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jianbing strata

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Just like its namesake, this strata lends itself to all sorts of adaptations and variations. Try a bit of tianmianjiang instead of hoisin, add some crushed peanuts or a light smear of natural peanut butter, use leftover roast pork, the world is your oyster.

Ingredients

Scale
  • Butter or oil for the pan
  • 1 (10- to 12-ounce) loaf seedy rye, buckwheat, or whole grain bread, sliced 1/2 inches thick
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce (or more, as needed)
  • 2–3 tablespoons broad bean chili paste (douban jiang), sambal oelek, or sriracha (or more, as needed)
  • 6 ounces thin-sliced deli ham or 3 ounces cooked bacon (optional)
  • ½ cup sliced scallions, plus more for serving
  • ½ cup torn cilantro, plus more for serving
  • ¼ cup preserved mustard greens (zha cai) (optional)
  • 2–3 tablespoons toasted black sesame seeds
  • 2 cups milk
  • 9 large eggs, divided
  • 1 cup fried wonton wrappers (see Notes for instructions)

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a 1 ½-quart baking dish. (I used a 10.25-inch cast iron skillet, but a 9-inch pan or even a 9×13-inch pan will work well–larger pans will result in a thinner strata.)
  2. Spread each slice of bread with a thin layer of hoisin sauce, followed by chili paste. Layer with ham or bacon (if using), scallions, cilantro, and mustard greens (if using), then arrange, shingled, over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds.
  3. Whisk together milk and 6 eggs. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (for the bread to absorb the custard) or up to overnight.
  4. Just before baking, crack the 3 eggs into a bowl and beat just lightly, 5 seconds or so, until the yolks run a bit but are not combined. Drizzle lightly over the bread.
  5. Bake until the custard is set, egg on top is opaque, and the bread is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven and let cool briefly. Scatter generously with more cilantro, scallions, and fried wonton wrappers. Serve warm or at room temperature, with extra hoisin and chili paste on the side.

Notes

Frying wonton wrappers is incredibly easy. Just slice them into strips, heat an inch or so of oil (you don’t need much for this) to around 360 degrees–or hot enough that one strip bubbles energetically when dropped into the oil–and fry a batch at a time, taking care not to crowd, for a few minutes until golden brown. Or, do like Mandy, and just use potato chips!

Find it online: https://tworedbowls.com/2018/12/21/jianbing-strata/