Cong Yubin is a traditional Chinese dish. Essentially these are thin flaky flatbreads stuffed with green onions. A simple, but very soulful and tasty dish.

When I first came across the recipe for these flatbreads, I was skeptical. They are literally prepared from water and flour, and seasonings are just a drop of oil and a pinch of onion and spices. The composition is so modest that I was even surprised - the dish has a lot of rave reviews and a whole army of fans!

I couldn’t pass up this recipe, and after tasting the flatbreads, I fell in love with them! Lenten, simple in composition and preparation, tsun yubin flatbreads are aromatic and very tasty. The texture of the flatbreads resembles puff pastry - tender on the inside, with many layers and a delicious crispy crust on the outside. The perfect combination of tenderness and character!

Now I’m just sure that the recipe for Chinese flatbreads “tsun yubin” should be in the arsenal of every housewife! Simple, easy to prepare, they will be an excellent brunch or light snack during the day, adding variety to the Lenten menu. Try it!

Prepare your ingredients.

Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Dissolve salt in hot water and pour into flour. Add an extra 20ml water if you prefer the scones to be softer.

Mix flour with water. Wait a few minutes for the dough to cool to a comfortable temperature for your hands.

Knead into a smooth dough. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, then cover with a cloth and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes. When the dough has settled, knead it for another 2-3 minutes.

Pinch off a piece of dough the size of a ping pong ball and roll out on a floured surface.

Brush the surface of the dough with vegetable oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Add a few pinches of green onions and seasoning "".

If Five Spice seasoning is not available, you can use another aromatic spice blend to taste. I once even added Korean seasoning for carrots; the taste, of course, wasn’t authentic, but it was still delicious.

Roll the dough into a roll. The larger the diameter of the circle you get and the thinner the dough is rolled out, the more thin layers you will get in the finished flatbread.

Roll the roll into a “snail”.

Press the resulting “snail” and roll it out thinly.

Fry the flatbread in a preheated frying pan on both sides until golden brown.

Cut the fried flatbreads into small pieces - triangles.

Sprinkle the pieces with chopped green onions and add a pinch of sesame seeds or a few drops of sesame oil if desired.

Chinese green onion cakes “tsun yubin” are ready! Serve the flatbreads hot with sauce to taste.

Chinese flatbreads with green onions (tsun yubin) are considered an incredibly popular dish in the Middle Kingdom. They are prepared everywhere: in restaurants, on the street, at home.

You will never find bread in food service outlets in China. Restaurants usually offer fried pampushki made from unleavened dough or Chinese flatbreads with green onions. They are very aromatic and slightly salty in taste. In addition to green onions, other ingredients can be added: boiled egg, sesame seeds, fresh dill.

Cooking features

Flatbreads are made from wheat flour. The dough is most often choux, yeast-free, but you can also use cold water. It is believed that the more layers there are in Chinese green onion flatbread, the tastier it is.

The preparation method is as follows: roll out a very thin layer of dough, grease it with a small layer. If desired, you can use sunflower oil.

List of required products

• 320 g wheat flour;
• salt;
• 160 ml boiling water;
• 3 - 4 green onions;
• a tablespoon of rendered lard;
• ground black pepper.

Description of the recipe for Chinese spring onion cake

In a large bowl, mix flour and a pinch of salt. First sift the flour. Pour in boiling water gradually (you can use a mixture of cold and hot water). The Chinese use wooden sticks for mixing, but you can also use a regular fork, spoon, etc.

When the dough has cooled slightly, transfer it to a cutting surface and knead it with your hands. Then wrap the lump of dough in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. The end result is the perfect dough for Chinese scallion and egg flatbread. It will not stick to your hands or rolling pin, it will become pliable and tender. If it is still a little sticky, add a little flour, but only a little, otherwise the cakes will burn.

While the dough is resting, start preparing the filling. Place finely chopped green onions in a container, add ground pepper and melted fat. Mix thoroughly.

