Scallion Pancakes

Unleavened wheat flour dough rolled with sesame oil and masses of finely chopped spring onion, then coiled and re-rolled to create hundreds of flaky, crisp layers: pan-fried until golden and blistered. Scallion pancakes (cong you bing) are the greatest street-food bread in China: simultaneously simple in ingredients and intricate in technique.

Origin: Shanghai & Northern China

From the journey of Wheat.

Cong you bing (葱油饼) is a Chinese flatbread whose origins are traced to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), possibly introduced to China through Silk Road contact with Persian and Central Asian bread traditions. The technique of laminating dough with oil and aromatics, coiling it, re-rolling, and frying creates a multi-layered structure in the same family as South Asian paratha but distinctly Chinese in character. In Shanghai, they are eaten for breakfast, split and filled with egg and chilli sauce in a sandwich called jian bing guo zi. In Northern China, they accompany braised meats. The Chinese diaspora carries them across the world.

Ingredients

  • 300 g plain flour
  • 100 ml boiling water
  • 50 ml cold water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 8 Spring onions (scallions), very finely sliced
  • for layering Salt and white pepper
  • for frying Neutral oil

Method

  1. Make the dough: mix flour with salt. Pour boiling water over half, mix; add cold water and combine into a dough. Knead 5 minutes until smooth. Rest covered for 30 minutes.
  2. Divide dough into 4 portions. Roll each into a thin rectangle about 30×20cm.
  3. Brush generously with sesame oil. Scatter a quarter of the spring onions evenly over the surface. Season with salt and white pepper.
  4. Roll tightly from one long end into a cylinder. Coil the cylinder into a snail shape. Press down and roll out again into a 20cm circle. The layering is now within the dough.
  5. Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry each pancake for 3–4 minutes per side until golden and blistered.
  6. Transfer to a board, smack several times with a spatula (this opens the layers) and cut into wedges. Serve with soy dipping sauce.
The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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