Regular Food Review: Scallion Pancake With Egg
Store-bought is fine
Of the many kinds of street food available in Taipei, the best that I ever had was a shou zhua bing (手抓饼, translated literally, means “hand grab pancake”) egg wrap. It’s a flaky scallion pancake, roughed up with a pair of steel spatulas until the layers start to break apart and get fluffy, rolled up with an egg and sometimes other toppings. One of the most delicious breakfast sandwiches in the world.
Not my pic but you get the idea.
My lazy-at-home-not-in-Taiwan version is this: Cook a store-bought frozen scallion pancake on the stove. Leave one side a little less browned than the other. Attempt to beat up the pancake and then give up because these store-bought ones are not elastic enough to achieve fluffiness. Remove the pancake from the pan and pour in one to two beaten eggs. Immediately place the cooked scallion pancake atop the egg mixture, darker side down. When the thin layer of egg is no longer liquid, flip the whole thing so that the other side of the pancake and the outer edges of the egg can cook some more. Drizzle chili oil or other preferred condiments on the egg layer. Don’t even attempt to roll it up, as the store-bought pancake is too thick and stupid for that. Just fold it in half like a quesadilla and enjoy. It’s not Taiwan street stall-good, but we must all make do with what we have. 4.5/5 stars.
