Cong you bing
Encyclopedia
A cong you bing or green onion pancake is a savoury, non-leavened
flatbread
folded with oil
and minced scallion
s (green onions). It originates in Chinese culture. Unlike a true pancake
, it is made from dough
instead of batter
. Variations exist on the basic method of preparation that incorporate other flavors and fillings (see below).
Green onion pancakes are available in China
, Taiwan
, and other areas of the world with ethnic Chinese populations, in restaurants and as a street food
item, and is also commercially available packaged fresh or frozen
solid in plastic packages (often in Asian supermarket
s).
greens and sesame
seeds are sometimes added with the green onions. In some variants, green onions may be omitted and replaced by another filling of choice such as corn
and diced bell peppers.
Another method for cooking green onion pancakes is to fry them with eggs coated on one side. There is another snack found in Chinese culture called the egg pancake (蛋餅), which is almost identical to the green onion pancake except that the dough of the egg pancake is thinner and moister.
A similar pancake may be made with garlic chives
(jiucai) instead of scallions. Such a pancake is called a jiucai bing (韭菜饼) or jiucai you bing (韭菜油饼).
One variation involves leavening the dough and not flattening up the coil into a pancake. The coil is then fried or baked into a bread.
In North America
, the pancakes are often served with soy sauce
, hot chili sauce
, or Vietnamese dipping sauce.
A Chinese dessert, the red bean pancake (豆沙鍋餅), is a variant in which green onions and salt are replaced with a sweet red bean paste
.
is an evolution of green onion pancake, brought back to Italy by Marco Polo
. Here is one version of the legend:
However, modern research in Europe proves that neither pizza nor pasta were transmitted to Europe by Marco Polo, but existed in the Mediterranean long before the time of Marco Polo. Pizza is supposed to be a Greek or Mesopotamian invention. Furthermore, the first recorded use of the word "pizza" dates from 997 AD (in a Latin text from the town of Gaeta in southern Italy), more than 250 years before Marco Polo was born.
Leavening agent
A leavening agent is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action which lightens and softens the finished product...
flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
folded with oil
Cooking oil
Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
and minced scallion
Scallion
Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
s (green onions). It originates in Chinese culture. Unlike a true pancake
Pancake
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...
, it is made from dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
instead of batter
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
. Variations exist on the basic method of preparation that incorporate other flavors and fillings (see below).
Green onion pancakes are available in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and other areas of the world with ethnic Chinese populations, in restaurants and as a street food
Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
item, and is also commercially available packaged fresh or frozen
Frozen food
Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved their game and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning water to ice, making it...
solid in plastic packages (often in Asian supermarket
Asian supermarket
An Asian supermarket, sometimes called an "Oriental supermarket", is a grocery store in non-Asian countries that stocks items imported from the many countries in East and Southeast Asia. They carry items and ingredients generally well-suited for Asian cuisines and not found in most Western...
s).
Variations and accompaniments
Other ingredients, such as chopped fennelFennel
Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum . It is a member of the family Apiaceae . It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves...
greens and sesame
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
seeds are sometimes added with the green onions. In some variants, green onions may be omitted and replaced by another filling of choice such as corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and diced bell peppers.
Another method for cooking green onion pancakes is to fry them with eggs coated on one side. There is another snack found in Chinese culture called the egg pancake (蛋餅), which is almost identical to the green onion pancake except that the dough of the egg pancake is thinner and moister.
A similar pancake may be made with garlic chives
Garlic chives
Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a vegetable related to onion. The plant has a distinctive growth habit with strap-shaped leaves unlike either onion or garlic, and straight thin white-flowering stalks that are much taller than the leaves. The flavor is more like garlic than chives. It grows in...
(jiucai) instead of scallions. Such a pancake is called a jiucai bing (韭菜饼) or jiucai you bing (韭菜油饼).
One variation involves leavening the dough and not flattening up the coil into a pancake. The coil is then fried or baked into a bread.
In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, the pancakes are often served with soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
, hot chili sauce
Chili sauce
Chili sauce is a condiment, similar to ketchup but with onion, garlic, and spice. Despite its name, it does not contain chili peppers and thus is not hot....
, or Vietnamese dipping sauce.
A Chinese dessert, the red bean pancake (豆沙鍋餅), is a variant in which green onions and salt are replaced with a sweet red bean paste
Red bean paste
Red bean paste or Azuki bean paste is a sweet, dark red bean paste originating from China. It is used in Chinese cuisine, Japanese confectionery, and Korean cuisine. It is prepared by boiling and mashing azuki beans and then sweetening the paste with sugar or honey...
.
Chinese legend surrounding the invention of pizza
There is a legend in China that pizzaPizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
is an evolution of green onion pancake, brought back to Italy by Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
. Here is one version of the legend:
Marco Polo missed green onion pancakes so much that when he was back in Italy, he tried to find chefs willing to make the pancake for him. One day, he managed to meet a chef from NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
at a friend's dinner party and persuaded him to try recreating the dish. After half a day without success, Marco Polo suggested the filling be put at the top rather than inside the dough. The change, by chance, created a dish praised by everyone at the party. The chefs returned to Naples and improvised by adding cheese and other ingredients and formed today's pizza.
However, modern research in Europe proves that neither pizza nor pasta were transmitted to Europe by Marco Polo, but existed in the Mediterranean long before the time of Marco Polo. Pizza is supposed to be a Greek or Mesopotamian invention. Furthermore, the first recorded use of the word "pizza" dates from 997 AD (in a Latin text from the town of Gaeta in southern Italy), more than 250 years before Marco Polo was born.
Similar foods
Similar foods in Chinese culture, and in other cultures, exist:- LaobingLaobingLaobing is a type of unleavened flatbread popular in parts of northern China, especially in Beijing. It is sometimes referred to as a Chinese pancake. It is of great similarity to chapati from the Indian subcontinent....
(Chinese culture) - ParathaParathaA paratha/parantha/parauntha is an Indian flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked dough...
(Indian) - PajeonPajeonPajeon is a variety of jeon with green onions as its prominent ingredient. Pa literally means green onion in Korean. It is a pancake-like Korean dish made from a batter of eggs, flour, rice flour, green onions and other additional ingredients depending on the variety...
(Korean) - Banh xeoBánh XèoBánh xèo are Vietnamese savoury fried pancakes made of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Southern-styled banh xeo contains coconut milk and certain Central region skips the turmeric powder altogether...
(Vietnamese) variant of okonomiyakiOkonomiyakiis a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...
(Japanese)