What it is
Dan bing (蛋餅) is a thin wheat pancake fried together with a beaten egg, then rolled up. It is a fixture of the breakfast shops that open at dawn across Taiwan, where it sells alongside soy milk. Fillings are added to order, from tuna, corn and minced pork to ham or cheese. Night market stalls sell it too, and supermarkets stock frozen wrappers.
Where it came from
Wheat dishes such as dan bing were uncommon in Taiwan before 1949. The island grew little wheat, partly because of its climate. That year the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War, bringing about 1.2 million people from across the mainland, and wheat foods from the north came with them.
Supply followed politics. After the Korean War broke out in 1950, American aid sent flour and later wheat, and that grain started Taiwan's own milling industry.
The dish grew out of the scallion pancake, which was often cooked with an egg on top. Later came a pourable batter of wheat flour, cornstarch and sweet potato starch that needed no kneading. Factory-made wrappers arrived in the mid-1990s and made the dish easy for any shop to sell.
How it is made
Shops make two main kinds. The older style, fenjiang dan bing (粉漿蛋餅, batter egg crepe), starts from a runny batter made with cold water and poured onto the griddle, then egg and chopped spring onion go on top. It cooks into a soft, moist, chewy sheet, and the batter often includes sweet potato starch. The modern kind uses a rolled wrapper of hot-water dough, often bought ready-made, which fries up firm and crisp. The wrapper is part-cooked, egg is fried onto it, fillings are added and it is rolled up.
How to eat it
It is breakfast food, usually paired with soy milk. Name the filling when ordering, for example tuna (鮪魚蛋餅) or corn (玉米蛋餅); plain is 原味蛋餅. Soy sauce or sweet chilli sauce goes on top. Some wrappers are rolled with lard, so vegetarians should ask before ordering.
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- In Yancheng, Liu Jie (六姐傳統飯糰特製蛋餅專賣店) is known for a springy batter-style crepe. Regulars also order an off-menu version filled at random with extras such as ham, tuna, corn, cheese or kimchi.
- North
- Northern shops tend to fry the crepe over strong heat for a crisp finish. In Taipei, Fuhang Soy Milk (阜杭豆漿) at Huashan Market draws long morning queues for dan bing and soy milk.
- Central
- In Taichung, Beitun Dan Bing (北屯蛋餅), beside Beitun Elementary School, makes old-style batter crepes to order. Batter goes on the griddle, then egg with spring onion, and the crepe is flipped and fried crisp on both sides.
- South
- Southern shops favour a softer, chewier crepe, and the seasoning leans slightly sweeter.
