Cong You Bing (Chinese Scallion Pancakes)

This post continues the trend of posting recipes from my childhood that I've recently made (hua juan (flower rolls), cha shao bao (BBQ pork buns), cha shao (Chinese BBQ pork)). 蔥油餅 (cong you bing), or chinese scallion pancakes, are made in a similar way to the hua juan (flower rolls), but they are like crispy pancakes. These pancakes might be a good idea if you're looking for something similar to hua juan (flower rolls), but don't want to wait or if you're looking for something crispy. They also go well with soy milk for breakfast, although they can be eaten at any time! Again, there's a lot of potential variations that could be made, ranging from the oil used to the types of flavoring used. Although the preparation requires a few more steps, your efforts will be rewarded. And although I did not use it, one shortcut is to mix the scallions in with the dough, and then just forming the dough into a "pancake" and frying it.

What are some of your favorite childhood recipes?

Cong You Bing (Chinese Scallion Pancakes)

by CJ Huang

Flaky Chinese pancakes with scallions, pan fried to perfection.

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
		3 cups		flour
		1 cup		hot water
		up to 1 cup		room temperature water
				scallions, chopped
				salt
				grease	butter, oil, shortening, lard, drippings, etc.

Methods:

	1. Gather all materials.
	2. Mix 3 cups flour with 1 cup hot water, adding more room temperature water as needed to create a soft but not sticky dough.
	3. Cover dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
	4. Make a slurry with flour, oil, and salt. The slurry should have a consistency of a thin or melted milkshake.
	5. Roll dough into a log with approximately 1.5 inch diameter, and then cut the log into 2 inch pieces.
	6. Roll each piece until it is approximately a quarter inch thick. The exact shape is not important at this point, and traditionally, circles are used, but a rectangle will make the following steps easier.
	7. Paint the flour/oil/salt slurry on the top surface, and then put scallions on top of that.
	8. Roll up the dough into a cylinder, and then roll the cylinder so that none of the filling is exposed, forming a circle.
	9. Carefully flatten that out until it reaches a thickness of about a quarter inch.
	10. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan, and cook the cong you bing on both sides until crispy.