Scallion Pancakes Tutorial

A recent post on a friend's blog reminded me that my own scallion pancakes tutorial was never completed. That, and the three bundles of scallions in my fridge, prompted me to update my recipe and write it down so I'll remember better in the future.

Scallion pancakes can be paper thin and crispy or rather dense and chewy, but I prefer something in between the two extremes. This is crispy on the outside, but still with a nice layer of dough for some toothsome goodness.

RECIPE:

For the dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, mixed well with flour
• a cup each of very hot water and iced water (you won't use all)
• 3 green onions, roots removed and chopped finely (white and green parts)
• sesame oil

Use a heavy bowl or have someone hold it for you while you pour hot water in with one hand and start mixing the flour and salt together with the other hand. As soon as any clumps start to form, switch to cold water. Ultimately, you should be using half hot and half cold, but the first few times it might be hard to gauge this. Don't sweat it, you'll be fine. You should try to knead your dough until it's smooth and about as hard as Play Dough, but it's fine if at this point it's a little lumpy.

Let it rest for half an hour and knead again, then let it rest for an hour (or at least 30 minutes). At this point the dough should be soft, smooth, wet enough that it wants to stick to your palm after you give it a knead, but dry enough that if you lift your hand the dough eventually falls and leaves your palm clean. Do not re-work the dough at this point; you don't want to tighten up the dough again.

Pull off a handful of dough, dust and flour a clean surface, and roll out the dough. At this stage, the thinner you roll the better. Pour a small puddle of sesame oil on the dough, about the size of a dime, and smear it around. Top the dough generously with scallions and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt.

Roll up the dough from one end to another, making sure you enclose all the scallion pieces.

Now roll up the cylinder into a coil, making sure to keep the coil tight.

You've created a ball of dough. Press the ends in and seal tightly before pressing the top with your palm and flattening the ball into a disc.

Now roll out the scallion pancake the the thickness you desire. The sesame oil and enclosed scallions will help make almost imperceptible layers in your dough. You won't really be able to see the layers, but having the sesame oil break up the dough a little helps the pancake from being too dense and chewy. The step of sprinkling salt onto the scallions means that when you roll out the pancake, the salt is crushed into the scallions and the scallion's juices are also crushed into the dough. The result is a more evenly salty, very flavorful savory pancake.

When you've made your pancakes, fry them on medium high heat in a pan that is well coated with oil. This is not diet food. Your pancake will look white and dry unless the entire bottom of your pan is covered in a layer of oil. Fry each side until it is golden brown, and enjoy!