Taiwanese Scallion Pancakes

About This Recipe

Taiwanese scallion pancakes (蔥油餅, cōng yóu bǐng) are one of the great street foods of Taipei — laminated flatbreads made by rolling dough with oil and spring onions into a spiral before pressing flat, creating dozens of flaky layers. They are fried on a griddle until crisp and golden, served either plain or wrapped around a fried egg. The flaky, slightly chewy texture and fragrant spring onion flavour are unique.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 gplain flour
• 170 mlboiling water
• 1 tspsalt
• 3 tbspvegetable oil(for laminating)
• 1 tspsesame oil
• 6spring onions(finely chopped)
• 1 tspsea salt(for filling)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil(for frying)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make dough

   Mix flour and salt. Pour in boiling water and stir quickly with chopsticks or a fork. Knead into a smooth dough once cool enough to handle. Rest covered 20 minutes.

2. 2

   Roll and layer

   Divide into 4 portions. Roll each into a thin rectangle. Brush generously with oil and sesame oil. Scatter with spring onions and a pinch of sea salt.

3. 3

   Roll up

   Roll tightly into a log. Coil the log into a spiral. Flatten gently with your palm. Rest 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Roll thin

   Roll each spiral gently into a circle about 20 cm diameter. Don't press too hard — you want to preserve the layers.

5. 5

   Fry

   Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry each pancake 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown with crispy spots. Serve immediately.

Variations

• •

  Wrap around a fried egg with hoisin sauce for the 'dan bing' street breakfast version.

• •

  Add white pepper to the spring onion filling for extra warmth.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Uncooked (shaped) pancakes can be refrigerated for 24 hours or frozen between parchment layers for 1 month. Fry from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions