Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)
These Chinese-style scallion pancakes are a great comfort food to share with friends and family around a communal table.
Ingredients
For the pancakes
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups scallions (soft green parts only, reserve the white parts for the dipping sauce)
- 3 tsp Chinese five spice (see below for my own faux replacement blend)
- vegetable oil (for brushing and frying)
For the replacement Chinese five spice
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- dash cayenne pepper
For the dipping sauce
- 1 cup white scallion parts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tsp honey
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp chili oil
Instructions
- First, whisk the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl to combine. Make a well in the middle, then pour the water and oil into it. Mix the dough with your hands until all flour is moistened and it comes together in a shaggy ball. Turn it out on the counter and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put it back in the bowl and cover with a damp towel for 20-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, make the replacement Chinese five spice if needed by grinding the peppercorns and fennel seeds in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Add the allspice and cayenne, stir together, and set aside.
- Warm a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Chop the scallions and separate white and green parts. Chop your garlic and add it with the whites of the scallions into the pan. Sauté about 3-5 minutes, until the whites are soft. Add the soy sauce and honey, and let the sauce reduce at a simmer until slightly thickened (you don't want it watery or syrupy, just thick enough to stand up to the pancakes when you dip them). Remove from the heat and let cool before adding the sesame and chili oils. Stir to combine.
- When your dough has rested, divide it into four portions. Roll each portion out into a rough fairly thin circle, and brush with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with green scallion tops and a little five spice or replacement blend, then roll it up. Curl the roll onto itself in a snail shape and set aside. When all four are done, cover with a damp towel and rest 10 more minutes.
- When you are ready to fry, heat a skillet with a thin layer of oil over medium high. Take your snail rolls and using your fingers, gently squish from the center and knead out into a circular pancake. Add the pancake to the hot skillet and fry on each side about 3 minutes, until some places are golden brown and none of the dough is translucent. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Serve with the dipping sauce and garnished with any leftover onions. Enjoy!
Notes
- The recipe I used comes from Chinese Sichuan Food, a great blog that has so many resources for those looking to learn more about Chinese food!
- To have healthier but blonder pancakes, use less oil. They will still cook in the hot skillet but not "fry." I did some both ways and preferred the ones fried with more oil, but the ones cooked in a mostly dry skillet were tasty too if you're really concerned about your oil intake.
- Having said that, the oil inside the pancake is necessary to help give it a light texture and is not skippable. So the frying step is the only place to cut the fat content.