Flakiest Chinese Scallion Pancakes 葱油饼
Authentic Chinese scallion pancakes: crisp and light on the outside, with tender flaky layers on the inside. Makes 6 large pancakes, can freeze to cook later.
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 pancakes 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
Scale
Dough:
- 4 cups (575 grams) all-purpose flour*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (237 grams) boiling water
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (148 grams) room temperature water
- Additional flour for rolling/dusting
Paste:
- 1 cup thinly sliced scallions, green part only, about 6 medium scallions
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn powder, or five-spice powder (optional)
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Make the dough and let rest. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Create a well in the center of the flour and drizzle in hot water, mixing with a pair of chopsticks until large flakes form. Add cold water, a bit at a time, stirring to incorporate the dry flour on the sides of the bowl, until a ball of dough forms. You may need to add more water depending on your flour, but you want the dough to be soft and still slightly sticky. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Brush the ball of dough with a thin layer of oil to prevent it from drying out, and cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes. You can refrigerate the dough at this point to let it rest overnight, or continue to shape and layer the pancakes before refrigerating (see step 4).
- Make the oil paste. In the meantime, chop scallions and add to a heat-resistant bowl along with the flour, optional spices (Sichuan ground pepper or five-spice) and salt. In a small saucepan, heat oil over the stove until shimmering, then pour into the bowl. The oil will sizzle as it hits the spices and the scallions, releasing the aromatics. Stir to form a thin paste.
- Shape and coil the dough. Remove rested dough from bowl and divide into 6 equal portions. You’ll be working on one portion at a time; return the remaining portions to the bowl so they don’t dry out. On a clean, floured surface, roll out the first portion into a large rectangular sheet, as thin as possible without the dough breaking. Take a dollop of the oil & scallion paste and smear an even layer onto the surface of the dough using a pastry brush (or a spoon). Coil the dough following one of the six methods I describe in the blogpost above. Repeat for remaining five portions and let them rest for 10 minutes. If you haven’t chilled the dough yet, wrap each disc in clingfilm and rest overnight in the refrigerator.
- Roll flat into pancakes. Flatten each coiled ball into a thin, 1/4-thick circle with the rolling pin.
- Freezer option: At this point, you may freeze the pancakes. I usually just cook one or two, and save the rest for the future. Stack the uncooked pancakes on top of each other with wax or parchment paper between, and place in a large freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to a month.
- Cook the pancakes. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Brush a layer of oil on the surface of a nonstick pan, then reduce heat to medium-low. Lay one pancake flat onto the hot surface, then cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown. Uncover lid and flip the pancake, then cover again and cook for another 2 minutes. At this point, check both sides and cook for longer if necessary (this time without lid), flipping once or twice until the pancake is crispy and a deep golden brown. Before removing from pan, you can roughly shove the pancake with two spatulas to loosen the layers. Brush the pan with a new layer of oil and cook the next pancake.
- Cut scallion pancakes into segments or serve whole. Enjoy!
Notes
- *For the flour, I recommend using a food scale, as scooping and weighing flour results in different measurements. Here, I scoop the dough, so the total amount is 575 grams, about 143 grams each cup.
- *To approximate the lower-protein of Chinese flour, use 360 grams (2 1/2 cups) American all-purpose flour and 216 grams (1 1/2 cups) cake flour.
- UPDATE: reduced the amount of salt per reader’s feedback.
- Adding a bit of spice will complement the scallions, boosting the savoriness. I prefer using ground Sichuan pepper (hua jiao fen 花椒粉); I toast the Sichuan peppercorns and then blitz them in a food processor, and this taste most closely resembles the street-food version. You can also use ground black pepper or white pepper, or five-spice powder.
- *The weight of the flour will depend on brand/protein content of your flour. I use 575g Chinese all-purpose flour, which is about 4 cups.
- *Chinese all-purpose flour is lower in protein content than most American all-purpose flours. I recommend subbing a portion of cake flour if you want the best results. For the 4 cups of flour, substitute 2.5 cups all-purpose flour + 1.5 cups cake flour. Don’t use bread flour, as this contains the highest wheat protein/gluten content and can result in a tough pancake.
- Dipping sauce: 1 tbsp black vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 tsp brown sugar, and optional chopped chilies.