Buckwheat Pancake Flatbread

Buckwheat Pancake Flatbread

　　Buckwheat Pancake Flatbread

　　Coarse buckwheat flour and groats are kneaded into a stiff dough, then cold water is added and the mixture is repeatedly rubbed by hand until it becomes a thin batter. The pan is heated to about seven or eight-tenths of the way hot, brushed with a bit of oil, and the batter is evenly spread over the pan with a spoon. Once cooked, it’s ready to eat. Making this pancake requires skill—first, the batter must be just the right consistency—not too thick or too thin—and second, when spreading it in the pan, the layer must be even in thickness, ideally as thin as possible. When served with stewed chicken, buckwheat pancake flatbread is especially delicious. The flatbreads made by rural women in Qiaowa Liang are as thin as paper and as large as a wok lid—they have a satisfying chewiness and won’t quickly fall apart when soaked in broth. A popular folk rhyme goes: “Thinking of chicken with pancake flatbread, I toss and turn unable to sleep.”

　　In addition, buckwheat has many other ways of being prepared in Dingbian: cold jelly made from buckwheat groats; a stirred porridge-like dish called “stirred buckwheat” cooked in a pot; rolled into coils and steamed in the pot, known as buckwheat rolls; stuffed with filling and steamed, called buckwheat dumplings; stuffed into pig intestines and steamed, known as stuffed sausage; scraped into the pot with a grater and boiled, called scraped buckwheat dices; and dough blanched with boiling water and then cooked on a pan, called buckwheat pancakes, among others.