An informative guide to making scallion pancakes. This recipe shows you how to make them flaky, tasty and crispy. Dipping sauce suggestions are also provided.
Scallion pancakes (Cong You Bing, 葱油饼) are a very popular staple food in China. You can find them both at humble street stalls and in high-end restaurants. Earlier I wrote a recipe on the leavened version of scallion pancakes. Today I’d like to share my tips on how to cook the unleavened version which is thinner and takes less time to prepare. Very flaky, tasty and crispy, they’re truly a delight to enjoy.
How to make them flaky
Well-made scallion pancakes should have many layers when torn open. To achieve the ultimate flakiness, I suggest that you follow these tips:
- Flatten the dough as thin as possible into a rectangle shape, then roll it up from the shorter side into a rope. This is to create maximum layers for the finished pancakes.
- To prevent the layers from sticking to each other, you need to: 1. Add flour to melted lard (or coconut oil for vegetarian) to make a paste. 2. Brush a generous amount of lard paste onto the flattened dough. Widely used in traditional Chinese cuisine, lard has a less liquid consistency than cooking oil when the temperature drops. So it won’t flow out while you shape the pancakes. Coconut oil shares the same feature.
How to make them tasty
Scallion pancakes shouldn’t taste plain. To make them delectable, remember the following tips:
- Be generous with the scallions. Sprinkle as much as you like. The oniony flavour is this pancake’s key feature after all.
- Ground Sichuan pepper gives an extra zing. If you wish, use other ground spices which are available. It can be Chinese five-spice, black pepper, cumin, etc.
- Adjust the quantity of salt. Scallion pancakes make a great breakfast or an afternoon snack on its own. In this case, you may make it saltier. If you have it as a staple to accompany a savoury main course, use less salt instead.
How to make them crispy
A crispy crust is visually appetizing and pleasant on the palate. To ensure the best possible outcome, you need to:
- Coat the frying pan with enough cooking oil.
- Heat up the pan to a high temperature when you place in the pancakes. But remember to turn it down a little afterward. Otherwise, you might have uncooked bits in the middle.
- Flip over the pancakes several times to ensure even crispiness on both sides.
Serve them with a dipping sauce
As I mentioned above, scallion pancakes are often consumed as breakfast in China, along with Chinese rice congee, marbled tea egg, etc. It’s great to serve them with a dipping sauce. The easy Chinese dressing for cucumber salad that I shared earlier will do a nice job. For hot food lovers, why not simply dip them in homemade chili oil?
Pair with savoury dishes
If you’d like to have scallion pancakes as a staple for dinner, I have a few suggestions for meal planning:
- Simplified red-cooked pork belly + Spinach and soybean salad
- Super aromatic three cup chicken + Xinjiang tiger salad
- Fuss-free braised chicken wing + Spicy dry-pot cauliflower
Scallion pancakes, Cong You Bing (葱油饼)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 250 g all-purpose flour , about 2 cups + extra for dusting
- 160 ml boiling water, ⅔ cup
For the filling
- 2 tbsp lard, melted, or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- ¼ tsp ground Sichuan pepper, or Chinese five-spice powder
- ¼ tsp salt, or to taste
- 3 stalks scallions
For frying
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
Instructions
Make the dough
- Put the flour into a heatproof bowl. Pour in boiling water. Stir with a pair of chopsticks or a fork until the flour turns into small lumps and no more water can be seen.
- When cool enough to handle, knead the mixture into a soft, smooth dough. Leave to rest for 30 mins (see note 1).
Prepare the filling
- Mix flour, ground Sichuan pepper (or five-spice powder), salt with melted lard (or coconut oil). Finely chop the scallions.
Shape the pancakes
- Knead the dough again. Then flatten it with a rolling pin into a thin rectangle shape (dust with flour to avoid sticking).
- Evenly brush the lard mixture on the dough. Sprinkle scallions over.
- Roll the dough into a rope (from the shorter side). Cut into 4 cylinders.
- Stand a piece on one end. Roll it flat to the desired thickness (see note 2).
Fry the pancakes
- Heat up oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Place the pancakes in then turn the heat to medium (see note 3).
- Flip over 2-3 times. Cook until both sides are golden brown.
Store & serve
- You may freeze the uncooked pancakes. Pile them up with baking paper or cling film in between, then place them in a sealed plastic bag. Thaw in the fridge then cook the normal way.
