Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)
Northern China's favourite street snack: thin dough rolled with scallions and oil, coiled and pan-fried until crisp outside and flaky, chewy and layered inside.
Method
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the boiling water a little at a time, stirring with chopsticks into shaggy flakes, then add the cold water and knead by hand for into a smooth dough about as soft as an earlobe. The hot water partly cooks the flour, which makes the dough tender and easy to roll. If it is too hot to touch, wait a minute first.
Add in this stepAll-purpose flour 160 gSalt ¼ tspBoiling water 70 mlCold water 40 ml
Cover the dough and let it rest for . Meanwhile make the oil paste: put the flour and white pepper in a heatproof bowl, heat the oil in a 14 cm small pan over medium heat for about 1 minute until it shimmers, pour it over and stir into a runny paste. Thinly slice the scallions and pat them completely dry.
Add in this stepNeutral oil (for the oil paste) 2 tbspAll-purpose flour (for the oil paste) 2 tspGround white pepper 1 pinch
medium heatDivide the dough into 2 piece(s). On a lightly floured board, roll each into a thin rectangle about 25×20 cm and 2 mm thick. Spread with the oil paste, then scatter over the rest of the salt and the scallions, leaving a 1 cm border so the filling doesn't squeeze out.
Add in this stepSalt ½ tspScallions (green onions) 6
Roll the sheet up tightly from a long side like a carpet to make a rope, then coil the rope into a snail and tuck the end underneath. Cover and rest for so the gluten relaxes. Press flat with your palm, then gently roll it out to an 18–20 cm round about 5 mm thick. A few scallions poking through is fine.
In a 24 cm frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil per pancake over medium heat. When a chopstick dipped in the oil gives off small bubbles (about 160 °C), lay the pancake in, laying it away from you to avoid splashes. Fry about 3 minutes until golden underneath, flip, lower to medium-low heat and fry 3 minutes more. Work in 2 batch(es), in total. Keep wet hands away from the hot oil.
Add in this stepNeutral oil (for frying) 2 tbsp
medium heat→medium-low heatWhen both sides are crisp and golden, use two spatulas to push the edges sharply toward the centre a few times; this breaks the layers open and makes them flaky. Cut into 4 to 6 wedges and serve hot.
Cook's tip
If the dough sticks while rolling, use a little more flour; if it keeps springing back, let it rest 10 more minutes. Wet scallions ruin the layers, so dry them well. Reheat leftovers in a dry pan to bring back the crunch.
Cooking it at camp
Make the dough, oil paste and sliced scallions at home and pack them in the cooler; at camp you only shape and fry. Camp burners have a hot spot, so turn the pan often, and a clean bottle works as a rolling pin.