Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)
Hot-water dough rolled with oil paste and scallion, pan-fried until shatteringly crisp.
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Join HomecookedIngredients
- 300 g All-purpose flour
- 6 Scallions
- 60 ml Peanut oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil (optional)
Method
- Bring a kettle or small pan of water to a rolling boil for the dough.
- Whisk the just-boiled water into the flour with chopsticks until it comes together shaggy.
- Knead briefly into a smooth dough, then cover and rest until relaxed and supple, about 30 minutes.
- While the dough rests, thinly slice the scallions.
- Mix a little of the peanut oil with a spoonful of flour and the salt into a smooth paste.
- Divide the rested dough into four and roll each piece into a thin rectangle.
- Smear each rectangle with the oil paste, scatter over the scallions, roll up tight, then coil into a snail.
- Flatten each coil with a rolling pin into a round pancake.
- Heat the skillet over medium heat, brush with the sesame oil, and fry each pancake until deeply golden, turning once.
- Slice into wedges and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from ingredients; varies with exact portions and brands.
About Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)
Cong you bing, or scallion pancakes, are a beloved staple of Chinese street food and home kitchens — layered, flaky flatbreads coiled with oil and scallion, then pan-fried until shatteringly crisp. The defining move is a hot-water dough: just-boiled water whisked into the flour, which tames the gluten and yields a soft, pliable dough that rests until supple. That dough is rolled thin, smeared with an oil-and-flour paste, scattered with scallions, then rolled and coiled into a snail so the pastry bakes up in distinct, separating layers.
Fried in peanut oil, a good scallion pancake is crackly and blistered outside, tender and oniony within, with a savory depth from the sesame and peanut oils worked through the paste. They're typically eaten hot, cut into wedges and dipped in a soy-and-vinegar sauce, and served as a side or snack alongside a larger meal. The recipe takes around eighty minutes mostly because of the dough rest, but that pause is what lets the gluten relax so you can roll the layers paper-thin — the real secret to the shatter.
Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes): frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)?
One serving of Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes) has about 422 calories, with 9g of protein, 61g of carbs, 16g of fat and 1g of fiber. These are estimates based on the ingredient amounts in this recipe and will vary with your exact portions and brands.
Is Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes) gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains All-purpose flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
How long does Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes) take to make?
About 80 minutes start to finish, but only around 38 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out toasted sesame oil — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes) make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.