Gǎ Ba Cài (嘎巴菜) is a Tianjinese word. After translated into standard Mandarin, it is called Guō Ba Cài (锅巴菜). It is a traditional Tianjin street food which only serves as breakfast. It is so unique that no one can find it anywhere else around the world. Ga Ba Cai looks like short wide green noodles dipped in sticky brown sauce. Ga Ba Cai is salty and with a complex taste from a combination of many different kinds of spices. The “noodle” part is chewy and the “sauce” part is strong and a bit sticky. The “noodle” part is called “Gǎ Ba (嘎巴)”. “Gǎ Ba” is the Tianjinese for “Guō Ba (锅巴)”, which means the “crust” part that is created when rice or paste touches hot metal surface. “Ga Ba” is another way for Tianjinese to say “Jiān Bing (煎饼)” (pancakes). The “sauce” part is called “Lǔ (卤)”, which means the sticky soup-like sauce.

Ingredients:
Rice, Mung Beans, Chopped Scallions, Chopped Ginger, Cut Caraway Pieces, Peanut Oil, Sesame Oil, Aniseed Powder, Ferment Flour Sauce, Soy Sauce, Five Spices Powder, Soda Powder, Starch Solution, Smoked Tofu Slices, Preserved Tofu Sauce, Sesame Sauce Chili Oil and Garlic Chops Dipped in Water, etc..

Gǎ Ba Cài (嘎巴菜) is a Tianjinese word. After translated into standard Mandarin, it is called Guō Ba Cài (锅巴菜). It is a traditional Tianjin street food which only serves as breakfast. It is so unique that no one can find it anywhere else around the world. Ga Ba Cai looks like short wide green noodles dipped in sticky brown sauce. Ga Ba Cai is salty and with a complex taste from a combination of many different kinds of spices. The “noodle” part is chewy and the “sauce” part is strong and a bit sticky. The “noodle” part is called “Gǎ Ba (嘎巴)”. “Gǎ Ba” is the Tianjinese for “Guō Ba (锅巴)”, which means the “crust” part that is created when rice or paste touches hot metal surface. “Ga Ba” is another way for Tianjinese to say “Jiān Bing (煎饼)” (pancakes). The “sauce” part is called “Lǔ (卤)”, which means the sticky soup-like sauce.

Ingredients:
Rice, Mung Beans, Chopped Scallions, Chopped Ginger, Cut Caraway Pieces, Peanut Oil, Sesame Oil, Aniseed Powder, Ferment Flour Sauce, Soy Sauce, Five Spices Powder, Soda Powder, Starch Solution, Smoked Tofu Slices, Preserved Tofu Sauce, Sesame Sauce Chili Oil and Garlic Chops Dipped in Water, etc..

Cooking Methods:
Making “Gǎ Ba”:
The ratio between rice and mung beans should be 1:1. Soak rice and mung beans in water until they are soft, mill them into paste. Get a spoonful of paste and pour it onto a special pan (which is constructed with a flat iron plate and a barrel-shaped stove under it, people use to add coal into the stove). Use a T-shape bamboo pice push the paste a round to form a very thin layer of pancake (Gǎ Ba or Guō Ba or Jiā Bing). Use a metal blade to remove the pancake from the pan. Collect a deck of pancakes, cut them into stripes like bamboo leaves. Lay the pancake stripes aside and let them cool down. Add a bit of flour to them and shake a bit in case they will stick together.
Making “Lǔ”:
Boil peanut oil and add chopped scallions, chopped ginger and caraway pieces until they create a special smell. Add aniseed powder and ferment flour paste and stir fry for a while. Pour in soy sauce until boiled. Add salt water, five spices powder and soda power; boil until boiled. Add starch solution and stir until the whole soup is sticky.
Final Step:
Get a bowl of “Ga Ba”, for the “Lu” in it. Stir a bit and add smoked tofu slices, preserved tofu sauce, chili oil, sesame paste, chopped caraway and chopped garlic in water (the ingredients added varies from stand to stand). Stir again and enjoy.

Tips:
1. Put “Lu” and “Ga Ba” together only when you are about to eat it. Soaking in “Lu” for too long can make “Ga Ba” too soft and lose its chewy texture.
2. Eat “Ga Ba Cai” when it is hot. After it get cold, the “Lu” will change its texture and taste (“Ga Ba” can be cold but “Lu” must be hot).
3. Since “Ga Ba Cai” has a strong and salty taste, most people will have a bowl of soy milk or eat a “Shao Bing” (sesame pancake) with it.