- You can serve them as breakfast/afternoon snack or as a staple for regular meals with savoury dishes, soup or rice congee.
NOTES
CALORIES
Hope you are tempted to give my recipe a try. Have a great time in your kitchen!
I tried and it came out perfect! The dough was just right, and we rolled it in pasta machine trying various thickness. I added a tsp of salt and some five spice powder. Also might have gone overboard with the scallions, but they’re so good. An absolute blast with the family; next time I will try to prepare a dipping sauce. Thank you for the marvelous recipe.
My pleasure Lev! very nice to hear that you’ve enjoyed my recipe!
Hello! I tried making these pancakes today and they turned out a little stiff and not as flaky as I hoped they would be… they turned out crunchy on the outside and harder in the middle…. when I was kneading the dough and rolling it out I did notice that it was very stiff and took a lot of effort. Is there anything you could think of that I did wrong? I’d really appreciate a reply back, thanks!
Thank you Lillian for trying out my recipe! The dough should be soft (but not sticky) and very easy to work with. I suggest you add a little more water next time. Also, since it’s a hot water dough, some of the water can evaporate during resting. Rub a little oil on the dough then wrap with cling film to rest. Hope this helps!
My husband made these for dinner and we couldn’t get enough of these pancakes! Definitely making again
Thank you for letting me know you’ve enjoyed my recipe! This means a lot to me!
Hi Wei! I was wondering if I could use any other types of oil in place of lard/coconut, such as olive or canola? Thanks!
Yes Eve, you may use other types of oil. Happy cooking!
Hi. I live in Changchun, Jilin and found something similar that was baked with an egg in the middle. Any idea how I would alter this recipe to do that or is that an entirely different recipe?
According to your description, it could be Ji Dan Guan Bing/ 鸡蛋灌饼 which is a different dish. You would not be able to do exactly the same (add an egg in the middle) with this recipe.
Amazing!!!
Fiz e ficaram ótimas! A culinária chinesa é fantástica!
Google Translate helped me to understand your words: “I did and they were great! Chinese cuisine is fantastic!” Glad to know you’ve enjoyed my recipe!
I look back to the olden days, how nice.
This recipe is perfect. I tried others but I didn’t like that they were too thin.
The coconut oil suggestion is great for vegetarians.
A minor problem that I had was that the flour and oil stuck together when I tried to mix the filling together. Did I use too much flour?
Hi Norea! Happy to know my recipe worked well for you. The filling should be very easy to spread. I suggest you reduce the flour a little.
I made these and they were very good.
When I was rolling the dough out for the pancakes, the dough was rebounding a bit.
Is there a way to prevent this? Like kneading more?
Thanks!
Hi Paul! This can be caused by the high gluten level of the flour or over-kneading. Here is the solution: After you shape and cut the dough into cylinders (as described in the recipe), leave them to rest for a few minutes then flatten them with a rolling pin. They will be much easier to roll out.
Can these be made with whole wheat flour? Thank you.
This recipe is not suitable for whole wheat flour as you won’t get an elastic dough thus the look and texture would be very different. But you can add whole wheat to white flour (I’d suggest no more than 30%). Make sure you adjust the water volume accordingly.
Thank you for responding so quickly. I can’t wait to try this.
Would you eat these standing alone or would you serve this with something else? If serving it with something else then what?
In Chinese households, they are eaten either on their own or with other dishes. Considered the staple food of a meal, they would go well with any savoury dishes that you usually serve with plain rice. There aren’t any set rules.
For breakfast, they are usually served with rice congee, soy milk, etc.
Lovely! No idea how they should taste, but what I prepared for breakfast based on this recipe was great! Next time I will add more srping onion and sichuan pepper. We ate them with easy Chinese dressing which was tasty. And it wasn’t difficult, even the rolling part.
Brilliant! Always a good idea to add more spring onion and Sichuan pepper if you like big flavour.
I just tried your recipe using the coconut oil + five spice powder. It tasted great! Thank you for sharing the coconut oil tip. Initially my dough was very sticky, and I almost gave up. But with extra (extra) flour, I was able to get it soft like yours. I’ll just adjust the ratio next time.
Glad to know my recipe worked well for you. Please feel free to adjust the water flour ratio as the absorption ability of different flour varies.
I tried this recipe tonight, tastes great. Next time, i need to improve on rolling the dough thinner. Other than that, I think this recipe is great. Satisfies my craving!
Great to hear that! Thank you for letting me know.
