Guoba Cai

Guoba cai is one of Tianjin's defining morning foods, made most famously under the Dafulai name. It is documented from the Guangxu era, though its precise beginnings can't be pinned down — popular accounts trace Dafulai to a Qianlong-era pancake shop and an emperor's bestowed name, but those tales are acknowledged to be largely legend rather than history. What is on the record is the dish's place in Tianjin breakfast and that the Dafulai craft entered the city's intangible-heritage list in 2009.

The crepe strips have gone soft and slippery in the gravy but still hold their shape, each willow-leaf sliver coated in the dark, savory, lightly spiced sauce. Sesame paste makes it rich and nutty; the bean-curd liquid adds a salty funk, the chili a little heat. Strips of spiced dried tofu give bite, cilantro a fresh top note. Warm and comforting, it wants a stick of fried dough alongside.

The crepe is the namesake — a thin mung-bean-and-millet batter spread and dried into sheets (the guoba), then cut into willow-leaf strips. The gravy is a meatless one: soy, salt, ginger, five-spice and star-anise powders thickened with starch slurry, built on oil first fragranced by frying cilantro root. The strips go in only briefly, so they soak up the gravy and soften without dissolving — too long and they turn to mush. The six finishing condiments — sesame paste, fermented-bean-curd liquid, chili oil, chili mash, sliced spiced tofu, chopped cilantro — are added in the bowl, layering richness, salt, heat and freshness over the base.