History:
As known, Jian Bing are from Shandong and has been exported to everywhere around China. In addition to wrap vegetables and eat with sauce, some people also soak Jian Bing in water because they are dry. After Jian Bing came into Tianjin, there forms two ways of eating Jian Bing: Jian Bing Guo Zi (fried bread stick wrapped with pancake) and Ga Ba Cai. The earliest and most famous place to eat Ga Ba Cai is Da Fu Lai (大福来), the name means “great luck comes” in Chinese. Ga Ba Cai was created in Qing Dynasty. A man called Zhang Lan managed a Jian Bing stand to earn living. When the emperor Qian Long came to Tianjin, he stopped at Zhang Lan’s stand and ordered some Jian Bing. Because the emperor has never tasted non-royal food, so he became very curious and ate the Jian Bing too fast. Because Jian Bing are dry, so Qian Long was chocked by eating too fast. Zhang Lan turns very nervous and thought the emperor will punish him. At this moment, Zhang Lan’s wife came up with an idea and soaked Jian Bing into a kind of salty soup she just created and gives to her husband to offered to Qian Long. After Qian Long taste it, he was so amazed by the taste and asked who created the dish. Zhang Lan’s wife came out from the back and saluted the Emperor. Qian Long asked her name and it turns out her name is Guo Ba, which is the same sound as the food Guo Ba. Qian Long praised her name and said it just means the “Ga Ba” on a pan. Qian Long decided to name the food after the women and add a character Cài (菜) which means dish and formed a name “Ga Ba Cai”. The day later, Qian Long awarded the couple with a lot of money. The guard who was sent to deliver the money told the couple that their great luck comes. To show their gracefulness, Zhang Lan changed the name of his stand in to Da Fu Lai and changed his Jian Bing stand into Ga Ba Cai stand which sells Ga Ba Cai only. After refined the cooking method, Ga Ba Cai gets very popular in Tianjin.

Related Cuisine:
Tianjingnese Cuisine

Gǎ Ba Cài (嘎巴菜) is a Tianjinese word. After translated into standard Mandarin, it is called Guō Ba Cài (锅巴菜). It is a traditional Tianjin street food which only serves as breakfast. It is so unique that no one can find it anywhere else around the world. Ga Ba Cai looks like short wide green noodles dipped in sticky brown sauce. Ga Ba Cai is salty and with a complex taste from a combination of many different kinds of spices. The “noodle” part is chewy and the “sauce” part is strong and a bit sticky. The “noodle” part is called “Gǎ Ba (嘎巴)”. “Gǎ Ba” is the Tianjinese for “Guō Ba (锅巴)”, which means the “crust” part that is created when rice or paste touches hot metal surface. “Ga Ba” is another way for Tianjinese to say “Jiān Bing (煎饼)” (pancakes). The “sauce” part is called “Lǔ (卤)”, which means the sticky soup-like sauce.

Ingredients:
Rice, Mung Beans, Chopped Scallions, Chopped Ginger, Cut Caraway Pieces, Peanut Oil, Sesame Oil, Aniseed Powder, Ferment Flour Sauce, Soy Sauce, Five Spices Powder, Soda Powder, Starch Solution, Smoked Tofu Slices, Preserved Tofu Sauce, Sesame Sauce Chili Oil and Garlic Chops Dipped in Water, etc..

Cooking Methods:
Making “Gǎ Ba”:
The ratio between rice and mung beans should be 1:1. Soak rice and mung beans in water until they are soft, mill them into paste. Get a spoonful of paste and pour it onto a special pan (which is constructed with a flat iron plate and a barrel-shaped stove under it, people use to add coal into the stove). Use a T-shape bamboo pice push the paste a round to form a very thin layer of pancake (Gǎ Ba or Guō Ba or Jiā Bing). Use a metal blade to remove the pancake from the pan. Collect a deck of pancakes, cut them into stripes like bamboo leaves. Lay the pancake stripes aside and let them cool down. Add a bit of flour to them and shake a bit in case they will stick together.
Making “Lǔ”:
Boil peanut oil and add chopped scallions, chopped ginger and caraway pieces until they create a special smell. Add aniseed powder and ferment flour paste and stir fry for a while. Pour in soy sauce until boiled. Add salt water, five spices powder and soda power; boil until boiled. Add starch solution and stir until the whole soup is sticky.
Final Step:
Get a bowl of “Ga Ba”, for the “Lu” in it. Stir a bit and add smoked tofu slices, preserved tofu sauce, chili oil, sesame paste, chopped caraway and chopped garlic in water (the ingredients added varies from stand to stand). Stir again and enjoy.

Tips:
1. Put “Lu” and “Ga Ba” together only when you are about to eat it. Soaking in “Lu” for too long can make “Ga Ba” too soft and lose its chewy texture.
2. Eat “Ga Ba Cai” when it is hot. After it get cold, the “Lu” will change its texture and taste (“Ga Ba” can be cold but “Lu” must be hot).
3. Since “Ga Ba Cai” has a strong and salty taste, most people will have a bowl of soy milk or eat a “Shao Bing” (sesame pancake) with it.

