Crunchy, flaky, warm and savory, that is how a perfect scallion pancake should be. When I was young in Shanghai I remembered buying them fresh from the street stalls as they were cooked. Unfortunately as with many things here in Philly, a good warm freshly cooked scallion pancake is hard to find. The restaurants that does serve them here have marked up a cheap street food to something that is grossly over priced. Given the simple ingredients required for this dish, you can easily make a dozen pancakes for less than a buck! In addition they freeze nicely when wrapped between wax paper and stored in a ziplock bag.
As for the ingredients they are really quite simple:
3 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt, more for later
2 cups of boiling water
sesame oil
1 cup of finely sliced scallion, about a bunch
Mix the flour and salt together adding the boiling water to the flour slowly while mixing. Mix thoroughly to form a dough with a wooden spoon, use your hands when it becomes slightly formed.
Finish by kneading with your hands for 5 minutes or until the dough no longer stick to your fingers. Add more flour if needed. Form it into ball, cover and let rest in the mixing bowl for 20 minutes.
Roll into a log, cutting it into 12 pieces, pressing it down slightly before rolling each piece into a round disk. Brush with sesame oil (about 1 tsp per pancake) and sprinkle with scallions and salt.
Roll into a cylinder and then wrap and coil. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. Flatten the dough with your hand and then roll it out again.
Make sure it is thin especially on the edge. Heat up a frying pan over medium heat with about 1.5 tbs of oil.
Pan fried both side until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve.
Tips:
- It's easier to spread out the sesame oil with the back of a spoon
- Even though the white parts on the scallion is really flavorful, it is harder to roll with them in it.
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