The other day, Dan sent me a message and a link for making these flaky fried pancake things that we had tried. He bought them and they were delicious so I was excited to make them myself. Rolling them out reminded me of making tortillas with my grandmother and I was so proud that after a few tries I was able to make these great pancakes into perfect round circles. A far cry from the Africa shaped tortillas we used to make with her. Too bad they weren't her tortillas though. Or maybe not, because they were good but perhaps not nearly as bad for you as her tortillas. That is until you fry these things. Not in too much oil but enough to make these completely unhealthy for you. Oh well. In any case, the sauce for these is really what made them. The girl who wrote this recipe sort of offhandedly wrote down some ratios of what to what would make a good sauce, and boy were her estimations right on. So when making these, definitely don't forget the sauce or you'll be missing something.
Chinese Scallion Pancakes (adapted from Sel et Sucre)
Yield: 6 pancakes
2 cups flour
1/4 cup warm water + more as needed
the green parts of 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
vegetable oil
kosher salt
Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour with 1/4 cup warm water, and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding more warm water one teaspoon at a time, mixing thoroughly, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be firm and barely sticky to the touch.
2. Knead the dough about twenty strokes, then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the dough until 5 or 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
4. Place a ball of dough on a well-floured work surface and roll out into a thin circle, approximately 1/16th inch thick. (this part was a bit tough for my weak arms!)
5. Brush a thin coating of vegetable oil over the pancake. Sprinkle kosher salt (be sure not to forget the salt! I did and some weren't as tasty) and about 1 – 2 Tbsp of the green parts of 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped evenly over the pancake.
6. Roll the pancake up from one end like a rug, then curl the roll around in a spiral and pinch the end to the roll so it stays wrapped.*
7. With the palm of your hand, press the roll from the top to flatten it. Roll the pancake out to 1/8th inch thickness (some scallions may break through the pancake, but that’s okay).
8. Repeat this process for the remaining pancakes. If you are not planning on cooking the pancakes right away, stack them between wax or parchment paper and store in a gallon bag in the freezer until ready to cook. The frozen pancakes do not need to be defrosted before being cooked.
9. To cook the pancakes, coat a pan with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Cook each pancake in the oil, frying each side until golden brown, adding more oil as needed. Serve warm with a dipping sauce.*
*This is difficult to explain without pictures, so I would go here to see the step photos of the assembly.
Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar (trust me, it tastes good)
A dash of sesame oil
Leftover scallions
Directions
1) Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with a fork.
2) Serve with the warm Chinese Scallion Pancakes.
