Friday, February 16, 2018

Chinese Scallion Pancakes – Happy New Year, Dog!

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Dog (and not the Manatee), and to celebrate I thought I’d show you my take on Chinese scallion pancakes. These fun-to-make flatbreads are a common fixture on menus around here, and while they all feature the same few ingredients, they come in a variety of thicknesses, which really affects the texture.

The thinner you make these, the crispier they’ll be, but you won’t get that nice, layered, oniony inside. On the other hand, if you make them too thick, they can be a little doughy inside, so I try to shoot for something in between. Speaking of inside, feel free to add pepper flakes or other appropriate embellishments before you roll these up.

Ideally, you leave the dough overnight before using, but I’ve always had great results with just a couple hours rest on the counter. If you do leave overnight, you’ll probably get a better flavor, and maybe texture, but the dough will be more elastic, and slightly more difficult to work with.

As far as the dipping sauce goes, I like to mix equal parts seasoned rice vinegar, and soy sauce, flavored with a shot of hot sauce, and maybe grating of fresh ginger. Toss in a few sliced green onions, and you’ll have yourself a very basic, but perfect condiment for these savory pancakes. Regardless of how you serve them, I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy, and gung hay fat choy!


Ingredients for 2 Chinese Scallion Pancakes:
one bunch green onions, mostly green parts, sliced thinly
For the dough:
2 cups bread or all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup hot water
- adjust with more flour or water to form a smooth, but sticky dough
For the oil mixture:
3 tablespoon veg oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon flour

- serve with dipping sauce, as described in the blog post

36 comments:

Curious Cook said...

Hi, Chef John!

Would it be acceptable to fry a few green onions and/or minced garlic in the faux-roux and use that oil to brush on the pancake dough? Or will this negatively affect the dough (or something else)?

Thanks in advance,

Curious Cook

Curious Cook said...

Hi, Chef John!

Would it be acceptable to cook some green onions and/or minced garlic in the faux-roux? Or would this negatively affect the pancake dough?

Thanks for your content, I've learned quite a bit from your channel :)

Kyle Wiggins said...

Chef John, I love your channel. I discovered it while cooking last years Christmas dinner. For a choosing a presentation side, I think you can split the difference. After you cut the pancake into wedges, alternate. Or not. Again, thank you for the great food and entertainment.

Unknown said...

Leave overnight in fridge or on counter?

Unknown said...

Just made this except I used the rest of the pepperoni I had left over along with some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh mozzarella. Amazing with some marinara sauce.

I saved the other half of the dough to make with scallions once I go to the store.

Thanks again Chef John.

Unknown said...

Oh sweet, some authentic Chinese. I would love to see your take on some Szechuan or Shanxi style stuff if the heat wouldn't be a problem. I recall you saying something about heat for your code red cheese dip.

skinnedpuppy said...

Made these this morning, superstar John at it again :)

Smith1599 said...

These were perfect, John. Also, your assumption was correct on the flavor of the finished product if you allow the dough to rest. Made two batches, allowed one batch to rest overnight, the other, I rolled and fried after only two hours. What a difference!

Unknown said...

Hey, Chef John! I refer to you as MyBoyfriendChefJohn in the non-creepiest way possible because I love your videos. I've been making your spelt flour blueberry scones a lot recently. #muffsconut

That being said, do you think spelt flour would work in this recipe?

Unknown said...

I'm going to make that dipping sauce next time I have dumplings. Thanks Chef John.

Lisa said...

But what about the recipe for the sauce? I don't see it in the blog post. I think I'm going to try this this week.

SY said...

The dipping sauce is...? Same as for the potstickers?

We're being indulgent and doing this tonight. Many thanks, Chef.

JodyG said...

Okay. Can you do a miracle for me? While living in Edmonton, Alberta I discovered green onion cakes. Since moving away I have tried to find the same recipe as the restaurants there use. But to no avail. They are different there. Almost deep fried, puffed and circular like a donut. Any advice, insights or even a recipe? These on your site are wonderful! But I've been on the search for this other variety for, well, ever.

Unknown said...

I am as intrigued with the METHOD as I am with the whole pancake. ALL SORTS of great little things could go into the rolled layers, including something sweet. Replace both oils with the same amount of melted/browned butter and flour for the oily slurry, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. The possibilities are endless. Thanks for this, and I promise to make the scallion version before venturing further.

