Scallion pancake (蔥油餅)

Scallion pancake (蔥油餅) is one of the popular snacks that is loved by everyone in Asia. Super crispy, fluffy, and flaky on the outside yet slightly soft and chewy on the inside. Scallion pancake is a great breakfast item as it is not too “heavy”, however, you can also make it “heartier” and more filing by adding more stuff to it, such as egg, ham, cheese, veggie and so on. It is also good for appetizer or snack, and so simple to make as you only need about 4 ingredients.

Beside that scallion pancake (蔥油餅)  is easy to make, you can also easily make a lot and “store” it in the freezer for later use. Once you finished making the dough, prior to cooking it, you can store this scallion pancake in the freezer for up to 3 months or so. Make sure you layer each pancake with parchment papers to avoid sticking. To use it, you do not need to unfreeze it. You can just pre-heat some oil in the pan, then cook the frozen scallion pancake under low heat until it is golden brown. Easy and very practical, right?

Also, you can “customize” how crispy or how chewy you want your scallion pancake (蔥油餅)  to be by adjusting the thickness of the scallion pancake. The thicker one tends to be chewier, yet still retains the crispiness and the thinner one will be more on the crispy side. So, here I am sharing you two versions of scallion pancakes, look at the icture below, the thicker one (on the right) vs. the thinner one (on the left). Try both and decide which one you like better, ok?

Tools I used:

• Nonstick skillet – Easy to clean, heat-up evenly, and, the best part, it is non-stick. I usually use this type of skillet for making omelet, quick veggie stir-fry  or any stir-frying in general.
• Rolling pin – I love this rolling pin because it’s not too big and heavy.

Tip: For every 100gr of flour, you add 70gr of water. It is best to use room-temperature to cold water. Also, for the scallion, it is best to use the thinner ones. The thinner the better as it will have more flavor. For the butter, use room-temperature butter. When using the salted butter, you can reduce the amount of salt.

Ingredient:

• 400gr all-purpose flour
• 280gr water
• 5-7 stalks scallion (green onion)
• Salt
• Butter (or canola oil)

Direction:

• In a big bowl, add flour and slowly pour in a bit-colder-than-room-temperature water. Give it a good mix. Don’t worry of it being too sticky at first and don’t add more flour. It will eventually hold-it-together. Keep kneading until it is becoming a dough.
• Separate the dough into two equal portions. Then, cover the two with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. We are going to make the thick one with one dough and the thinner version with the other dough.
• While waiting for the dough, chop the scallion or green onion finely. If you have the thicker version of scallion, you can cut vertically first to make it thinner, then chop it.
• After 20 minutes, let’s work on the dough. Spread some flour on the cutting board. Take one dough out and let’s flatten it out using the rolling pin. Flatten it to about 0.5 – 1 cm thick and, if possible, to a somewhat squarish-shape. Spread some butter on top of it. When flatten out, constantly spread some flour to the rolling pin and the cutting board to make sure that it doesn’t stick.
•  Then, sprinkle some salt (don’t put too much salt if you are using salted butter) and sprinkle some chopped green onion.
• From the bottom, roll the dough gently. Ensure that there’s no tear while rolling the dough, so the “filling” won’t leak out. Push out air bubble from the rolled dough. Pinch off the ending of the rolled dough to “seal off” the filling.
• Do the same for the other dough.
• Let’s make the thicker version and the thinner version.
• Thicker version: Take one rolled dough and roll it upward, so it looks like a snail. Tuck the end to the bottom. Then, gently flatten it out a bit. The dough should be flatten to about one inch thick. You can store it in the freezer up to this point. Make sure you layer each pancake with parchment paper or baking paper to avoid sticking.
• Thinner version: Take the other rolled dough and cut it into 6 parts. Pinch each end of the dough to “seal off” the filling. Then, take out your rolling pin and flatten it out to as thin as you’d like it to be. Keep in mind, the thinner it is, the crispier your scallion pancake will be. You can store it in the freezer up to this point. Make sure you layer each pancake with parchment paper or baking paper to avoid sticking.
• Pre-heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet under high-heat. Then, reduce the heat to low. Place one scallion pancake into the skillet and constantly move it or flip it as you do not want to burn the scallion. Cook until it is golden brown or about 1-2 minutes on each side. Do the same for all of the scallion pancakes. The thicker pancake will take a bit more time to cook.
• Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy!