Photo from ChewOutLoud.com, a food/cooking blog
The scallions are crisp, luscious and ok, a bit prolific. The reaction from several folks that have seen them is, “time for Scallion Pancakes”. Yes, what a great idea. Many like the Serious Eats recipe. We have done a bit of merging of that recipe along with one from Bon Appetit, Chew Out Loud and How to Cook Everything for a slightly more reasonable approach. The article with the Serious Eats recipe is a fantastic explanation of how it all works with some great photos and some inspiration for the ultimately flakey version.
And if the idea sounds good, but too much work, you can always try Mark Bittman’s Fast Scallion Pancakes, which are more like a cross between quick pancakes and veggie fritters, but still delicious!
Ingredients
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of Boiling Water (see Serious Eats article for why)
2 cups chopped scallions
1/2 -3/4 cup lard or chicken fat, melted or at least room temperature
Directions
Place flour and salt in food processor bowl, turn on machine and add the boiling water slowly while running until dough forms a ball. If doesn’t form a ball within 30 seconds add a touch more water. You can also do this in a bowl with a wooden spoon.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Put dough in covered bowl and let rest for about an hour at room temperature or up to overnight in the fridge.
Divide dough into 4 parts (or more if you want the circles to be smaller), roll one out on a lightly floured surface into about a 1/4 inch thick circle. Brush lightly with lard or poultry fat (or sesame oil) and sprinkle with 1/4 of the chopped scallions.
Roll the scallions up in the dough, creating a long cylinder. Then coil the cylinder into a spiral, so you end up with a circle. Set aside, can cover them while repeating with the rest of the dough.
Take the spiral roll back onto floured surface and press gently to flatten it a bit, then roll it out into a disk.
Heat rest of lard or poultry fat in a skillet over medium heat. Cook 1 or 2 at a time depending on size of pancake and size of skillet. Cook until lightly browned about 3-5 minutes the turn and brown the other side. Put on rack or paper towel while cooking the others. Season with salt, cut into wedges and serve warm, ideally with dipping sauce and possibly cilantro on top.
Dipping Sauce
A starting point….adjust based on your taste and what you have on hand
Whisk together…
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 scallion, chopped finely
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or apple cider or another mild vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh (or frozen) ginger
- Pinch red pepper flakes or hot sauce (optional)