Mock Mandarin Pancakes Recipes

MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and create a well in the middle. Add the boiling water, mix it in with a spatula, and then incorporate with your hands until you have a mealy shaggy mixture. Mix in the cold water and bring everything together into a dough. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead, adding additional flour if it gets too sticky to work with, until you have a smooth and slightly sticky dough, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Form them into balls and keep them covered when you're not working with them. Use your palms to smash 2 balls of dough into equally sized discs about 2-to-3-inches-wide. Brush the top of one disc with a thin layer of oil and stack the other disc on top of it to create one thick disc. Using a rolling pin, roll the disc into a 7-to-8-inch-wide pancake, dusting your work surface and rolling pin with flour if needed to prevent sticking. Place it in the dry skillet and cook for about a minute on each side, until splotchy with brown marks. Transfer to a plate and cover with a towel. Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking the cooked pancakes on top of one another and keeping them covered so that they steam. When they're cool enough to handle, peel the two halves of each pancake apart so that you have two very thin pancakes (NIFTY, HUH?!) and enjoy immediately while they're still warm. Leftovers that have cooled completely can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat in the microwave covered by a damp paper towel.

MOCK MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Brush one side of each tortilla with some oil and stack on a large sheet of foil. Wrap tortillas loosely in the foil and heat on middle rack of oven until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Serve pancakes whole or halved.

CRISP-SKINNED DUCK WITH MOCK MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Rinse ducks inside and out and pat dry. Remove excess fat from cavities and truss ducks. On a metal rack set in a large roasting pan arrange ducks, breast sides up and several inches apart. Let ducks dry, uncovered and chilled, 3 days.
• In a small bowl stir together boiling water, honey, and vinegar and cool to room temperature. Brush ducks with some honey mixture, keeping them chilled, and brush again every 20 minutes for 1 hour. Let ducks dry at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pierce skin of ducks all over with a fork to allow fat to drain and help skin get crisp. Roast duck in middle of oven until mahogany brown and a meat thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F., about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let ducks stand 10 minutes. Discard string and carefully pour out juices from cavities.
• Cut around entire breast of each duck with a sharp paring knife and carefully peel off crisp skin in large pieces. Cut skin into 2 1/2- by 1-inch strips. Cut away and discard any fat on breast meat and remove breast meat from bone. Slice breast meat diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange on a platter with crisp skin. Remove legs from duck and arrange on another platter. Duck meat may be reheated and skin recrisped in a 350°F. oven until just hot.
• To make scallion brushes:
• If serving mock pancakes halved, 48 scallion brushes (one for each half) will be necessary for rolling inside the pancakes. If leaving the pancakes whole, 24 scallion brushes will be needed.
• Trim roots and green parts from scallions, leaving about 2 1/2 inches of stalk. Fringe ends of scallions by cutting slits about 1/2 inch deep all around both ends of each stalk, leaving about 1 inch of solid scallion in center, and spread fringed ends gently. Put scallions in bowl of ice and cold water. Chill scallions 2 hours, or until fringed ends have curled
• Drain scallions well.
• To assemble pancakes:
• Using a scallion brush spread some hoisin sauce on a pancake (whole or half) and top with the scallion brush, some breast meat, and some crisp skin. Roll up pancake to enclosed filling. Make more pancakes with remaining scallion brushes, hoisin sauce, breast meat, and crisp skin in same manner.
• Serve duck legs on the side.

MOO SHU PORK WITH MOCK MANDARIN PANCAKES

Steps:

• Thinly slice green onions reserving 1/4 cup for garnish.
• Coursely chop water chestnuts with a food chopper.
• Combine hoisen sauce and 2 teaspoons of oil in a cup and set aside.
• For the pancakes, heat remaining teaspoon oil over medium-high heat for 1-3 minutes or until shimmering.
• Lightly beat eggs in a coating tray.
• Dip 1 tortilla into eggs, and place tortilla in skillet.
• Cook 20-30 seconds or until lightly golden brown, turning once.
• Repeat with remaining tortillas.
• Cover pancakes and keep them warm.
• Flatten pork with toothed end of a meat tenderizer, and cut into 1/4 inch strips.
• Add pork to skillet, cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat or until no longer pink.
• Add remaining green onions, water chestnuts, cole slaw mix, and hoisen sauce mixture.
• Cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through, tossing to coat.
• Spoon pork mixture into pancakes, and garnish with reserved onions.