Chao Bu Lan Zi (Shanxi Steamed Potato and Flour Stir-fry)
Potatoes are for cooking!? Shanxi Powder Alchemy
Description
The ultimate B-grade soul food beloved in homes across Shanxi, China's holy land of wheat flour. Raw julienned potatoes are coated in wheat flour, steamed until fluffy, and then stir-fried aromatically in oil with eggs and scallions until separated and crumbly. A masterpiece of carb-on-carb alchemy.
Restaurants serving Chao Bu Lan Zi (Shanxi Steamed Potato and Flour Stir-fry)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Potato
- Wheat flour
- Eggs
- Scallion
- Chives(or Coriander)
- Salt
- Five-Spice
- Veg oil
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- (Potato-Flour Fusion) Peel raw potatoes and julienne them slightly thick. DO NOT rinse in water (to retain starch). Drain lightly.
- Place potatoes in a bowl and shower with [massive amounts of wheat flour].
- Gently toss by lifting from the bottom, ensuring every single potato shred is coated in a 'thick white batter' of flour.
- (Steaming) Line a steamer with a wet cloth. Loosely pile the flour-coated potatoes inside.
- Steam on high for 10-
- mins until the potatoes cook and the flour sets into a 'chewy, fluffy' state. Transfer to a bowl, separate the clumps with chopsticks, and cool (This is the base 'Bu Lan Zi').
- (Stir-fry Finish) Heat oil in a wok, scramble eggs, and remove.
- Add more oil, fry minced scallion, dried chilies, and Sichuan pepper (optional) for aroma.
- Dump in the steamed potatoes (Bu Lan Zi). Press against the wok sides, frying slowly on medium until the surface forms a crispy char.
- Return the eggs, season with salt and Five-Spice, garnish with chives (or cilantro), and serve.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Pure roasted aroma of oil-charred wheat flour and Five-Spice flavor、五香粉の風味
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Can be perfectly made at home with Japanese potatoes)
Pairing
Black vinegar (Shanxi Lao Chen Cu for drizzling) / Tomato Egg Soup
Trivia
[Trivia] 'Bu Lan Zi' is a Shanxi dialect corruption of the word for 'mixing' (Ban). Born in an era when wheat flour was precious; farmers used cheap potatoes and vegetables to bulk up the volume and fill their stomachs. A crystallization of their tearful wisdom and culinary alchemy.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Vigorously scoop it with a spoon. The outer wheat flour is 'crispy and chewy', while the inner potato is 'fluffy'. True to Shanxi etiquette, drizzling their special 'Black Vinegar (Lao Chen Cu)' and 'Homemade Chili Oil' halfway through completely erases any greasiness, transforming it into an infinitely edible ultimate snack (or staple).
Allergen
Wheat, Eggs, Sesame (if using sesame oil)