Pan-Fried Pancake

Pan-Fried Pancake

　　Pancakes are a traditional and common staple food in the folk cuisine of the Yimeng Mountain area, as well as a long-renowned local specialty. They are a distinctive food in the broader old Yimeng region. The “Pan-Fried Pancake” (also called Vegetable Pancake) is a unique delicacy of Linyi City. As you walk through the streets and alleys of downtown Linyi, you’ll notice that some young women and girls are constantly making “Pan-Fried Pancakes” on tricycles by the roadside: they set up a small griddle on the tricycle, with a food box beside it containing all kinds of pre-cut vegetables such as Chinese chives, cellophane noodles, tofu skin, mung bean sprouts, cucumber strips, Chinese cabbage, and so on—of course, there are also seasonings like chili powder, raw eggs, sesame oil, and salt. They all use a small griddle placed upside down over a coal stove on the tricycle; the griddle is concave in the middle and convex on the sides, which helps contain oil and vegetables while cooking. When someone comes to have a “Pan-Fried Pancake” made, they first heat up the griddle, add some cooking oil, and then, depending on the customer’s taste preferences, mix different vegetables and seasonings. Next, they start stir-frying with two spatulas. Once the vegetables on the griddle are about 70–80% cooked, they spread them evenly onto two unfolded pancakes, fold the sides in, press them flat, and then place them back onto the heated griddle to be pan-fried on both sides. They keep turning the pancake from time to time to ensure even heating on all sides until the pancake’s surface turns golden and crisp. At this point, the pancake is perfectly “pan-fried,” and the filling inside is fully cooked too. Now, when you take a bite of this vegetable-filled Pan-Fried Pancake, it’s warm, crispy, fragrant, affordable, and full of flavor.