Scallion pancake
蔥油餅
Taiwanese scallion pancakes: a hot-water dough rolled, oiled, scattered with spring onion, coiled and pan-fried into flaky layers.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 蔥油餅.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr 25 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Cong you bing is a flaky, chewy flatbread layered with spring onion. The dough is flour and hot water, which makes it soft and easy to roll thin. You brush it with oil or lard, scatter salt and a lot of chopped spring onion over, roll it into a rope, coil the rope into a snail and flatten the snail into a pancake. Each pancake fries in a little oil for three minutes a side until blistered and golden. Press and scrunch it with two spatulas as it comes off the heat and the layers separate. The Taiwanese street version is often fried with an egg cracked onto it and brushed with soy paste.
What you'll need
7 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour, plain: 400 g for the dough, 2 tbsp for the layering paste, plus extra for dusting416 g
- Water, just boiled260 ml
- Salt, 1/2 for the dough, 1 for the layers7.4 ml
- Spring onion, about 10, green parts mostly, finely sliced120 g
- Neutral oil, 4 for the layers, 4 for frying118 ml
- White pepper (optional)2½ ml
- Soy sauce, for dipping, with a splash of vinegar (optional)30 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the flour and half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Pour in the just-boiled water while stirring with chopsticks until shaggy, then knead on a board until smooth, 5 minutes. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
10 min
Tip: The dough should feel like an earlobe: soft, not sticky.
Step 2
Mix 4 tablespoons of oil with 2 tablespoons of flour, the remaining salt and the white pepper into a paste. Divide the dough into 6 balls.
5 min
Step 3
Roll one ball into a thin rectangle about 30 by 20 cm. Spread a sixth of the paste over it and scatter with a sixth of the spring onion. Roll up tightly from the long side into a rope.
3 min
Step 4
Coil the rope into a tight spiral, tuck the end under, and press flat with your palm. Roll gently to a 15 cm disc about 5 mm thick. Repeat for the rest, stacking between sheets of baking paper.
15 min
Watch: Roll gently. Press too hard and the spring onion bursts through and the layers merge.
Step 5
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry one pancake until golden and blistered, 3 minutes a side, pressing the centre with a spatula so it cooks through.
6 min
Step 6
As it comes out, squeeze the pancake from the sides with two spatulas to shatter the layers. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with soy and vinegar for dipping or an egg fried onto one side.
1 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 407 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 54.9 g
- Fat
- 16.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 1.7 g
- Fibre
- 2.5 g
- Sugar
- 0.8 g
- Sodium
- 938 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Dairy-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Spring onion → Garlic chives
Stronger and more garlicky. Use half the quantity.
Tips
- Freeze the uncooked discs between paper. Fry from frozen, 4 minutes a side.
- For the night-market version, crack an egg into the pan, lay the half-cooked pancake on it, flip after a minute and brush with sweet soy paste.
- A spoon of lard in the paste instead of oil gives the flakiest layers.
History & culture
Breakfast and night-market food, cooked to order on a flat griddle and handed over in a paper sleeve. Taiwan's version is thicker and chewier than the thin northern Chinese kind, and the stall will offer an egg, basil, cheese or ham folded in. Families also make a batch and freeze the uncooked discs between sheets of paper for weekday breakfasts.
Laminated wheat flatbreads with spring onion are old northern Chinese food, from Shandong and the regions around Beijing where wheat, not rice, is the staple. Mainland migrants brought them to Taiwan after 1949, and the island made them a staple of the breakfast shop and the night market, thickening the dough and adding the fried egg.
Traditional — Vegan as written with oil. Stalls often use lard in the layers, which is richer and flakier.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Scallion pancake take?
1 hr 25 min all in — 30 min prep, 25 min cook, 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp (1/2 for the dough, 1 for the layers).
How much soy sauce?
2 tbsp (for dipping, with a splash of vinegar, optional) of Soy sauce.
What can I use instead?
Spring onion → Garlic chives. Stronger and more garlicky. Use half the quantity.
What should I watch for?
Roll gently. Press too hard and the spring onion bursts through and the layers merge.
Any tips from this recipe?
Freeze the uncooked discs between paper. Fry from frozen, 4 minutes a side. For the night-market version, crack an egg into the pan, lay the half-cooked pancake on it, flip after a minute and brush with sweet soy paste. A spoon of lard in the paste instead of oil gives the flakiest layers.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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