A pan-fried fluffy swirl layered with scallion oil and sprinkled in sesame seeds. 452: Scallion Bing

I’m having such a good time cooking my way through First Generation by Frankie Gaw. His writing is a delight, plus bonus points for the little serotonin boosts from all the SF Bay Area references. I can’t wait to try his beautiful two-toned dumpling wrappers. I’ll post about them even if they refuse to work, scout’s honor!

From what I can tell, a Taiwanese “bing” refers to a myriad of pancake, crepe or flatbread-style treats. Frankie calls this one Big Bing since it’s yeasted and poofs up like a happy pillow.

It’s first pan-fried to get a crispy exterior, then water is added to the pan and covered so it can steam through. I forgot to add extra salt while rolling in the sesame oil (womp) but sprinkling each piece with flaky sea salt worked beautifully.

Have you ever thought about how flatbreads should be called “quick breads” instead of the group of loaves that are really cake in disguise? I get the reasoning (a loaf of banana bread doesn’t need to proof at all before hitting the oven) but there feels like there should be a distinction between prep/proof time and baking time. Banana bread takes an entire hour to bake (which always feels like an eternity because I only seem to make it when I’m already hungry) and these flatbreads only take 15 minutes in a pan!

She woke up like this.

Kneading shot or documenting my pink chrome nails? Both. 💅

Sweet dreams.

I’ll never get over the joy of a successful proof! By joy of course I mean cackle as I jiggle the giant dough balloon in the bowl where I left a little lump an hour before.

Scallion oil time.

Never flash-fried scallions before but damn it smells good.

Assuming the addition of flour is to help it thicken a tiny bit and maybe to adhere to the dough better?

A nice thought, but it did neither.

Before it all ooshed out in the final few rolls.

Nap #2.

BOOM.

We got a little oval-shaped in the transfer to the pan but she’s still cute and floofy.

A very satisfying flip.

Toasty sesame seeds adding crunch and extra yum.

We literally ate the whole thing warm and the container I’d pulled out for leftovers had to slink back to its drawer unused.

Happy munching!