Quick & Easy Chinese (46 page)

2 cups flour

½ cup boiling water

2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil

Pour the flour into a medium bowl and add the boiling water. Quickly and vigorously stir to bring the two ingredients together into a rough dough, using a fork or a wooden spoon.

When the dough is cool enough to touch, gather it up and place it on a lightly floured work surface.

Set a timer and knead the dough until it is tender and smooth, about 10 minutes. Cover with the bowl in which you mixed it or a kitchen towel and set aside to rest for about 15 minutes, or as long as 1 hour.

To divide the dough into 16 pieces, form it first into a 12-inch log. Cut the log into 8 pieces, and then cut each piece in half for a total of 16 pieces of dough. Roll each one into a smooth ball, flatten it into a disk, dab a little sesame oil on top, and then press all the disks together in pairs, sesame-oiled sides in. You’ll have 8 little double-layered disks of dough.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll each disk into a thin pancake, 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Aim for roundness, but don’t worry if you don’t make perfect circles.

To cook the pancakes, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat until hot. Place one double-layer pancake in the center of the pan and cook it for about 1 minute, until it bubbles and puffs up a little. Turn gently and cook about 45 seconds on the other side, until it is tender, but not brittle. Brown spots may or may not show up—don’t worry about them either way.

Transfer to a serving plate and find a spot on the side where the two layers are ready to separate from each other. Pull them gently apart, and stack them oiled sides up, covered, while you finish cooking the other 7 pancake pairs.

Serve the pancakes hot or warm. To keep for later use, set aside to cool to room temperature. Wrap them airtight and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat in a skillet the same way you cooked them, or steam them gently until tender and warm.