Egg pancake

Egg pancake (蛋餅) is one of my favorite foods in Taipei.

Pictured here is my novice's adaptation.

UPDATE: new photo, slightly better than the last attempt

note that scallions have been replaced by cilantro

First, make the batter. Beat an egg, then add a cup of water, and mix vigorously with a fork. Add two tablespoons of corn starch, and mix again. Add half a cup of flour, and mix again. The texture should be very watery; if it's thick at all, add more water. Let this sit in the fridge for at least half an hour while the chemical reactions happen.

I think the one shown here was too thick. You want the batter to fill the whole pan when you pour it, and be very thin. If it's not thin enough, the middle will be thicker than the edges, and the pancake texture will be doughy, when it should be light and crispy (but not brittle).

Chop some scallions and beat an egg. To the egg, you can add salt and pepper.

Usually they're cooked on a big, flat grilling surface, but a frying pan works too. Heat the pan on medium/high heat, add a generous amount of oil, and put in the scallions. Try to spread them out in the pan -- otherwise they might make the pancake too weak where they're clustered together. 

Fry the scallions for a few seconds, then add the batter. Tilt the pan in a circle so the edges and the middle have the same thickness. If there are any holes, fill them with more batter. 

Fry this until it starts to get crispy on the bottom, and doesn't stick to the pan (having a cast iron or nonstick pan helps). Slide the pancake onto a plate. 

the egg is underneath this dubiously textured pancake

Add the egg, also tilting the pan to spread it out. Immediately turn down the heat so it doesn't get overcooked, and put the pancake on top of the egg, crispy side up. The egg should be only partially cooked, so the top will stick to the pancake.

right after the flip

Now flip the whole thing over, so the egg side is up, and turn off the heat. Here, you can add whatever else you want in your pancake. The usual thing is 醬油膏, a thick, sweet soy sauce paste. You can also add that on top at the end.

ver. 2 - cilantro instead of scallions

Finally, roll it up, put it on a plate, and slice it. Serve with a cup of sugar soaked in black tea.

Variations

I had some batter left, so I made another one. This time I added more water and I think the texture came out a little better.

This time, instead of putting an egg inside, I added tempeh (which I fried first) and kimchi.

I also made one with kimchi and arugula: