Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to breakfast dim sum food classics with one of the more unique and interesting takes that I have come across to a Taiwanese "cong you bing" green onion pancake. For those unfamiliar, a cong you bing (or often colloquially, green onion or scallion pancake) is a small bite dish of Taiwanese origin that features a wildly simple dough of flour, water, and salt. The dough is then rolled, coiled, and rolled again to create its iconically flakey and delicate texture, which is perplexingly created without the use of butter, egg, baking soda, or any form of leavening agent whatsoever.

Some may recall that this is certainly not our first attempt at a green onion pancake. A few months back, we did a version of a Shanghainese scallion flatbread leavened with baking powder, which, though similar in preparation, has a wildly different end result, as you might guess, because of its use of leavening agents. For our version today however, we're gonna first take a look at how to make a classic Taiwanese flaky cong you bing using literally nothing but flour, water, and salt. Then I also thought it would be fun to take a look at these "Taiwan Tacos" (made popular here in the bay by the pop up "El Chino Grande"), which essentially involves taking the green onion pancake, then rolling it up into a taco with a bit of rousong pork floss, egg, and Siracha aioli. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups AP flour

  • 1 cup warm water

  • 4 green onions

  • hoisin sauce

  • rousong pork floss

  • kosher salt

  • sesame oil

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (eggs)

  • 4 eggs

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

INGREDIENTS (Siracha aioli)

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise 

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 1/2 tsp thyme

  • 2 tbsp Siracha

  • 1/2 tsp dashi powder

PREP

  • SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice thinly, set aside

  • WHISK the eggs together with all egg ingredients, set aside

  • COMBINE all Siracha aioli ingredients and whisk to combine, set aside

  • COMBINE the AP flour, water, whites of the green onions and a pinch of kosher salt in a large mixing bowl, then kneed until a cohesive dough ball forms

  • DIVIDE the dough into 5oz each, then form into a rough coin shape with your hands

  • ROLL the dough out into about 8-10 inches in diameter with a quarter turn after each roll

  • ADD a tbsp of sesame oil plus a pinch of the green onions on top of the dough, then roll into a coil first horizontally, then again vertically to form a coiled ball

  • FLATTEN the dough into a coin shape again, then roll out until 8-10 inches in diameter with a quarter turn after each roll

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a flat bottomed skillet over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the pancake to the pan and fry for 2 minutes per side until lightly golden brown

  • REMOVE the pancake, reheheat, add an additional 2 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD about a 1/4 cup of egg to the pan, then rotate to let set into a thin layer of egg

  • ADD the pancake back to the pan on top of the egg, then dislodge and flip the egg/pancake over

  • ADD hoisin sauce, Siracha aioli, rousong and the greens of the green onions on top of the pancake, then roll the pancake up

  • REMOVE from heat and slice in half to serve

 

tagged with taiwan taco, cong you bing, green onion pancake, scallion pancake, taiwanese pancake, taiwanese cooking, taiwanese food, dim sum, woo can cook