Chinese Scallion Pancake (Cong You Bing)

[Nick Beaumont]

I love Chinese street food. Fact. Actually I'm chewing a stick of 油条 as I type. If there's one thing I love more than deep fried breadsticks though, it's Chinese pancakes, or bing.

 

 

I'm actually in the UK now and not able to pick bing up off the streets anymore like the good old days. It was partly because of this, and partly because of the bullying of my ever-hungry Chinese girlfriend Fen, that I learned to make them myself. They aren't the quickest to make, but they are incredibly moreish, and the perfect thing to enjoy as a snack or as part of a larger meal. I've included the recipe below for anyone who fancies having a go:

 

Method

• 200g all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoon salt
• 125ml water
• 3-4 scallions or green onions, green parts only
• 2 tablespoons oil/sesame seed oil, for brushing
• Oil, for frying
   

Instructions

1. Combine the sifted flour and salt in a large bowl
2. Bring the water to the boil, then stir slowly into the flour. Knead continuously for about 15 minutes until the dough loses it's stickiness and becomes a smooth ball. Add more flour is the dough is still sticky, or a little more water if it's too dry. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and leave for 30 minutes
3. Add the scallions/spring onions to the dough, and mix/fold well into the mixture.
4. Cut the dough into 4-8 separate pieces, depending on how big you’d like you pancakes to be.
   
5. Taking one dough ball at a time, and use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat thin disk. Brush on some oil (use sesame seed oil if you want to add some extra flavour), then roll the disk into a long, thin sausage.
   
6. Curl the sausages up into a snail, then roll into a flat, round pancake (if you cut the dough into 4 four pieces, this will be about 15cm in diameter).
   
   
7. Add 6mm of oil into a frying pan and shallow fry each pancake. Fry for about 1 minute, then flip over to cook the other side. Continue flipping if necessary, and press down with a spatula to cook the whole surface evenly
8. Once cooked, take out the pan and place onto a piece of kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. Cut into small, pizza-shaped segments, then serve

Hope you enjoy - I've included the instruction and pictures on my and my girlfriend's blog Feeding Fen if you fancy a look!

[li3wei1]

Nice pictures, and welcome to the forum.

 

If you can't get 葱油饼, where are you getting the 油条? Are you making that yourself? That's a recipe I would like to see. Not necessarily make, though.

[gato]

I've made these with just cold water. No boiling, no sitting for 30 minutes. It still worked out great. Would save you a lot of time. Have you tried?

[889]

I also love 葱油饼, even if they fall into that shamed the-oilier-the-better category.

 

But I always thought that actually frying with sesame oil was not a great idea because of the way the oil can react to heat; if you want that sesame oil flavour -- and you certainly should -- it's best to drizzle just a bit on after frying.

 

The oilier the better.

 

(The OP's dead right about proofing the dough; glad to see he included that step. Hot water brings out the gluten. Big difference in texture. Just like making pizza dough.)

[Michaelyus]

I thought the hot water was to "shorten" the gluten development, giving the characteristic chew rather than the stretch of a cold-water dough pancake. Same thing with 饺子皮.

 

Source.

[abcdefg]

Looks real good. Thanks for posting and welcome.

 

I buy 葱油饼 here in Kunming, but haven't tried making them myself since they are easy to find and cheap. The vendors here typically make large ones and will cut you off the amount you want by weight. They are sold fresh and hot. One or two kuai 块钱 worth is enough for me as a snack if I'm walking around alone.

 

And I think your blog is clever!

[Nick Beaumont]

I used to buy the on my way home from work as well back in Shanghai - I used to eat so many I wasn't hungry by the time I got home!

 

If anyone wants a way to make these a little faster, I found this recipe on China Sichuan Food - http://www.chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-scallion-pancake-simplified-version/

 

I really failed when I followed this recipe (too much water perhaps), but hopefully you will have more luck.

 

Thanks for the compliment on the blog and pictures! I've found some great recipes on this site so looking forward to cooking them

[abcdefg]

I've found some great recipes on this site so looking forward to cooking them

 

I contribute cooking articles from time to time, but my orientation is different from yours in that I mainly try to explain to people living here in China how to navigate the wet markets and food sections of the supermarkets to find fresh, seasonal, high quality ingredients for not too high a cost. Then I enjoy working out simple, home-style recipes that show how to showcase these tasty local items, with emphasis on doing it in a reasonably healthy manner. Plus, living in Kunming, I like Yunnan-style dishes and special regional ingredients, so I often highlight those.

 

The food pages of the forum aren't terribly active, and you are welcome to contribute any time you'd like. And good on you for keeping your girlfriend well fed! That is always a commendable mission!

[889]

That recipe suggests adding five-spice powder. I don't think I've ever tasted five-spice powder in 葱油饼. Is it often there and I've missed it?

[abcdefg]

@889 -- I've never encountered it either, anywhere in China. (That of course doesn't mean someone somewhere isn't using it. Just that it isn't very popular. or mainstream.)

 

I also quickly scanned the top six authentic 葱油饼 recipes on Baidu, and didn't see 五香粉 listed as an ingredient.

[889]

Thanks for that research.

 

Again, I don't know what really goes into the food I eat in China -- I don't think it's a very healthy pre-occupation -- but always suspect when I eat a particularly crisp and flavourful 葱油饼 that it's been made with lard. Or in Western terms, a bit of bacon grease, perhaps

[lynnbrobinson]

Thank You! for the informative post.