Scallion Pancakes
Chinese scallion pancakes are healthy, vegan, crispy and delicious!
These pancakes are a type of savory flatbread made from dough, as opposed to western pancakes with a batter.
They are called cong you bing or 蔥油餅. You can find this delicacy as a popular street food in China and Taiwan.
They are commonly served as a breakfast, with soy milk, mantou, tea leaf eggs or soy sauce eggs.
Scallion Pancakes Recipe
This scallion pancakes recipe is from my best-selling cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes” published in 2011.
Here are the recipe ingredients:
- All-purpose flour.
- Scallion. Scallion is sometimes called green onion.
- Salt.
- Oil.
How to Make Scallion Pancakes?
There are two basic methods of making scallion pancakes.
The first method is to make the plain dough, roll it out and then add the scallion and salt on the dough.
The second method is to combine the dough, scallion and salt together before rolling it out into pancakes.
My Chinese chef friend told me that both methods are authentic but the second method is a “shortcut” and great for beginners.
I like the second method as it’s easy and fail-proof.
Mixing the scallion with the dough infuses the dough with earthy aroma and fragrance of the green onion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Vegan?
Yes, all the ingredients are vegan. This recipe is 100% vegan.
Can I Freeze Scallion Pancakes?
I don’t recommend freezing the dough but you can freeze the pancakes after you make them.
Place them in a plastic bag and keep in the freezer. To serve, just reheat the pancakes in a microwave or toaster oven.
How to Make the Dipping Sauce?
Traditionally, there is no dipping sauce to go with the pancakes.
They are savory and tasty without any sauce.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
This dish is best served as a breakfast or an appetizer. For a wholesome Chinese meal, I recommend the following recipes.
How Many Calories per Serving?
Each piece of scallion pancake is only 192 calories.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Scallion Pancakes
Healthy and the best scallion pancakes made of flour, green onion scallions and salt. This easy Chinese scallion pancake recipe is authentic and fail-proof!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, optional
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
- 3 - 4 stalks scallion or green onion, green parts only, trimmed and cut into small rounds, to yield about a tightly packed 1/3 cup or more
- 2 tablespoons oil, for brushing
- Extra all-purpose flour, for dusting and rolling
- Oil, for frying
Instructions
- Sift the all-purpose flour into a big bowl and then add the salt and chicken bouillon powder (if using) into the flour. Combine well and set aside.
- Heat the water to a boil. Slowly add the water to the flour and knead the dough until it becomes soft, no longer sticky and the surface becomes smooth and shiny, about 15 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of water to the dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Add the scallions into the dough and combine well.
Step-by-Step on How to Make Scallion Pancakes:
- On a flat and floured surface, divide the dough into 8 small dough balls, as pictured.
- Working with one dough ball at a time, roll it to a thin disc using a rolling pin. Dust the rolling pin with some all-purpose flour as you go. Brush the surface of the pancake with the oil.
- Roll the dough into a cylinder.
- Coil it up like a snail.
- Dust the rolling pin with the flour and roll the snail-shape dough until flat, measuring about 6 inches (15cm) in diameter. Set the dough aside on a baking sheet. Repeat the steps above for the rest of the dough balls.
Step-by-Step on How to Fry Scallion Pancakes:
- Add about 1/4 inch (6 mm) of oil into a stir-fry pan or skillet over moderately high heat. Transfer a piece of the pancake onto the pan or skillet.
- Shallow fry each side of the pancake to a light golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip the pancake over and shallow fry the other side.
- Add more oil, repeat the same for the remaining pancakes and serve immediately. They are best eaten with warm and homemade soy milk.
Notes
If you don't use the chicken bouillon powder, then use a total 1 1/2 teaspoons salt for the dough instead of 1 teaspoon salt as stated in the recipe.
To jazz up the aroma of the pancake, you may add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the oil and brush onto the surface before rolling up into a cylinder.
You can also pan-fry the pancakes. Just grease your pan with a bit of oil and pan-fry both sides until they turn lightly brown with dark brown spots.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 192Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 0mgSodium 297mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 4g
Wai Yen
Hello,
May I please ask if the dough can be prepared the night before and kept refrigerated, then roll out and pan fry the next day?
Much thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, I think you can but you have to thaw to room temperature.
Heather M. Whipple
Can I add shrimp to this recipe as well?
Can I leave out the chicken bullion ?
Please let me know. By e-mailing me at
midnight0675@frontier.com
Rasa Malaysia
No shrimp and you can leave out chicken bullion.
Jolyn
Hi Bee,
This turned out great!
May I also check how shall we go about heating it up from leftovers in the fridge? The microwave does not seem to work so well for this.
Thank you!
Rasa Malaysia
You can quickly pan-fry again to reheat.
Linda
Do you know if I can use a mixture of bread flour and cake flour in place of the APF? Or should I use all bread or all cake flour? It’s hard for me to find APF. Thanks in advance for any tips.
Rasa Malaysia
I am not sure, I haven’t tried. You can use bread flour for this recipe.
susan
dough too dry and clumpy even after adding in the additional water…can’t get to be smooth and not break apart…frustrating.
Rasa Malaysia
Susan, I don’t know what went wrong, this recipe has been tested many times and by many people. Did you measure correctly?
Rebecca
I think it should be delicious…
Violet
I am making the pancake now. I am thinking of making an additional dough and refrigerate it then roll it out 2 days later. Will the pancake turn out well?
yen
tried this recipe today and it turn out well! It goes well with curry too :D thank you for the recipe !
Sharon Edelson-Eubanks
Why not omit the the chicken bouillon and use chicken broth (eg, Trader Joe’s Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth [available in shelf-stable recyclable boxes]) instead of the water? Alternatively, a high quality vegetable broth (Trader Joe’s also sells one sold in the shelf-stable boxes) if a vegetarian version is preferred.
Rasa Malaysia
You can use chicken broth but chicken bouillion tastes more concentrated.
uzo
After resting my dough, it became sticky to handle and even worse when i added the chopped scallion. Anyone experienced that? What could have gone wrong. I used a lot of flour on the work surface in order to be able to roll it out, it tasted great though.
Rasa Malaysia
That’s strange. Just add a little bit more flour.