Chinese scallion pancakes or cong you bing (葱油饼) are a classic dim sum item, a popular congee duo (like with our pork and century egg congee!), and a common but well-loved Chinese street food. These savory pancakes are flakey and crispy on the outside, tender with just enough chew on the inside, and full of scallion flavors.
Scallion pancakes are so addictively yummy, fragrant, crispy, and flakey! They require very few ingredients, literally just flour, water, salt, oil, and scallion! And they are pretty easy to make overall. Plus, you can make multiple batches and freeze them so you can have them ready for breakfast, snack, or sides for any meal, any time of the day!
If you enjoy savory pancakes, also try our okonomiyaki (Japanese savory cabbage pancakes).
They are delish! For more street food inspirations, check out our Korean corn dog, Taiwanese fried chicken, Japanese hot dog (Japadog), and Korean twisted donuts (kkwabaegi)!
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How to eat scallion pancakes
Chinese scallion pancakes are classic breakfast food, snack, and street food. You can eat it on its own, whole or cut into wedges, with or without sauces, or as a side or part of a meal! Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy these savory pancakes:
- With congee - Scallion pancakes are classic pairings for congee from plain ones to our favorite - the pork and century egg congee.
- With dipping sauce - We recommend Chinese black vinegar or any vinegary sauce or something simple like soy sauce with chili oil.
- As a wrap - You'd often find scallion pancake street food stalls in Taiwan making breakfast wraps with thin scallion pancakes. They'd stuff the pancake with eggs, veggies, ham, corn. They are so good!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- All-purpose flour - Scallion pancakes require a flour that has develops gluten but not too much. So all-purpose flour is perfect for it. We do not recommend cake flour, bread flour, or self rising flour for this recipe.
- Salt - For seasoning the dough and the oil paste. Any salt will work, however, we do recommend using fine salt regular granulated salt over coarse salt because it dissolves better.
- Hot boiling water - Water must be above 195°F (90°C). This cooks and gelatinize the flour, which gives the dough a much softer, tender texture, similar to the concept of using tangzhong in our Japanese milk bread recipe.
- Room temperature water - Some regular temperature water is needed so that the remaining flour can develop gluten and form a dough.
- Oil - Any neutral oil will do. The oil will be used in the dough, for making the oil paste for the filling, and for cooking.
- Scallion - Can't have scallion pancakes without scallions!
How to make Chinese scallion pancakes
Make the dough:
1. In a heatproof bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Using a spatula or chopsticks, mix the flour while drizzling in the hot water. Then, add the room temperature water and mix.
2. Finish the dough by add the oil and kneading until a dough comes together. Cover and set aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
📝 Note: This dough is on the stickier side, especially during the initial kneading, but don't add additional flour unless your climate is very humid!
3. After resting, briefly knead the dough until it's mostly smooth. Roll the dough into a log and divide into 4 equal pieces for regular size pancakes.
3. Prepare a plate or bowl with about a tablespoon of oil. Shape each piece of dough into 1 inch thick logs and arrange the logs onto the plate. Coat the entire logs well with oil, cover, and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.
Prepare the oil paste:
While waiting on the dough to rest, mix together the flour, salt, and oil in a bowl until well combined. Set aside until needed.
Shape the scallion pancakes:
1. Lightly grease your work surface, rolling pin, and hands.
2. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough log long ways, to about 4 inches wide and 24 inches long.
3. Once the dough is rolled out, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the prepared oil paste onto the dough. Evenly spread a thin layer of the paste over the entire dough with your fingers or a pastry brush.
4. Sprinkle a quarter of the sliced green onions evenly across the dough and tightly roll it up into a log, long ways.
5. Coil the log from one end to the other like a snail and tuck the end of the log under the coil.
6. Use your palm to slightly flatten the pancake and set aside to rest as you repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
7. Once all of the pancakes have been assembled, return to the first pancake. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pancake into a thin disk, about ¼ inch thick. Repeat with remaining pancakes in order. Avoid stacking if possible.
🌟 Pro tip: If the scallion pancake seems to be shrinking back when you try to roll it out, cover and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes to help the dough relax. You should be able to flatten the scallion pancake with very little resistance.
Pan frying the pancakes:
1. Heat a cast iron pan or a nonstick pan over medium heat with about a tablespoon of oil, or enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. If using cast iron, use a little more oil.
2. When the oil is hot, carefully place a scallion pancake into the pan. Pan fry the pancakes for about 3 minutes on each side, until both sides are golden brown and crispy. Remove the scallion pancake and let it drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining pancakes and use more oil as necessary.
🌟 Pro tip: Scallion pancake is meant to be pan fried generously with oil. If not enough oil is used, it will not be as fragrant or as crispy. We recommend using about a tablespoon of oil for every new pancake. Sometimes you might need more when you flip the pancakes.
3. The scallion pancakes can be eaten whole or cut into wedges for easier handling. Enjoy with congee, as a snack with some Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, and/or chili oil!
Recipe tips
- If at any time the dough is giving too much resistance, cover and rest the dough for 10 to 15 minutes to help the dough relax.
- Avoid stacking the scallion pancakes on top of each other after the final rolling. At this point, they are pretty thin and tends to stick together if they are stacked together for too long.
