Cong You Bing

Also known as scallion pancakes, these Chinese delights are exactly what the name sounds like: savory, slightly crunchy, a little bit chewy, and altogether ridiculously delicious.

Unlike some pancake styles, cong you bing is unleavened. This dough is folded over into many different layers — similar to puff pastry in that sense — with each fold getting a layer of oil and green onions. They’re then pan-fried and are crispy on the outside with a chewy inside and pockets of green onion flavor.

Unlike puff pastry though, which famously (and critically) uses cold butter instead of oil, the frying doesn’t significantly puff up cong you bing, since the state change where cold butter melts and results in rising steam doesn’t exist with the oil.

Traditionally, you can find cong you bing in food stalls, or as a side dish or appetizer in restaurants. It’s also popular in many grocery stores — both in Asia and here in North America — as premade, frozen scallion pancakes. Versions of cong you bin can be found elsewhere in Asia too, notably Cambodia and Taiwan.

Of course, these savory pancakes are simple to make at home, too. If you fancy homemade cong you bing, you can find all these ingredients at Uwajimaya!