Flaky Scallion Pancakes
These pancakes are one of my favourite side dishes to order in Chinese restaurants. It`s such a tasty base for many dishes with savoury broths and even if you just want to enjoy it with its own sauce or kimchi, you will not be disappointed.
Most pancakes in the western world are made in a pan from pancake batter, but these ones are made from dough. It might seem overly complicated at first, but the dough is very easy to work with and the results are the flakiest scallion pancakes you`ve ever had!
Dealing with yeast, temperature and humidity can make doughs a pretty tricky thing to work with, but this dough, like a tortilla one, is very malleable and easy to work with. In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, ¼ cup of light olive oil, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 minced garlic clove, a pinch of all spice and 1 cup of boiling water with a spatula. Wedge the dough with your hands to activate the gluten until it`s smooth, – if the dough is too sticky, add an extra sprinkle of flour. Separate it into 4 pieces, roll them into balls and lightly flatten, leave them in a lightly oiled bowl to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare your dipping sauce. Whisk together 1 teaspoon each of brown sugar and sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Top it with as many sesame seeds as you wish and reserve at room temperature.
Once the dough is rested, lightly flour a large clean surface and a rolling pin. Roll out one of the doughs until it`s very thin. You can add more flour as you need. Lightly brush sesame oil on the surface of the dough and evenly spread 1-2 chopped scallions and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds.
Lightly roll the dough into a long, thin cylinder. Make sure that the cylinder isn`t too tight, so you can see multiple layers from the side. Roll the coil onto itself to make a coil, like the shell of a snail.
Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the coil and flatten it until it`s about a 1cm-thick disc.
Repeat these last 2 steps with the remaining doughs.
Place a large non-stick pan on medium heat and place the pancake on it. Cook for about 3 minutes a side, or until it`s slightly browned.
Serve with more scallion and the sauce.
Flaky Scallion Pancakes
Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour
Pancake Ingredients
2+ Cups AP Flour
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Pinch of All Spice
1 Cup Boiling Water
¼ Cup Light Olive Oil
4+ Scallions, chopped
Sesame Seeds
Sesame oil for brushing
Sauce Ingredients
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Brown Sugar
Sesame Seeds
Step-by-Step
1. Mix flour, soy sauce, minced garlic, all spice, boiling water and olive oil in a medium bowl with a spatula. Once the mixture turns into a dough and has cooled down enough for you to be able to touch it, (you can wear a disposable glove to make this step a bit easier,) wedge it in the bowl until the dough is completely smooth. Separate it into 4 equal pieces, roll them into balls and slightly flatten them into disks. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in an oiled bowl.
2. While the dough rests, make the dipping sauce by simply whisking all ingredients together. Reserve at room temperature until the pancakes are ready.
3. Lightly flour a large surface and a rolling pin, roll out one of the doughs into a very thin “square” - add more flour if you need. Lightly brush sesame oil on the surface of the pancake, evenly spread 1+ chopped scallion and 1-2 tsp of sesame seeds on the surface and then roll the square into a thin cylinder.
4. Starting from one of the ends of the cylinder, roll it onto itself to create a coil – like the shell of snail. Use a rolling pin to flatten the coil to a 1 cm thickness. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the remaining doughs.
5. Place a non-stick pan on medium heat and place one pancake at a time onto it. Cook for about 3 minutes a side, until it`s slightly browned. Serve the pancakes with the sauce and extra chopped scallions.