Roll out the dough into a large but very thin pancake. Cover it generously with green filling and roll it into a sausage. We turn the sausage (roll) into a “snail”, which we then roll out and turn into a Chinese flatbread with green onions. The thinner the cake, the faster it will cook and the tastier the crust will be.

Fry the flatbreads in a wok or regular frying pan with high sides and plenty of vegetable oil. Some people prefer to bring the dish to a crispy golden brown crust, but according to the traditional Chinese recipe, the flatbread should be soft and only slightly crunchy. Place the finished ones on paper towels to remove excess fat. Serve hot, cut into small pieces.

If you don't have a large frying pan, you can make small ones with green onions. They will be similar to the pancakes we are used to. In this case, after the flatbread sprinkled with herbs is rolled into a roll, there is no need to form a “snail”, but simply cut into pieces. Roll each of them into a thin pancake and fry. Such cakes then do not have to be divided into portions.

Filling options for Chinese flatbreads

These flatbreads are traditionally prepared with green onions. But other ingredients can also be used. Believe me, the taste of the dish only benefits from this.

• green onions;
• egg and onion;
• chopped meat;
• Chinese cabbage, ginger root, garlic, sesame seeds;
• cabbage, boiled egg, soy sauce;
• garlic, finely grated ginger root, soy sauce, cabbage;
• minced chicken, oyster oil, soy sauce, green onions, grated ginger, garlic.

Sweet and sour sauce

Any sauce is suitable for Chinese pancakes with green onions, but homemade sweet and sour sauce will make them especially tasty. The recipe is very simple and the ingredients are readily available.

• 60 ml water;
• 170 g sugar;
• a tablespoon of chopped garlic;
• hot red pepper (you can use fresh or dried pod);
• 80 ml rice vinegar;
• spoon of tomato paste;
• a pinch of salt.

Mix sugar, vinegar, salt and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously, add hot chili. A minute later - garlic. Mix. Add tomato paste and a little starch (to achieve the consistency of thick sour cream. Turn off the heat, let the sauce cool. The incredibly tasty spicy sauce for lean baking is ready.

Tsun Yubin, or Chinese flatbreads with green onions, is the most popular street fast food dish in China, which can be tasted not only on the street, but also in restaurants, at all levels - from an eatery in Beijing hutongs to a reputable establishment. These fried Chinese onion cakes are eaten both as a separate dish and instead of bread with various dishes. Starting from salads and cold appetizers to soups. If you have not been to China and are going there for the first time, then take note that you will never find bread on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. You will be offered two options for replacing bread - either these onion cakes, or mantou (fresh steamed dumplings). Green onion flatbreads are aromatic and have a salty taste. In addition to onions, dill and sesame are sometimes added to such pancakes. If the cake is large (about 30 cm in diameter), it is cut into 8 segments, and if it is small (15 cm in diameter), then into 4 segments. Cong Yubin is eaten with soy sauce, chili sauce or other sauces. Flatbreads go great with omelettes.
There is a legend according to which Marco Polo, upon returning to Italy, wanted to taste the onion pancakes he liked in the Celestial Empire, asked a chef he knew from Naples to prepare these pancakes for him according to his description. After half a day of unsuccessful attempts, the cook gave up and put the toppings on top of the flatbread - they say, this is how Italian pizza was born. But this is just a legend; according to another version, pizza was known 250 years before the birth of Marco Polo.
Chinese flatbreads made from unleavened dough, which in turn is made from wheat flour. Usually the dough is made choux, i.e. with boiling water, less often - with cold water. Roll out the finished dough into a very thin pancake - the thinner the rolled dough sheet, the more layers there will be in the finished cake. The rolled out canvas is greased with rendered lard (vegetable oil is quite suitable instead), then sprinkled with green onion rings and rolled into a tight roll, preferably without air bubbles. The resulting sausage is rolled into a spiral (snail). The “snail” is flattened and baked over low heat with a small amount of butter until golden brown. Or, as an option, the “snail” is rolled out again into a thin pancake, then folded into several layers, shaped into a square or round shape and baked.

