葱抓饼 Green Onion Bread

 Flaky, soft, layered, fragrant and flavorful flat bread.
Last Sunday we had a couple over for some Chinese food. We shared lots of memories from time spent in Taiwan. It was a lot of fun. The husband of the couple mentioned Zhua bing as being his favorite breakfast.
I didn't have this during my time there but I had heard my husband mention it and had seen uncooked, packaged ones sold in the grocery store. I had a similar thing to this in Beijing called 手抓饼 shou zhua bing that had salt and pepper and no green onion and was served pulled apart. Most of the people that read this blog are friends we made who were foreigners living in Beijing at the same time as us. Many of you probably remember that bread from one of the many times we all got together at Shao Wang Fu's. Good memories! The sesame seeds are optional. I have seen just as many recipes that don't include them as do. I personally recommend them. It is that secret ingredient that you don't notice is there but just boosts the overall flavor and sets them apart. I love secret ingredients for that reason. This has nothing to do with Chinese food but 1 Tbsp. of lemon extract mixed into the dough of your favorite cinnamon bun recipe makes them amazing. They don't taste like lemon but it really boasts the overall flavor and makes them something really special. Try it, you will love it!

4 cups flour
2 cup steaming water
7 green onions, minced
lard or oil
salt
sesame seeds

Drizzle steaming water into flour a little at a time while stirring until the dough comes together in a ball. Dust the top and bottom of the dough with flour and knead just until you have a smooth soft dough. Cover and let rest 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 pieces.

Dust the counter with flour and take one piece of dough and sprinkle flour over it. Roll out into a rectangle. Dough should be farely thin. Lightly coat the top of the dough with oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and then green onions and sesame seeds.

 Fold up like an accordion. You do this by pulling the dough forward and folding it back, pulling it forward and folding it back. Then it roll up like a snail.

Make sure you roll it up tightly. Stuff the end into the center to seal it and make sure it holds together.

 Flip it over and put pressure on it to flatten it.

 Roll it out into a 5 inch circle. This is easiest done slowly.

Heat a pan over medium heat. You need medium heat so it cook slowly enough to cook through all the layers Lightly grease the pan. Cook until lightly browned on both sides flipping several times. Then take some tongs or two spatulas and put put pressure on opposite sides towards the center in a quick motion as you turn the bread so it pops open and fluffs up. If you want to add egg I like to do it when it is squished, like in the picture, so it is easy to pour the beaten egg in to the center and it flows down through all the layers. Cook and flip until the eggs is cooked then remove.

You can fill with just about anything and fold in half and then in half again. Ham, sausage, chicken, bacon, pickled cabbage, Romain, cheese, corn, ect. The fillings are endless. Drizzle with chili sauce and soy paste...or just eat it as is.