Guobing: the giant Chinese pancake three times the size of your face
- The giant pastry is called a guobing, which literally means ‘pot biscuit’ because it resembles the mouth of a giant pot
- One guobing can stretch up to 38cm in diameter and weigh more than 2.5kg
In northern China, there is a type of pancake three times the size of your face.
Guobing is a wheat product made with fermented dough. It’s a speciality of Shandong Province, where people have been eating it as a snack for more than 100 years.
The name literally means “pot biscuit” because it resembles the mouth of a giant pot. One guobing can stretch up to 38cm in diameter and weigh over 2.5kg.
Slicing a guobing will reveal a plethora of layers that are formed by stacking sheets of dough on top of each other. The outer layer is crispy, while the inner layers are chewy, offering a sensational textural contrast.
Because it’s made with fermented dough, guobing can last for a long time. “Store it for three days in June, and it will not go bad,” says Li Zhifen, a guobing maker in Shandong. “Store it for a month during winter, and it will not go bad.”
Locals have a number of ways to eat it. The bread is often sold in slices, which are then toasted, paired with soup, or eaten on their own.