Chinese Pizza

[Scandinavian]

How to make pizza in China? I am aware this has been discussed in previous topics, as I am sure many expats get a pizza craving once in a while, and then end up going to Pizza-Hut to get disappointing with quality of the pizza. As do I, and to mitigate this, I have somewhat mastered the art of pizza-making at home. Dough, tomato-sauce from scratch and cheese will then be whatever is available.

But, when it comes to the rest of the topping on the pizza, sure I can get some overpriced pepperoni, some low quality ham etc. So what I want is to use local ingredients, whatever is readily available in the local supermarkets. I just cannot seem to figure out what would work well. Does anyone sit with some good inspiration for Chinese pizza toppings?

[fanglu]

I have somewhat mastered the art of pizza-making at home

How do you cook it? I thought most Chinese houses don't have ovens.

[count_zero]

Chinese pizza? Try broccoli, pineapple, raisins and lashings of mayonnaise.

[liuzhou]

Corn is compulsory.

[Scandinavian]

How to cook pizza in China

Step 1. Get an apartment with no oven

Step 2. Get an oven

There are tons of standalone ovens on Taobao, the majority of them are small toaster ovens. We found a 2000Watts convection oven with dual heaters, the size of the trays is a little small so for pizza I make them square to max out the space. The main "flaw" it has is that is only goes up to 230C, which is on the low side for pizza and some other things. I do not see the specific oven on Taobao anymore, but the brand is Changdi and I think we paid 6-700RMB for it. It has provided us with freshly baked bread for breakfast and chocolate fondants for desserts for more than a year now.

The flour in China is a bit hit and miss. If you ask a local they will point at some flour and say, "this is really good flour" and it probably is if you are making steamed bread or dumplings. The local CarreFour has a Chinese brand flour in 5Kg bags that seems to do the trick, but we did try different brands before getting a good result.

[liuzhou]

You really need to find high gluten flour.

高筋面粉

Not difficult.

3 元 / 500g

(I too use a toaster oven, but mine goes up to 250ºC The brand is ACA)

[jasoninchina]

First of all, what's wrong with Pizza Hut pizza? I know it isn't a standard American, saucy pizza, but that's OK - it's deep-fried goodness.

The tastiness of Pizza Hut pizza aside, I do make pizza at home. Originally, we bought the biggest toaster oven we could find on taobao. It worked OK. Be mindful of what kind of heating element(s) it has, you really want something that can provide a nice, spread-out kinda heat. Second, size may be an issue. If your pizza pan is a little too big, the door won't close all the way and you'll have a heat problem.

At the beginning of the year, we bought a full-on oven - off of taobao no less. So it is possible. Just be mindful that in addition to a proper place to put it you will also likely need to install a special outlet.

In regards to toppings, the sky is the limit. My favorites are pineapple and bbq chicken. The chicken takes a little prep, but is totally worth it. Depending on your city, you can always visit the various foreign food stores to pick up things like olives or artichoke. Even a small city like Haikou (only 2 million people ) has numerous foreign food stores, and you can sometimes even find things that don't cost an arm and/or a leg.

[liuzhou]

First of all, what's wrong with Pizza Hut pizza?

Everything

[Steingletscher]

Since I don't really know the names/characters for most foods, bare with me. I'm pretty sure you can incorporate a 花椒 flavor to it without having to eat the peppercorns themselves (and the same goes for the peppers that are in Sichuan 火锅). I know you could pull of certain kinds of tofu (I'm thinking of the kind that are split vertically in the center and twisted on each side, though you might have to get creative as for a way to not make it so big when it is on the pizza; and the same goes for stinky tofu). You could also try, though not as a topping, making it with tea so the crust (or even the sauce, what ever you use) have a tea aroma and flavor (again, it depends on which tea you choose). Basic things such as eggs and the various kinds of mushrooms that are present in China are pretty obvious (I forget the Chinese name of the dish, but a simple tomato and egg pizza doesn't sound too bad[and you fry the eggs a little before baking it on the pizza]). Though it is cooked differently, I would just try random things (though think about how to prepare them since it is possible that simply baking the pizza with all of the ingredients uncooked might not make the topping turn out in the way you hoped for because you might have been expecting them in a way that is achieved by being cooked differently) off of a 火锅 menu. If you really want to go out there, diced pig brain (first cooked Chuan-Chuan style, though again you can find other ways to prepare it) and then spread thinly over it over it sounds good. But yeah, like burgers, pizza is awesome because you could do almost anything with it. Just get creative. It may take a few times of random experimentation before you develop a palate for knowing what goes with what, so don't be disappointed by your first few attempts. One thing that I hate in pizza is when the topping are huge and get in the way of enjoying the rest of the pizza. So if you want the firm and thick texture of oh (Lotus root, again sorry). Oh, eggplant also sounds great.

Were you specifically asking for alternative to tomato sauce and cheese? I don't know any at the top of the moment, but I'm sure there are alternatives to be found (though I've had quite a few excellent cheese-less pizzas, so it's doable). What difference does the gluten content of flour make?

This is making me want to move out of my dorm, get an oven, and experiment on my own. Sorry for this hastily written and messy response.

