I’ve been loving the Chinese bacon & chive combination since making the Chinese Bacon & Chive Jian Bing. It just makes sense to make it in Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancake) style. The results: next level crisp & flakey savory pancakes!
The Process
First I finely mince the Chinese bacon and toast them in a skillet on medium heat for a few minutes. This causes the bacon to crisp up and the fat to render. The bacon is then strained & transfer the bacon onto a plate to cool. Keep the rendered bacon fat in the skillet– this will be used later to cook the pancakes, instead of using oil, for that extra porky-richness.
Then prepare the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes to hydrate. If you are not using sourdough discard, combine equal parts hot water with flour to make up the weight of the sourdough discard. Using hot water and flour is actually my preferred method of making savory pancakes since the hot water interacts with the flour to create really soft and extensible doughs.
After the hough has hydrated, roll it out real thin and generously coat the top with sesame oil. Sprinkle on minced chives and the toasted Chinese bacon and tightly roll up the dough. With your hands, roll & stretch the rolled up dough out into a long rope, and then curl it up into a spiral, tucking the end under. If you want more layers, spiral both ends of the rope in opposite directions– like an “S”– then fold one spiral over the other. Flatten and roll out into a thin disk.
Re-heat up the skillet with the bacon fat on medium high heat. Once hot, add the pancake and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until it is brown and crisp. Voila! Done! Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy.
Chinese Bacon & Chive Pancake
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 40 g all purpose flour
- 120 g sourdough discard or 60g flour + 60g hot water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
Filling
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds
- scallions
Dipping sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp black vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Finely mince the Chinese bacon and toast in a skillet on medium high heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon pieces are crispy. Set aside and let cool. You can use the rendered bacon fat in the skillet to cook the pancake.
- Mix together sourdough discard, water, salt, and flour and knead until a rough dough forms. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out into a thin rectangle. Generously and evenly apply sesame oil and top with minced chives and Chinese bacon. Tightly roll up the dough and roll & stretch it out into a long rope. Spiral both ends of the rope in opposite directions– like an "S"– then fold one spiral over the other. Flatten and roll out into a thin disk.
- Re-heat up the skillet with the bacon fat on medium high heat. Once hot, add the pancake and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until brown and crisp. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into triangles. Serve with a soy dipping sauce and enjoy!
