There is something about the way flour bonds with water. Something that possibly goes back to afternoons spent sat on the kitchen counter, watching my grand-mother making pâte brisée [shortcrust pastry], which I would – of course – nibble on.
So the prospect of mixing flour and water to a dough, then sprinkled with a generous handful of chopped spring onions – and a pinch of Maldon sea salt – felt like music to me.
I followed this recipe. For those of you who prefer to use kitchen scales – and may the gods of pastry bless you for that – I’ve written the quantities I’ve used below.
The resulting pancakes are chewy and yet flaky. And the drawing above should have given you a hint, but they’re rather delicious when served with a drizzle – or more – of Sriracha sauce.
Chinese scallion pancakes
Makes eight pancakes, or four huge ones.
Mix 300 g of plain flour with 240 g of boiling water using a wooden spoon. After it comes together, invert onto your kitchen counter and and knead until smooth. five minutes or so. Brush with a little vegetable oil, cover with clingfilm and allow to rest for half-an-hour, or overnight in the fridge.
Cut the dough into four. Lightly oil your work surface and roll out one of the balls of dough into a thin rectangle at least 30x35cm.
Lightly brush the top of the dough with vegetable or sesame oil. Finely chop a bunch of spring onions and sprinkle on top of the dough along with a pinch of Maldon sea salt.
Starting from the long end, roll the dough up tightly, then cut in two. Coil each part into a bundle. Let the snails rest under clingfilm while you repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
And finally roll out the snails into flat disks.
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil into a frying pan and cook the pancake for approximately two minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Cut into wedges and serve with a dipping sauce. And when I say dipping sauce, I really mean Sriracha.
Now, what’s your favourite use for Sriracha? And have you tried making your own?
17 Comments
Michael @ Herbivoracious
June 14, 2011 at 11:23 PMThose are one of my all time favorite items at a Chinese restaurant, but I’ve never made them at home. I’ve seen other recipes that use a yeasted dough; this seems a lot simpler and therefore appealing.
Joy
June 15, 2011 at 12:02 AMI didn’t know this was possible home made! I love your illustrations so much!
vanillasugarblog
June 15, 2011 at 12:55 AMthis is such a simple way of preparing them.
must give this one a go.
Lucia
June 15, 2011 at 10:54 AMEverytime I hear something about kneading I freak out a bit. Maybe I should try to overcome this fear with your delicious spring onion pancakes 🙂
Marla
June 15, 2011 at 1:46 PMI love your blog….the best discovery today 🙂 These savory pancakes look wonderful!
Jen H
June 15, 2011 at 2:17 PMI love scallion pancakes and have been looking for a recipe, this one sounds perfect and is something I’ll absolutely have to try!
milk&cookies
June 15, 2011 at 2:30 PMalso delicious dipped in a sauce of soy, chinese black vinegar, and chili oil.
Jane
June 15, 2011 at 5:31 PMThanks!!!
Yuki
June 15, 2011 at 5:35 PMThanks, I love pancakes! Try out the vegan blueberry pancake too, it taste as delicious as your green onion pancakes!!!
Steve
June 16, 2011 at 5:11 AMYum ! My mum often makes this !
Fanny, c’est toi qui a dessiné la bouteille de sriracha ? C’est trop bien fait ! By the way, I like dipping the “ha kao” in this sauce.
Jessica
June 16, 2011 at 7:59 PMThis sounds great! I recently got some Himalayan pink salt from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com and I’ll have to try it out in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
apaler1
June 20, 2011 at 4:57 PMI put sriracha on noodles, whatever kind they are. Japanese, Chinese, instant cup noodles, whatever! I love the kick it gives the dish. These pancakes are definitely a must try for this hot sauce. Thank you for the recipe!
lise
June 21, 2011 at 4:48 AMI just LOVE love love your blogs! Just found you and am so happy! Sweet!
Many many returns and anticpate reading and seeing much more!
Solenne
June 28, 2011 at 12:56 PMI lived in China during 6 months, and these pancakes was one of the very few good things to eat. I always wanted to try this recipe, thanks!
cathy
July 3, 2011 at 11:14 PMi. LOVE. this. absolute favorite thing to eat in taiwan.
thanks for the reminder of what i need to eat soon.
hope you’re having a nice summer!
minik
October 6, 2015 at 11:36 PMGah, this recipe didn’t work for me today 🙁 The dough teared up while rolling out… Everyone said it was tasty though, so thank you anyway!
Fanny
October 6, 2015 at 11:45 PMHi Minik, I’m sorry it didn’t! Maybe next time – if there is one 🙂 – rub a little more oil on both your counter and your rolling pin before rolling the dough out. I hope that will help. X