History:
As known, Jian Bing are from Shandong and has been exported to everywhere around China. In addition to wrap vegetables and eat with sauce, some people also soak Jian Bing in water because they are dry. After Jian Bing came into Tianjin, there forms two ways of eating Jian Bing: Jian Bing Guo Zi (fried bread stick wrapped with pancake) and Ga Ba Cai. The earliest and most famous place to eat Ga Ba Cai is Da Fu Lai (大福来), the name means “great luck comes” in Chinese. Ga Ba Cai was created in Qing Dynasty. A man called Zhang Lan managed a Jian Bing stand to earn living. When the emperor Qian Long came to Tianjin, he stopped at Zhang Lan’s stand and ordered some Jian Bing. Because the emperor has never tasted non-royal food, so he became very curious and ate the Jian Bing too fast. Because Jian Bing are dry, so Qian Long was chocked by eating too fast. Zhang Lan turns very nervous and thought the emperor will punish him. At this moment, Zhang Lan’s wife came up with an idea and soaked Jian Bing into a kind of salty soup she just created and gives to her husband to offered to Qian Long. After Qian Long taste it, he was so amazed by the taste and asked who created the dish. Zhang Lan’s wife came out from the back and saluted the Emperor. Qian Long asked her name and it turns out her name is Guo Ba, which is the same sound as the food Guo Ba. Qian Long praised her name and said it just means the “Ga Ba” on a pan. Qian Long decided to name the food after the women and add a character Cài (菜) which means dish and formed a name “Ga Ba Cai”. The day later, Qian Long awarded the couple with a lot of money. The guard who was sent to deliver the money told the couple that their great luck comes. To show their gracefulness, Zhang Lan changed the name of his stand in to Da Fu Lai and changed his Jian Bing stand into Ga Ba Cai stand which sells Ga Ba Cai only. After refined the cooking method, Ga Ba Cai gets very popular in Tianjin.

Related Cuisine:
Tianjingnese Cuisine
Making “Gǎ Ba”:
The ratio between rice and mung beans should be 1:1. Soak rice and mung beans in water until they are soft, mill them into paste. Get a spoonful of paste and pour it onto a special pan (which is constructed with a flat iron plate and a barrel-shaped stove under it, people use to add coal into the stove). Use a T-shape bamboo pice push the paste a round to form a very thin layer of pancake (Gǎ Ba or Guō Ba or Jiā Bing). Use a metal blade to remove the pancake from the pan. Collect a deck of pancakes, cut them into stripes like bamboo leaves. Lay the pancake stripes aside and let them cool down. Add a bit of flour to them and shake a bit in case they will stick together.
Making “Lǔ”:
Boil peanut oil and add chopped scallions, chopped ginger and caraway pieces until they create a special smell. Add aniseed powder and ferment flour paste and stir fry for a while. Pour in soy sauce until boiled. Add salt water, five spices powder and soda power; boil until boiled. Add starch solution and stir until the whole soup is sticky.
Final Step:
Get a bowl of “Ga Ba”, for the “Lu” in it. Stir a bit and add smoked tofu slices, preserved tofu sauce, chili oil, sesame paste, chopped caraway and chopped garlic in water (the ingredients added varies from stand to stand). Stir again and enjoy.

Tips:
1. Put “Lu” and “Ga Ba” together only when you are about to eat it. Soaking in “Lu” for too long can make “Ga Ba” too soft and lose its chewy texture.
2. Eat “Ga Ba Cai” when it is hot. After it get cold, the “Lu” will change its texture and taste (“Ga Ba” can be cold but “Lu” must be hot).
3. Since “Ga Ba Cai” has a strong and salty taste, most people will have a bowl of soy milk or eat a “Shao Bing” (sesame pancake) with it.

History:
As known, Jian Bing are from Shandong and has been exported to everywhere around China. In addition to wrap vegetables and eat with sauce, some people also soak Jian Bing in water because they are dry. After Jian Bing came into Tianjin, there forms two ways of eating Jian Bing: Jian Bing Guo Zi (fried bread stick wrapped with pancake) and Ga Ba Cai. The earliest and most famous place to eat Ga Ba Cai is Da Fu Lai (大福来), the name means “great luck comes” in Chinese. Ga Ba Cai was created in Qing Dynasty. A man called Zhang Lan managed a Jian Bing stand to earn living. When the emperor Qian Long came to Tianjin, he stopped at Zhang Lan’s stand and ordered some Jian Bing. Because the emperor has never tasted non-royal food, so he became very curious and ate the Jian Bing too fast. Because Jian Bing are dry, so Qian Long was chocked by eating too fast. Zhang Lan turns very nervous and thought the emperor will punish him. At this moment, Zhang Lan’s wife came up with an idea and soaked Jian Bing into a kind of salty soup she just created and gives to her husband to offered to Qian Long. After Qian Long taste it, he was so amazed by the taste and asked who created the dish. Zhang Lan’s wife came out from the back and saluted the Emperor. Qian Long asked her name and it turns out her name is Guo Ba, which is the same sound as the food Guo Ba. Qian Long praised her name and said it just means the “Ga Ba” on a pan. Qian Long decided to name the food after the women and add a character Cài (菜) which means dish and formed a name “Ga Ba Cai”. The day later, Qian Long awarded the couple with a lot of money. The guard who was sent to deliver the money told the couple that their great luck comes. To show their gracefulness, Zhang Lan changed the name of his stand in to Da Fu Lai and changed his Jian Bing stand into Ga Ba Cai stand which sells Ga Ba Cai only. After refined the cooking method, Ga Ba Cai gets very popular in Tianjin.

Related Cuisine:
Tianjingnese Cuisine