- If possible, roll each scallion pancake to the final size right before pan frying so that it doesn't shrink back from multiple handling and lifting.
- Thinner pancakes take less time to cook and while thicker pancakes will need longer time to cook and requires you to cover the pan with a lid so that it self steams so the inside can get thoroughly cooked.
How to store
Scallion pancakes freeze really well, both cooked and raw! After rolling out the dough to its final size, transfer the scallion pancakes onto parchment paper and you can stack them on top of each other (with a sheet of parchment in between of course). Store them in air tight containers or freezer bags (make sure to squeeze out as much air as possible) and freeze for up to 3 months.
🌟 Pro tip: When possible, freezing the scallion pancake on a sheet pan or individually first before packing into a storage container is always best. This ensures the pancake keeps its shape, doesn't get smushed, and they will separate easier.
If you have leftover cooked scallion pancakes, let them cool completely, then refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month. We recommend keeping them whole if possible.
Reheating
Do note that reheated scallion pancakes will be crispy again, but it will be a little chewier than freshly made ones.
To reheat refrigerated cooked scallion pancakes, you can either microwave, pan fry, or air fry them. If reheating using the microwave, reheat on microwave safe plate, uncovered until heated through. For pan frying, add a small amount of oil into a pan over medium heat. Pan fry the scallion pancakes for a couple of minutes on each side until heated through. To air fry, reheat the scallion pancakes for about 5 minutes at 350°F. For frozen, cooked scallion pancakes, thaw first, then follow above steps.
To cook frozen, raw scallion pancakes, thaw the pancakes at room temperature until completely defrosted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment, then follow recipe instructions for pan frying.
FAQ
For this recipe, yes. Also, using boiling hot water helps to keep the dough tender.
Absolutely! Scallion pancakes freezes really well, both raw and frozen. Please refer to the "how to store" topic above for more details.
We do not recommend using bread flour for making scallion pancake, as it will develop too much gluten, which will make out scallion pancakes more chewy than desired.
Honestly, that is up to personal preference. We personally prefer thin scallion pancakes because they are crispy and flakey on the outside and tender with just enough chew on the inside. Thicker scallion pancakes, are still flakey and crispy on the outside, but tends to be a bit doughier and chewier on the inside. Also, thicker pancakes require longer cooking time, so you'll have to cover the pancakes with a lid, while cooking, to ensure that they are thoroughly cooked.
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📖 Recipe
Scallion Pancakes (葱油饼)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (fluffed, spooned, and leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup boiling hot water
- ¼ cup water room temperature
- 1 tablespoon oil any neutral oil (plus more for coating)
For the filling:
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (fluffed, spooned, leveled)
- ¼ cup oil any neutral oil (plus more for cooking)
- ½ teaspoon salt preferably fine salt
- 1 cup green onion thinly sliced (about 1 to 2 bunches)
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a heatproof bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Using a spatula or chopsticks, mix the flour while drizzling in the hot water. Then, add the room temperature water and mix. Finish the dough by adding the oil and kneading until a dough comes together. Cover and set aside to rest for about 10 minutes.*This dough is on the stickier side, especial during the initial kneading, but don't add additional flour unless your climate is very humid!*
- After resting, briefly knead the dough until it's mostly smooth. Roll the dough into a log and divide into 4 equal pieces for regular size pancakes.
- Prepare a plate or bowl with about a tablespoon of oil. Shape each piece of dough into 1 inch thick logs and arrange the logs onto the plate. Coat the entire logs well with oil, cover, and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.
Prepare the oil paste:
- While waiting for the dough, mix together the flour, salt, and oil in a bowl until well combined. Set aside until needed and make sure to stir it up before each use.
Shape the scallion pancakes:
- Lightly grease your work surface, rolling pin, and hands.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough log long ways, to about 4 inches wide and 24 inches long.
- Once the dough is rolled out, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the prepared oil paste onto the dough. Evenly spread a thin layer of the paste over the entire dough with your fingers or a pastry brush.
- Sprinkle a quarter of the sliced green onions evenly across the dough and tightly roll it up into a log, long ways. Coil the log from one end to the other like a snail and tuck the end of the log under the coil. Use your palm to slightly flatten the pancake and set aside to rest as you repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Once all of the pancakes have been assembled, return to the first pancake. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pancake into a thin disk, about ¼ inch thick. Repeat with remaining pancakes in order. Avoid stacking if possible.
Pan frying the pancakes:
- Heat a cast iron pan or a nonstick pan over medium heat with about a tablespoon of oil, or enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. If using cast iron, use a little more oil.
- When the oil is hot, carefully place a scallion pancake into the pan. Pan fry the pancakes for about 3 minutes on each side, until both sides are golden brown and crispy. Remove the scallion pancake and let it drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining pancakes and use more oil as necessary.
- The scallion pancakes can be eaten whole or cut into wedges for easier handling. Enjoy with congee, as a snack with some Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, and/or chili oil!
Notes
- This recipe makes 4 regular size scallion pancakes, but you can also divide the dough into 6 to make smaller, medium size pancakes. Just adjust the amount of scallions and oil paste accordingly.
- Also, if making 6 smaller pancakes, still roll the dough out to about 4 inches wide, but about 16 inches long instead.
- Leftover oil paste can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month. Make sure it's stored in an airtight container.
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