Was very excited to try this recipe, but think I might have overworked the dough? They came out a bit bready, and not as flakey or glossy as your images. We don’t get AP flour here in South Africa, so used cake flour… could that have caused it too?
You can surely use cake flour. I don’t think that causes the problem. The key to flakey pancake is that you brush enough oil mixture (the filling) in between the layers. To ensure a glossy look: 1. Make sure the oil for frying is not too little. 2. Put the pancakes in when the oil is hot. These will help to produce a crispier texture on the surface of the pancakes.
I had the same issue as Buck. From my experience, living at a higher altitude & dry climate can influence dough recipes I experiment with online. Next time I may try the cold water method and I’ll be sure to weigh the ingredients rather than use my measuring cups. We fried them and they still tasted good just very tough. I look forward to giving this another try. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you very much Tiff for sharing your experience. My readers will appreciate your input. Happy cooking!
Just made them, they are delicious!! Thanks 🙂 I always love your recipes.
You are welcome Yan! Very happy to know that you find my recipes inspiring.
These look amazing, unfortunately, the flour to water ratio results in an initial dough that is very very tough and drier. After 30 min, the dough remains the same. Rolling it out was pleasant, flattened without sticking very nicely. After spreading the filling on, rolling it into a rope, cutting cylinders, I rolled those out. This is where things literally fell apart. Each one was nearly impossible to roll, as the oil slides everything out from under the pin, and it ends up in a separated, thin strip of swirled dough. Dough did not stick to itself at all, everything fell apart. I’ve made these before with a different amount of water. Really surprised anyone had any success with this recipe as is. Will try again with double the water to flour.
Hi Buck! So sorry to hear that!
I’ve been making these pancakes for years and I’m very sure about the flour water ratio. You might find it a little softer / harder depending the flour type / brand you use. However, I would never expect such a disaster. For cold water plain dough, the flour water ratio is around 2:1. For hot water dough like this one, you would need a little more water. That is why I recommend 160 ml boiling water to 250 g flour. I’m not sure if you used standard cup to measure flour and if you are aware that measuring flour by cup is less accurate than by weight.
For next time, I wouldn’t suggest you to double the water (which will be 320ml water to 250 flour).
I’m now updating some of my recipe posts with step by step instruction videos. Hopefully I will soon make one for spring onion pancake to give my readers a better idea what the right consistency of the dough is like.
I wish you good luck in your kitchen and thank you for visiting my blog!
Hi 250g is about 1 cup of flour. Currently it says 2 cups, so it would be correct to double the water. I was kneading the dough for so soon and it would not stick. Had to throw it out and google how much 250g was.
Hi Mochi! 1 cup of flour weighs about 125g flour. Please check it out on a “Cups to Grams Converter” site.
Measuring flour by volume is very inaccurate since flour can be easily compacted into the measuring cup without you knowing.
I’ve had a lot of success measuring flour by weight.
I made these today and the consistency of the dough was perfect. Great recipe and instructions! These are a new family favourite for sure. Thank you.
You are welcome Victoria! Enjoy!
Can I use bread flour instead?
Hi Sharon! Yes, you can use bread flour too. The final texture would be a bit more chewy.
Thank you .. .
I recently moved to Germany after living in Shenzhen and Taipei for 6 years. There is not a lot of authentic Chinese food where I am currently living, and I really miss the delicious street foods of my former hometowns. So, I’m so happy to have found your blog! This morning’s breakfast was tea eggs and spring onion pancakes and it just made my heart sing! The recipes were delicious and so easy. Thank you and I look forward to trying more of your fantastic recipes!
You are more than welcome Andrea! I can relate to your joy. Good food does make your heart sing! Tea eggs + spring onion pancakes, great breakfast combination. I must cook some this weekend!
Delicious & super easy! My family gobbled them up and are demanding that this now be on regular rotation at our house. 🙂 I just discovered your wonderful page — bookmarking it now for the future. Thank you so much for all the great authentic cooking advice.
Thank you so much Jennifer! It’s my pleasure to share authentic Chinese recipes. For me, it’s a great way to connect with my root.
Hi Wei! These look great. Sometimes I also throw peas in my scallion pancakes for a child that normally doesn’t eat them. 😉
That sounds interesting Heddi! I will have a try next time. Have a lovely day!
Hi, can make this ahead ?
Yes! You can surely make these pancakes ahead. Please refer to my “Store & serve” suggestions in the recipe box above. Have a nice day!