Cong You Bing (Flaky Scallion Pancake)
Cong you bing - scallion pancake - is one of northern China's oldest street foods, built through a lamination technique that creates flaky layers within a simple flour dough. The dough is rolled flat, brushed with oil, scattered with chopped scallions and salt, then rolled up into a coil and flattened again - a process repeated multiple times to build the internal layers that define the pancake's texture. Pan-fried in oil over medium heat, the exterior crisps into a golden, shattering shell while the interior remains chewy with visible, pull-apart layers where steam has puffed between the dough sheets. The scallions trapped between layers soften in the heat, losing their raw sharpness and releasing a gentle sweetness into the surrounding dough. In Taiwanese night markets, a popular variation cracks an egg onto the pancake during the final fry, adding richness and extra crispness. Eaten any time of day - as a breakfast grab, a beer snack, or torn apart and shared at a hawker stall - scallion pancakes are one of the most universally satisfying flour-based foods.
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Instructions
- 1
Mix flour with hot water and knead for about 10 minutes.
- 2
Rest dough for 20 minutes.
- 3
Roll thin, spread sesame oil, salt, and chopped scallion.
- 4
Roll up, coil into a spiral, then flatten again.
- 5
Pan-fry both sides until golden and slice to serve.
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