Easy Chinese scallion pancakes for Lunch Boxes

These Chinese scallion pancakes (aka Cong You Bing) are a perfect lunchbox recipe, after school snack, picnic food or side to a main meal.

If you're unsure about the spiciness of spring onions, feel free to use extra sliced snow peas - and if you don't want to make the dipping sauce, sprinkle the cooked pancakes with flaked salt after frying.

(Makes 4)

For the pancakes

• 2 cups (240g) plain flour
• 1 tsp salt flakes
• 3/4 cup (180ml) boiling water
• 30g salted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 30g snow peas, finely sliced

To make the pancakes:

1. Pop the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. With the engine running, drizzle in about 3/4 of the freshly boiled water. Keep the engine running for 10–15 seconds, allowing the dough to come together to form a ball. If it doesn’t fully come together, drizzle in a little more water and process again until it does.
2. Tip the dough onto a floured bench and knead for a minute until smooth. Form into a ball and place in a bowl covered with a damp tea towel. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
3. Melt together the butter and olive oil, and set aside.
4. Wash the spring onions and remove any wilted outer leaves. Chop off the roots and the top 1/3 of the green tips. Finely slice the spring onions and snow peas and mix them together in a small bowl.
5. Divide the dough into four even pieces and roll each piece out on your floured bench until it’s around 3–5mm thick. Brush each piece of dough lightly with a little of the melted butter and olive oil. Scatter over a teaspoon of the chopped spring onions and snow peas.
6. Roll up each piece of dough into a scroll shape and then turn it on its end and squash it down with the palm of your hand. Roll the dough out again, until it is about 5mm thick. Brush with some of the melted butter and olive oil, and scatter over another teaspoon of the spring onions and snow peas.
7. Roll up each dough piece into a scroll again and squish into a circular pancake shape using the palm of your hand, and then give it a little roll with the rolling pin until it is around 5–8mm thick. Brush the outside of the pancake with the melted butter and olive oil and fry in a hot pan over medium heat for around 2 minutes on each side or until brown and crispy on the outside.
8. Serve with dipping sauce.

For the soy dipping sauce

• 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil

Stir all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, or add all ingredients to a jar and shake to combine.

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Recipe by Amber Rossouw for Lunch Lady Magazine Issue 16. Photography by Jacinta Moore.