First of all, what's wrong with Pizza Hut

The first strike: the cheese doesn't taste like cheese. Second strike: They put it on everything. There are more problems then that, but those are enough to not go there.

[count_zero]

Gung-ho! in Beijing have a Peking duck pizza that is quite nice. Roast duck definitely works.

They also have a vegetarian one with pesto and tofu that is nicer than it sounds.

I think you can have a try.

[liuzhou]

bare with me

I don't like pizza that much!

[Steingletscher]

bare with me

I don't like pizza that much!

I do, but I love Sichuan food even more which keeps my craving for western food at a minimum (which, don't get me wrong, I also love). Push the boundaries on what you can do for everything. A bad imitation (I'm looking at you Pizza Hut) is more often then not worse then something new and unexpected.

[imron]

I think liuzhou's meaning was that he wouldn't get naked with you for pizza, as a way of pointing out that you probably meant 'bear with me'. Don't worry, over time you'll get used to his sense of humour and pedantry regarding spelling and grammar*

*as a fellow pedant, I have no problem with this.

[liuzhou]

I do

I think you missed my point. But thank you Imron for the clarification.

I have used 湖南腊肉, Hunan cured and smoked pork on pizzas.

By far the worst thing I have ever had the misfortune to eat was a Pizza Hut Japanese Seafood Pizza here in sunny Guangxi. I hasten to add I didn't order it. It was the usual stale base covered in still slightly frozen ancient salmon which hadn't quite been microwaved long enough. Then there were huge ribbons of steaming hot wasabi everywhere They managed to microwave that. It was utterly disgusting. Even the waitress looked at it like she knew she was serving turds. I do have a picture, but this is a family forum and I wouldn't want to upset people.

The last time (I pray it is the last time!) I was in the local Pizza Hut, I asked for a medium size Pizza Supreme as advertised on their glossy menu.

"Sorry we don't have medium size. We have small and large, but no medium."

I was about to say, "Well, if you have the makings of a small or a large, can't you put those ingredients on a medium base?" when it clicked. Pizza Huts do not make pizzas! They import frozen pre-assembled slabs and some work experience kid (or interns as they are now called) stuffs it into a microwave for a bit.

[PengHaoShi]

Some ideas:

- mushrooms (as Steingletscher proposes):

slice mushrooms and saute in a pan with some oil under high heat until they are golden brown or to your liking (if the heat is too low or there are too many mushrooms in the pan, then there will be a lot of water from the mushrooms in the pan and you cook the mushroom, but you want to saute them), add salt and pepper and if you can get, some chopped fresh thyme. Once the pizza is ready, put the mushrooms on top and serve.

- tuna:

prepare a pizza with not too much cheese. Thinly slice some fresh tuna, sushi quality, and add it on the ready made pizza. If you can get anchovis: purre them and mix them with mayonnaise and put a little bit on the tuna. If available: put some capers on top.You can do the same with salmon and wasabe-mayonnaise (just combine some wasabe with mayonnaise). Or shrimps: cut them lengthwise in half and put them the last 2 - 3 minutes on the pizza in the oven.

- italian sausage:

combine minced porc, salt, pepper, garlic, paprika powder and 1 egg (if you like it hot: add dried chili), form small little balls and saute them in a pan under high heat. Chop red and yellow bell pepper into dices, put them on the pizza and bake it. Once the pizza is ready, put the meat balls on top. You can also add some green leafs on top: salad, like rucola, fresh herbs, e.g. basil, but only after the pizza is ready, don't bake it.

- Sundried tomatoes

Cut fresh tomatoes into halfs or quarters, take out the inner part, put them in an oven with about 80C with a little bit of olive oil and let them rest for some hours, until they appear like a "sundried tomato". At the same time, cut a whole garlic open on the top, also put a little bit of olive oil on the top and put it together with the tomatoes in the oven, until they appear like roasted garlic. Prepare a pizza with bell pepper, once the pizza is ready, put the tomatoes and the garlic on top (press the garlic out of the peel).

[PengHaoShi]

- Marinated chicken breast

Combine yogurt, fresh lemon juice and spices you like (5 spices, tandoori, curry, Thai curry paste or whatever you like) and put the chicken breast together with the marinade into a plastic bag and let it marinate for 24 hours. Take it out and saute in a pan under medium to high heat for about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Prepare a pizza with some veggie or pineapple or...., at the end for the last 2 - 3 minutes, add the thinly sliced chicken breast.

[liuzhou]

I'll go with the mushrooms, anchovies and capers. I often do. But wasabi and mayonnaise on pizza? Give me a break! Why not stick some strawberry jam on, too?

[liuzhou]

ooops. double post. having internet problems.

[PengHaoShi]

liuzhou: it's like a sushi or California roll, there's also a bit of mayonnaise in there. So I put a little bit of wasabi-mayonnaise on top of the fresh salmon, gives it a nice taste. But if you don't like .....

[liuzhou]

PengHaoShi: You are suggesting some ingredients which are very difficult to find in China - the point was, I thought, to make pizzas using easily available Chinese ingredients. Rucola and basil; chopped fresh thyme; fresh tuna, sushi quality? Yoghurt that isn't stuffed so much with sugar that you get diabetes just by looking at it? Where?

And sushi contains mayonnaise? I haven't ever come across that. Even in China.