Crispy Stuffed Flatbread (Guo Kui/锅盔)
A delicious Chinese street food, crispy stuffed flatbread is beloved for its delectable taste and pleasing texture. A treat worth every bit of effort.
Servings: 10 pieces
Ingredients
For the dough
- 500 g all-purpose flour aka plain flour (see note 1)
- 300 g water
- Cooking oil for coating the dough
For the flour & oil paste
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour aka plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil
For the meat
- 280 g ground beef or pork/chicken
- 4 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
You also need
- 1 tablespoon ground Sichuan pepper or other spices, such as five spice, cumin powder, black pepper, etc.
- 6 stalk scallions finely chopped
- Cooking oil for pan-frying
Instructions
Make the dough
- Put flour into a mixing bowl. Add water in batches while mixing with chopsticks. Then combine and knead until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Knead again until it becomes very smooth (see note 2 if using a stand mixer).
- Rub a little oil all over the dough to form a thin coating. Flatten it with your hands, then cut it into 10 equal pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for a further 30 minutes.
Make the flour & oil paste
- Put flour and salt into a small bowl. Then heat oil in a pan until it smokes. Pour the hot oil over the flour. Stir well to remove any lumps. Set aside.
Prepare the meat
- Put ground beef, water, Shaoxing rice wine, salt, and white pepper into a mixing bowl. Swirl with chopsticks in the same direction until the liquid is fully absorbed and the meat becomes sticky. Divide the filling into 10 portions. Set aside.
Assemble the flatbread
- With your fingers, flatten a piece of dough into a tennis racket shape (see note 3). Brush a layer of the flour & oil paste over, then sprinkle with ground Sichuan pepper. Place one portion of the meat in the middle of the racket head end of the dough, then top with chopped scallions generously.
- Wrap the meat with the outer part of the dough, then roll the stuffed dough towards the handle part of the racket while stretching it as thin as possible.
- Once a layered cylinder forms, stand it on one end then press it down with your fingers until it turns into a disc about ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Repeat the procedure to assemble other flatbreads.
Pan-fry the flatbread
- In a large skillet/frying pan, heat oil just enough to cover the entire surface over high heat. Once hot, put in the flatbread. Reduce the heat to medium-low and leave to fry.
- Turn the flatbread over once the first side turns golden. When the second side is done, transfer the flatbread onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
Video
Notes
1. You may need to adjust the flour-water ratio slightly as it varies depending on the brand of the flour. Also, please be aware that measuring flour by cups is less accurate than measuring it by weight with a kitchen scale. The desired dough is soft to the touch but not sticky.
2. Combine and knead all the ingredients in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 8 minutes on low speed until a smooth dough forms. Shape and divide it as instructed.
3. When the dough appears to be sticky, rub a little oil, instead of flour, over the work surface and the dough.
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 260mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 72IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 3mg