INGREDIENTS:
wheat flour - 300 g,
water (boiling)* - 150 ml,
rendered lard (orrendered chicken fat , or salad oil) - 1 tbsp. l.,
green onions - 2-3 arrows,
ground black pepper - ½ tsp,
salt - ½ tsp.
*water can be at room temperature, or some hot, some cold.

In a container of suitable volume, mix the sifted wheat flour and salt. Pour the mixture with hot water, mix the flour and water with chopsticks (or whatever is more convenient for you, but not with your hands).
There is no need to try to make the dough right away - let it sit for about five minutes (at the same time it will cool down). Then you need to knead the dough until smooth. Set it aside and cover with film to prevent it from drying out. Let it “rest” for 20-30 minutes. The result will be a cool, smooth, homogeneous dough that will not stick to your hands, the table, or the rolling pin.

While the dough is "resting", let's make the filling - cut the green onions into rings, put them in a container of suitable volume, add salt, ground black pepper and melted pork fat (or vegetable oil). Mix and set aside.

Knead the dough again, divide the bun into two parts, roll one part into a thin pancake, and cover the second with film so that it does not dry out. Spread the resulting pancake with a thin layer of melted lard and add some green onion rings.

Then you need to roll the filled pancake into a roll and try to leave as little air as possible between the layers of dough.

Roll the resulting roll into a snail shape and secure the tip of the roll so that the oil does not leak out. Cover with film and let stand for 3 - 5 minutes.

Carefully flatten the “snail” into a pancake, while (mentioned above about moderation in lubrication with melted lard and possible air bubbles) try to ensure that the layers of the resulting cake do not burst. It's okay if they burst. It will not affect the taste.

Chinese spring onion cakes

Green onion flatbreads

If you like to make homemade bread and all sorts of interesting flatbreads, I suggest you try a very simple recipe for pan-fried green onion flatbreads. The dough is yeast-free.

I don’t know if the Chinese realize that they are called Chinese. In my opinion, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that these fried flatbreads with green onions turn out very tasty, there are a minimum of ingredients and they are quite simple and quick to make.

Composition of flatbreads

for 12 flatbreads

• Flour – 225 g (in a glass – 160, that is, a little less than 1.5 glasses) + a little flour for rolling out the dough;
• Boiling water – 150 ml;
• Salt - to taste;
• Sesame oil (or other vegetable oil. For example, sunflower, olive, walnut) – 1 teaspoon (in the dough) + 2 teaspoons (for greasing);
• Green onions – a little (small bunch);
• Vegetable oil for frying.

How to cook

• Sift the flour. Add 1 tsp. sesame oil, salt (I put 2-3 small pinches). Pour boiling water over and stir with a spoon until flakes form.
• When the dough becomes warm (cools a little), knead it by hand, kneading until smooth. Roll the dough into a ball. Cover it with a napkin and leave for 20-30 minutes.
• Wash green onions and dry. Cut in small pieces.
• Sprinkle the surface for rolling out the dough and the rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough (sprinkling it with flour) into a rectangle 2-3 mm thick.
• Grease the rolled out dough with 2 tsp. sesame oil. Sprinkle with green onions. Roll the dough into a tight roll. And cut it into 12 pieces.
• Connect each piece from the ends. Again, roll into a ball and roll out into a flat cake (8-10 cm in diameter). If the cakes suddenly stick to the rolling pin or board, add a little flour (but do not overuse - excess flour will burn).
• Pour oil for frying into a wide frying pan (layer = 1 cm). Heat. Place the tortillas in a frying pan and fry on both sides over medium heat until golden brown.
• Place the finished cakes on a paper towel (to absorb excess fat). Serve hot with strong and sweet black tea.

I think you will be pleased with the result. Flatbreads with herbs turn out tasty and filling! They are prepared from lean products. They are good as bread for main courses, or as a stand-alone snack.

Bon appetit!

The finished tortillas are drained of excess oil on a paper towel.