THE Chinese spring onion pancakes, cong you bing, are a very popular street food in China. These easy to make pancakes they have a similar shape to pancakes but the dough is closer to that of wraps. As good as aperitif but also to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Ingrediants
- 125 g of flour
- 70 g of water at 80 degrees
- 40 g julienned spring onion
- 30 g of soft butter
- seed oil
- salt
This recipe of the Chinese spring onion pancakes, i cong you bing, comes from the Mu Dim Sum restaurant, a Milanese place of contemporary Cantonese Chinese cuisine. Chef Chang Liu put them on the Chinese New Year menu, associating them with a special wish for the new year: wealth and prestige. On special festive occasions they can be served in the typical red envelopes, such as those with which money is given to children and relatives.
Good like aperitif, I’m a Street food very popular and widespread in China, easy to do and above all very tasty. These are pancakes with a shape similar to the traditional American pancakes but closer in the dough to our wraps. They can be more or less large in size.
The recipe calls for a simple dough of flour and boiling water, without yeast. Stuffed with butter and green onions, cooked in a pan with oil, they give a thin and crunchy mixture. THE green onions or shallots they are a widely used ingredient in Chinese cuisine: minced or shredded, they are consumed in soups, meat and fish dishes.
Alone a couple of precautions: water must be boiling and the butter as an ointment, so that it can be spread easily. Finally, serve them warm or hot. When cold they lose their taste and crunchiness.
In China, the new year, which falls between January and February, is marked by an animal (the Buffalo in 2021). The celebrations last two weeks, ending with the lantern festival. On the party table there is no shortage of spring rolls, ravioli, steamed buns, spaghetti and fish and of course the red color, a symbol of luck.
OTHER TASTY RECIPES: Steamed shrimp ravioli, Rice noodles with vegetables, Golden rice
FIND OUT ALSO: Six tricks from contemporary Chinese cuisine to amaze with special recipes
How to make: Chinese spring onion pancakes
- Execution
- easy
- Preparation time
- 30 min
- Cooking time
-
5 min – 10 min
- Rising time
-
30 min
- Portions
-
4
How to make: Chinese spring onion pancakes
To prepare Chinese pancakes with spring onion, start by mixing flour, salt and water on a wooden surface until you have a smooth dough. Help yourself initially with a fork so as not to burn yourself with water that must be boiling. Continue kneading with your hands. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes in the fridge, wrapped in cling film. After this time, roll it out with a rolling pin until you get a very thin sheet.
Brush the entire surface of the pastry with the ointment butter and distribute the onion cut into julienne strips evenly.
Roll the pastry on itself until it forms a tight cylinder. Cut the pastry cylinder into equal parts about two centimeters wide. Close the sides of each portion obtained, taking care to “pinch” the edges of the dough with your hands so as not to let the spring onion come out.
With the help of a tarot and two rectangles of parchment paper, flatten each portion of dough from one of the parts previously sealed (see point 3), flattening it so as to obtain round discs. Proceed with cooking, which must take place in a well oiled pan, browning both sides of the pancakes.
On the occasion of the Chinese New Year, pancakes can be wrapped in red paper, a symbol of good luck, and stuffed into the typical envelope.
Serve the Chinese pancakes hot or warm.
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