 minutes. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Halve the onion lengthwise, snip off both ends, peel, halve the halves lengthwise, and cut crosswise into approximately 2 mm thick slices. Fan out the slices. Wash the spring onions and slice them into thin rolls, starting at the top. Wash the carrot, peel, snip off both ends, and julienne it crosswise into short silk threads. Heat 3 tablespoons of the lard in a pan, add the bacon bits and fry until fragrant, then add the browned onion pieces and fry until translucent. Transfer to a larger bowl. Add the spring onions, carrot threads, and salt. Mix well and let stand for 10 minutes. Gently squeeze the onion mixture and discard the liquid. Mix the tapioca flour with the rice wine until smooth. Separate the egg, whisk the egg yolk with the pepper and the flour mixture until smooth, and mix into the onions. Whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt and keep it ready with a small brush. Season the onion mixture with salt and pepper and divide into 4 portions. Lightly rub a work board, the blade of a knife, a flat plate, the rollers of a pasta machine or a rolling pin, and your hands with sesame oil. Repeat if necessary, especially on the board and rolling pin. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll out into flatbreads measuring approximately 10 x 20 cm. Brush half of the flatbreads with sesame oil on one side and place this side down on the worktop. Spread a portion of the onion mixture on each. Leave about 1 cm free around the edges. Brush the edges with egg white and cover the flatbreads with the remaining flatbreads. Press the edges together well. Slide them onto a plate and then into the pan. In a sufficiently large pan, fry the flatbreads in plenty of lard on both sides over medium heat until they develop light brown spots. Drain the finished flatbreads on kitchen paper, cut them in half lengthwise and crosswise, garnish and serve immediately while warm. Note: Chinese chefs make circular flatbreads approximately 15 – 20 cm in diameter, fill them, roll them, and fold them. This is then formed into a ball, which is then rolled out on both sides into a circular flatbread. I tried it myself, but it takes years of practice to master this method perfectly. Whether you should necessarily drink tea with it, especially if you’re not enjoying the onion cake as street food in the icy winds, is debatable. I preferred a light, cool rosé wine in a pleasant 28 degrees Celsius with a light sea breeze. Regarding the picture: I fried the two flatbreads differently, crispier and more moist. I found crispier better.