Jianbing

Jianbing originated in northern China, where wheat- and broomcorn-based flatbreads, pancakes and pies (collectively called bing) are common as staple foods. Its history can be traced back 2,000 years to Shandong province during the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220–280). According to legend, Chancellor Zhuge Liang encountered the problem of feeding his soldiers after they lost their woks. He ordered the cooks to mix water with wheat flour to make batter, then spread it on shields, or flat copper griddles over a flame. The dish raised the soldiers' morale and helped them win the battle. After that, jianbing was passed down through generations in Shandong province and gradually spread to different parts of China. The raw materials used in ancient pancakes should be millet, and millet cereal pancakes are one of the common foods of the ancient northerners. In ancient times, pancakes were made using griddles (). Archaeological finds have been discovered in ancient times, except for the prehistoric pottery figurines dating back more than 5,000 years, as well as the iron shovel and bronze gongs belonging to Liao, Song, Jin, Western Xia and Yuan dynasty. Yangshao people have created pottery figurines and the like. The cooking utensils, which were later unearthed in various eras, also found a number of murals of pancakes from different eras, revealing the true existence of pancakes in history. == Reasons for popularity ==

One of the most popular street breakfasts in China, jianbing can be easily found in many cities. The characteristics of jianbing account for its popularity in China and the West. First, jianbing is never "pre-cooked". In order to preserve its crispness, customers have to wait for their turn, which often results in a queue, According to the vendors outside East China Normal University, though some customers like spicy flavors and some do not like cilantro, they can create their own jianbing. The low cost of jianbing is also one of the reasons for its popularity, as the basic ingredients are themselves inexpensive. Additionally, jianbing is a type of bing that has rich nutrient values. It contains abundant nutrients as it can be made of soybeans, mung beans, black beans, lettuce, peanuts and eggs. == Regional variations ==

The traditional jianbing originated in Shandong and flourished in Tianjin. In the old days, people had Shandong-style jianbing mainly by rolling it with scallions or serving it with meat soup. Nowadays, the variety of fillings are richer and differ according to one's preference, for example, sweet potatoes, lettuce and pork are also used as fillings. Jianbing guozi Jianbing from Tianjin is a transformation of the jianbing originated in Shandong. It is also called jianbing guozi and guozi refers to its youtiao stuffing. Tianjin-style jianbing tastes softer as its crepe is made of mung bean flour, which contains less gluten. Also, Tianjin-style jianbing is topped with youtiao (fried dough stick), while the Shandong-style one sold by street vendors is usually topped with baocui (, crispy fried crackers). == Internationalized jianbing ==

Jianbing is also served in the U.K., U.S. and Australia by Western vendors and young Chinese entrepreneurs. In the U.S., it has become one of the newest food trends and gains high popularity among Americans and East Asian customers, particularly Chinese overseas students. Apart from the traditional Chinese jianbing, some vendors in the U.S. offer various versions of it to cater to American customers' taste, such as vegetarian jianbing and gluten-free jianbing. Besides, fillings of jianbing are diverse with new innovations. Tai Chi Jianbing from San Francisco carries fish floss jianbing, which is made with dried tuna. A food truck in New York called “The Flying Pig jianbing” with the duck sauce, cucumber chunks and duck slices are introduced. In the UK, street food stall Mei Mei's Street Cart brought jianbing into the London and UK street food scene back in 2012, taking their jianbing to London, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Brighton and winning two awards. They sell the traditional jianbing alongside their 'London' jianbing with fillings such as fried chicken and char siu pork, to build on the traditional jianbing and make it a more substantial dish. == See also ==