Art Mom said...

WOW! Saw this post this morning, and was immediately enthralled at the idea of making a dumpling-styled pancake. I did it adding teensy pieces of garlic sautèe. It sat and rested about 4 hours. It was a lot of fun, rolling it out, rolling up and spiraling it into a wheel. I wish we had photo'd this one. It was nice and crispy outside, layered and moist inside.

Thank you, Chef John.

Alex in Shanghai said...

Watching this in Beijing with my Chinese family, none of whom were quite sure how to cook this before watching, all of whom ar enow quite sure they want me to cook it for them tomorrow. Thanks for making my Year of the Manatee!

Unknown said...

Am I just not seeing where the dipping sauce recipe is located?

Tyler said...

No cayenne?? Shenanigans.

Unknown said...

Chef John- I wanted to ask of you have any ideas on what to do with "underdog" vegetables, such as Rutabaga, Turnip and Kohlrabi. I see these in the store and I want to do something with them beside bake boil and fry. Any good ideas?

Unknown said...

Chef John....you have THE coolest job in the world. And you are so extraordinarily good at it. I suppose the two things MAY be connected. Hahaha. Love your recipes - you are an awesome teacher. Thank you!

T-Rex said...

Made this one with red pepper flakes one without.

Overall very easy and definitely worth the effort, the hardest part was getting the dough rolled out the way you want it (because of course it would be).
I made my dough ball and left in in the fridge before working it out about 3 hours later. It was sticky but very easy to handle. I didn't roll the rectangle as long as I would have liked so I got about a full revolution less than in the video.
Very good I drizzled okonomiyaki and mayo after slicing!

Vicki said...

I want you to write another cookbook. PLEASE. I love watching all your videos and always enjoy cooking with your recipes.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for posting this! I love green onion pancakes but never got around to making one, even though I'v made more complex dishes. I am too used to buying them from the Chinese supermarket. I can't wait to make these at home and add some custom seasonings! Yum!! Love your dipping sauce recommendation also!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef! Do you think these would hold up in the freezer?

Unknown said...

Hey Chef! Do you think these would hold up well in the freezer?

Unknown said...

Why does the water have to be hot if you're just going to put the dough in the fridge?

TheGreekest said...

Chef John, I have made these a few times now and they are excellent! However, I seem to be having trouble cooking them all the way through, as the dough inside rolls are a little undercooked. Any tips on how to know when the inside is cooked? I am trying your trick of keep the heat high and turning down to med when I first put them on the cast iron. Thanks!

Pat said...

This is not chinese aside from the fact they eat what they have at hand.it's an unleavened green onion fried flat bread.I do enjoy your blog k!why not try turnip cakes :) or how to cook duck at home!

Unknown said...

What happens if you mix until you've formed a Scooby dough? Is that too far?

Unknown said...

I have tried a lot of these green scallion pancake recipes. Yours is by far the best I have made. Thanks for the recipe.

Unknown said...

I made these over the past weekend and they are simple and amazing! For such a simple recipe it eats at a far higher station. Yummy, highly recommended.

watermelonsmooch said...

That's more than 3 tablespoon of oil. No wonder my roux turns out like mashed potato.

TheGoodNews said...

@mresmith4302: A bakery near where I used to live did something similar to that. They made this really awesome bread they called "Pepperoni Bread". I think they just used the same dough as you would for pizza, brushed it with butter and garlic and added sliced pepperoni and then rolled it all up and baked it so that the bread had layers inside and tasted like Texas Toast with pepperoni mixed in. I don't think they added mozzarella but it's been a while so I don't recall for sure. It was awesomely delicious bread though!

d.c. said...

Chef John, Where is the Recipe for the Dipping Sauce, on this blog post? (Also, I love your videos - please continue! Especially everything Creole and anything involving tomato sauce... :) )

Frank Mayer said...

Hi and thanks for all the recipes?
Just what is a bunch of scallions? Ideally, I'm hoping for an answer in grams, rather than the number of stalks, which is still rather vague.
Thanks!

Ben said...

IF anyone is interested in the original green onion cake recipe, here is a link https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2018/04/10/siu-to-78-is-believed-to-be-the-man-who-popularized-green-onion-cakes-in-edmonton.html