Crispy, flaky Scallion Pancakes with Ginger Dipping Sauce are a favorite Asian comfort food and one of my all-time favorites snacks. The best one I ever had were at a small restaurant in Cambridge, MA and I've been on the hunt to duplicate them at home ever since. Scallion Pancakes are a lot easier to make than they look. I learned a quick and simple technique to roll out the dough that results in a super flaky and crispy pancake. The combination of sesame seed oil and fresh scallions give them a unique and wonderful flavor. The Ginger Dipping Sauce is a must for an authentic enjoyment. The best part - it only takes 5 ingredients to make Scallion Pancakes - flour, water, scallions, sesame seed oil, and peanut oil to fry. The dough is a snap to mix by hand, so no knead (haha) to pull out the Kitchenaid.
Water, flour are mixed in a bowl to form a dough. Simple!
Cut the rested dough into 4 pieces and roll out to a rough 10 inch circle.
Layer with scallions and sesame oil.
Roll up like a jelly roll, and coil the rope into a ball. Tuck the end under.
Flatten and roll out a second time.
Get ready to fry in a hot skillet on the stove.
Cut in wedges and serve with Ginger Dipping Sauce.
Scallion Pancakes
Ingredients
Scallion Pancake
- 2 cups flour
- ¾ cup hot water 145- 165 degrees
- ¼ cup tap water
- 8 scallions washed, sliced thin. (Need 2 scallions per pancake)
- ⅓ cup sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil for frying
Ginger Dipping Sauce
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons ginger freshly grated with juice (about 2 inch knob)
- 1 tablespoon. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 scallion green tops, sliced
Instructions
- In a large glass bowl, add the flour and make a well. Slowly pour the hot water in the flour while mixing by hand with a narrow non-stick spatula. Add the room temperature water slowly until the dough begins to come together. It will be very shaggy and sticky at this point.
- Using your hands, form a ball with the dough and knead inside the bowl for 3 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes on the counter.
- Place the sliced scallions and sesame seed oil in a small bowl and mix to combine.
- Prepare the dipping sauce by combining the soy sauce, grated ginger, rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame seed oil, red pepper flakes, and scallion in a small bowl. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Set aside at room temperature until pancakes are ready to serve
- On a well floured surface, divide dough into four even pieces and pat each piece into a smooth ball.
- Working one ball at a time and using a rolling pin, roll out each ball of dough into a thin 10-inch circle.
- Spread a heaping tablespoon of the scallion oil mixture on the circle and spread around evenly. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Starting at the top, roll the dough like a jelly roll to the other end and pinch to seal, forming a rope.
- Starting at one end, coil the rope onto itself to form a coiled ball. Tuck the end underneath. Set the coiled ball aside to relax while you continue rolling the rest of the pieces of dough.
- Lightly dust the board again with flour. Working with one ball at a time, gently flatten the coiled ball with the palm of your hand. With a rolling pin, carefully re-roll out the coil ball into a 10-inch circle . It is easier if you start in the center and roll outward. It is normal for some of the scallion oil mixture to ooze out in places. Just dust with flour if too sticky. Set the pancake aside and roll the rest of the coiled balls.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Gently lay one pancake in the pan starting at the close end and lay down away from you (safety first). Fry one pancake at a time over medium-high heat, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Cover the pan for the last minute to ensure the pancake is fully cooked.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt onto each pancake, and cut the circle in wedges.
- Serve immediately with Ginger Dipping Sauce.
Mia Cara
HI Cara, Found you on the web searching for recipe for Sfinge (the way my mom made it). She never called it St. Joseph Sfinge. I was with 8 or so eggs and a 2lbs tin of ricotta cheese mixed w/flour and water, baking powder, vanilla. not sure of exact measurements, but she'd drop spoonful of (wet) dough into saucepan of hot oil till they floated to the top golden brown, light & empty(sort of) in the center. no filling. it wasn't heavy doughy. can you supply that recipe if you know it? she'd serve it at Easter, Christmas, holidays. what a treat i was.
Thank You
MiaCara (ironic isn't it?)
Gordon T Kouba Jr.
Can't wait to make these. Had them in NYC China Town and loved them