Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)

Method

1. Make the dough. Place flour and salt in a bowl. Pour in the boiling water and stir with chopsticks or a fork until shaggy. Add the cold water and mix until a rough dough forms. Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp towel and rest for 30 minutes.

2. Divide into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a thin rectangle, about 8x12 inches. Brush generously with sesame oil and scatter chopped scallions evenly over the surface. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

3. Roll into a tight log starting from the long edge, like a jelly roll. Then coil the log into a spiral, like a cinnamon roll, tucking the end underneath. Flatten gently with your palm. This coiling creates the layers — each spiral is a layer of dough separated by oil and scallions.

4. Roll each coil into a flat round, about 7–8 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Roll gently — aggressive rolling presses the layers together and you lose the flakiness. Some scallion bits will poke through — that's fine.

5. Fry in a skillet with 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Cook for 3–4 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. Press flat with a spatula during cooking for even browning. The pancake should puff slightly as the layers separate.

6. Drain on a wire rack and cut into wedges. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce. The pancake should be crispy on the outside with visible flaky layers, and the scallions should be fragrant and slightly charred.

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl Recommended: Vollrath 13-Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
• Rolling pin Recommended: J.K. Adams Maple Rolling Pin
• Cast iron skillet or nonstick pan Recommended: Lodge 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet
• Spatula Recommended: GIR Ultimate Silicone Spatula

Chef Notes

• The most important thing: Use boiling water for most of the dough. Hot water partially cooks the flour's starch, creating a softer, more pliable dough that produces flaky layers. Cold water alone makes a tough, chewy pancake.
• The flaky layers come from rolling, oiling, and coiling the dough — similar to making a rough puff pastry. Each coil creates a spiral of oil-separated dough layers that puff apart when fried.
• Let the dough rest for 30 minutes after kneading. The gluten needs to relax or the dough springs back when you try to roll it thin.
• Fry in a generous amount of oil — about 3 tablespoons per pancake. The oil crisps the outer layers while the steam from the dough puffs the interior layers apart.
• Press the pancake flat with a spatula while frying — this ensures even contact with the hot pan and uniform crispiness.

Common Substitutions

Ingredient	Substitution	Notes
Scallions	Chives or ramps	Chives are milder; ramps are seasonal and more pungent
Sesame oil	Vegetable oil + 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds	Loses the sesame aroma but adds crunch
Boiling water	All cold water	Tougher, chewier dough — less flaky. The hot water method is worth it
Dipping sauce	Straight soy sauce + chili oil	Simpler but still good
Cast iron skillet	Nonstick pan	Nonstick uses less oil but doesn't get as hot

What You're Practicing

Scallion pancakes teach you lamination by hand — the technique of creating flaky layers through rolling, oiling, and folding. This is the same principle behind croissants, puff pastry, and paratha. Each coil creates a spiral of oil-separated dough that puffs apart during cooking. Visit Pastry Foundations for more on lamination.

You're also learning hot-water dough — a technique where boiling water partially gelatinizes the starch in flour, creating a softer, more pliable dough. This same technique is used for Chinese dumplings, potsticker wrappers, and Mandarin pancakes. Explore more at Techniques.