“Cong You Bing” or Taiwanese Scallion Pancakes consist of scallions, oil, and flatbread dough. The dish is a savory treat that can be paired with any Chinese or Taiwanese main entrees. Scallion pancakes are comparable to pita breads, but the consistency of scallion pancakes is much crispier and has a perfect combination of salty and greasy goodness. There are some variations of Cong You Bing where chopped fennel greens and sesame seeds are included along with the scallions in the dough before the pancake is fried. An additional method of cooking the scallion pancake is combining beaten eggs on one side of the pancake before frying in a pan. The succulent flavors of the egg and scallion pancake make for a delicious snack during any time of the day.
There is a legend behind the scallion pancake in which Marco Polo borrowed the dough he found in China and that pizza evolved from the scallion pancake in this way. Italians altered the method of making pizza indefinitely, but there are many different stories of possible legends of how pizza originated. Some believe that Marco Polo missed Cong You Bing so much that he made chefs in Italy to make their own variation to the scallion pancake.
Cong You Bing’s origin dates back so long ago that many Chinese historians cannot fully agree on where it was created. Many believe Cong You Bing originated in Shanghai, where many Indians had once lived. This makes sense due to the scallion pancake’s similarity to Indian naan bread.
There is one specific variation of the Taiwanese Scallion Pancake that is from Korea, seafood pancake or Haemul Pajeon. It is made from batter, scallions, shrimp, and a little dipping sauce that goes along with the dish. This is a very popular food in Korean culture and can be found ready-to-eat at Korean grocery stores such as H-Mart. Many times seafood pancakes are eaten with Kim Chi and Miso Soup for added flavor. Based off of my own personal opinion (I have tried both pancakes before), I believe that Scallion Pancakes have a better taste and is more suitable for the likings of all people. Not every person that I know enjoys seafood and the battered egg combination is much different from other dishes in various cultures.
6 EASY STEPS FOR MAKING SCALLION PANCAKES
#1) Create a thick dough by mixing water and flour
#2) Mix the dough manually or with a mixer until you reach an even consistency
#3) Add minced scallions
#4) Mix again thoroughly
#5) Roll out the pancakes with a rolling pin and fry
#6) Serve and enjoy with soy sauce.
I would love to try scallion pancakes, sounds delicious. I think it’s interesting how pizza may have derived from the invention of this what seems to be a tasty dish.
It seems to me that it will be enjoyable. I can probably make this at my house so I would love to try it out. I never really heard of theses before, but i love to try new things. If they are pancakes, I’m guessing you can eat it with milk, which is the only way I would. Pancakes to pizza, that seems interesting, who knew how that it might have originated from a Taiwan dish.
This sounds like an interesting dish. I think it’s really cool how many countries have their own versions of pancakes; American pancakes, the French have Crepes, and I like to believe there is something called Salvadorian Pancakes (which are very similar to American pancakes, just much thinner, but not as thin as Crepes. It was nice hearing about these!
This seems like an interesting dish that hopefully I’ll try sometime in the future. It’s also really cool how pizza perhaps originated from this dish a long time ago!