Scallion Pancakes

After getting a few requests over the past few months, this week I try making these super tasty, super crispy Chinese scallion pancakes. I’ve had them at so many restaurants! If I’m at a dim sum place, I have a tendency to forget to get these until I’m already full.

For every household or restaurant, there seems to be a different way of rolling these pancakes. The method directly translates into how flaky the pancake ends up being. The method I do here, where you roll from two directions and then fold it on top of each other, seems to make the most layers. Try different ways when you roll them and see what method works for you best! These are tasty no matter how you roll them.

Learning how to make these myself means I can keep a stash of them in the freezer (next to my stash of gyoza!) for whenever I have a craving. To cook them right out of the freezer, just pop them in a frying pan with a little bit of vegetable oil with the lid on.

For an alternate Asian appetizer, definitely try my Japanese Gyoza recipe 🙂

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup cake flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup boiling water
• ¼ cup room temp water (approx; may need a little more depending on humidity)
• 1 cup finely sliced scallions (5-6 scallions)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup vegetable (or other neutral) oil
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder
• Soy sauce (for dipping)
• Garlic chili sauce (for dipping)
• Gyoza dipping sauce (for dipping)

Directions

In a bowl, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/4 tsp of salt. 

Add 1/2 cup boiling water, and mix using chopsticks.  

Add 1/4 cup room temperature water, and continue mixing with chopsticks. Depending on the humidity (or lack thereof) of where you live, you may have to add some more water, but add sparingly – you’re not creating a batter here, you’re making something that resembles of a tougher bread dough. 

Start kneading the dough with your hands in the bowl, roughly 10-15 minutes. 

Remove the dough temporarily, and coat the inside of the bowl with vegetable oil (or other neutral oil). Replace the dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for a minimum of one hour up to overnight. This dough won’t rise (there’s no yeast or other leavening). Instead, the dough will become pliable and soft compared to before. 

While dough is resting, mix 1 cup of finely sliced scallions into a bowl with 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 tsp of salt, and 1-1/2 tsp of Chinese five spice powder. 

Heat up 1/2 cup of vegetable (or other neutral) oil in a frying pan, then carefully add the heated oil to the scallion mixture (you’re adding the oil to the bowl, not the other way around – you’re not trying to fry the scallions) to create a scallion paste. 

Portion the dough into 4 portions. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface until thin enough to see through without it tearing. Brush scallion paste onto the dough. 

Roll the top half of the dough towards you, and the bottom half away from you so they meet in the middle. Then roll each end towards the middle in opposite scrolls. Fold one scroll on top of the other, then flatten the whole thing with a rolling pin. Rest for a few minutes. 

In a frying pan, add a small amount of vegetable oil, and fry each scallion pancake on each side until golden brown. 

Place on a plate, and once cool enough to touch, scrunch up the scallion pancake to lift up the flaky layers.  

Serve as is or with a small amount of soy sauce, garlic chili sauce, and/or gyoza dipping sauce (or simply soy sauce and white vinegar) and enjoy.