Green Scallion Pancakes
Green scallion pancakes are a divine treat and sound much more complicated to make than they actually are.
Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¾ cup boiling water, plus a few tablespoons more if needed
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 bunch green onion, thinly sliced
- red pepper flakes, optional
Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2½ tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
Make Pancake Dough:
- Combine flour, salt, onion and garlic powder in a medium bowl.
- Add ¾ cup boiling water and stir together with a wooden spoon until you have a shaggy dough.
- Use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl. Add more hot water, a tablespoon at a time if dough seems too dry.
- Continue to knead the dough for another 2-3 minutes until it comes together. It will be a little sticky but not too much.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the bottom of the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Make the Dipping Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients, adjusting the amount of soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper flakes to suit your taste. After rolling pancakes, add any remaining sliced green onions to the dipping sauce.
- Set dipping sauce aside while you prepare and cook up the pancakes.
Prepare Pancakes:
- Sprinkle a little flour onto a smooth work surface.
- Divide the dough into 4 equally sized pieces. Place 3 of the dough pieces back in the bowl and cover to keep it from drying out while you roll out each pancake.
- Roll the piece of dough into a small ball in your hands. Place it on your floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a thin circle, about 7 to 8 inches wide.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon vegetable oil with 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
- Brush a thin layer of the veg/sesame oil onto the surface of the dough, being sure to get it all the way to the edges of the dough.
- Sprinkle with a layer of sliced green onions.
- Optional: sprinkle with a few red pepper flakes if desired for some added heat.
- Roll the dough into a tube; a long cigar shaped tube. Then take the tube and roll it into a spiral shape; think snail shell or cinnamon roll. Tuck end underneath.
- Flatten rolled dough slightly with the palm of your hand and then use a rolling pin to roll out the pancake as thin as you can. Don't worry if a few of the green onions pop out of the dough, this is normal and won't effect the flavor.
- Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.
Cook Pancakes:
- Heat some vegetable oil in a shallow cast iron skillet. Once oil is hot fry each pancake for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.
- Drain each pancake on a wire rack as you cook up the rest. This helps keep them crisp.
To Serve:
- Cut pancakes into wedges and serve with dipping sauce.
- Best eaten right away while they are still hot and crispy. They are still good when they have cooled down, but they lose thier crispiness as they sit.
Notes
Note: for best results roll out each pancake as thin as possible and fry until very crisp. The goal is to obtain a very thin and crispy pancake. Thick, undercooked pancakes will result in doughy pancakes.