Scallion Pancakes

Of all the plants I’ve started from seed, I think I’m most impressed with the Parade onions. They start out so tiny, they seem like they are going nowhere, and then all of a sudden – they take off.

When I pick one of these bad boys, I want to make sure I use every last bit. So when I picked one for our nachos yesterday (along with the first jalapeno from “spicy” the pepper plant) I saved the onion tops for scallion pancakes.

Scallion pancakes are another one of our family’s favorites. It’s one of those simple (albeit time-consuming) recipes – but it’s worth every minute! Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

2 cups flour (plus at least a cup more for flouring the rolling pin and rolling surface)
1 cup chopped scallions (I prefer using just the green tops)
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup water
salt

Directions

1. Place 2 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the center.

2. Pour the 2/3 cup of water in the well of the flour.

3. Now’s the time to get your hands a little messy. Mix the flour and water together with your hands, kneading the dough until both are fully incorporated. You want your dough to be smooth and workable, much like pizza dough. Add tablespoons of water or flour until the dough is not sticky, but not too dry.

4. turn your dough onto a floured surface and knead, knead, knead. Just when you think you have kneaded enough, knead a little more. 🙂 You want your dough to be smooth and elastic.

5. Let your dough rest a bit. Meanwhile, gather your scallion/onion tops, oil and salt, along with a cup of flour for your surface and rolling pin.

6. Form your dough into a long rectangle, about 2 inches by 12 inches.

7. Evenly slice your dough into 8 sections. Aren’t they cute? Place these little guys aside, preferably where they will not stick to each other.

8. Flour your surface really, really well. Flour your rolling pin. Seriously – don’t be afraid – let the flour fly. You want nothing to stick during the rolling process.

9. Take your first section of dough and roll it out evenly until it is very thin and about the size of a large dinner plate. I usually know I have it thin enough when the dough starts to “ripple” a little as I’m rolling it.

10. Brush oil across the surface of the dough thinly and evenly. Sprinkle evenly with salt.

11. Sprinkle with scallions as shown above.

12. Now it’s time to roll! Start at one end and make a tight roll…

13. The next part is a little tricky, so I decided to use “counter cam” and capture this little move on video:

14. Take your little bundle and roll it out:

Repeat this process with all your dough balls.

15. Time to fry these puppies! Heat a thin layer of canola oil in a large skillet and place your pancakes in the hot oil, flipping when brown.

The top two have been flipped.

16. When fully browned, remove to a drying rack covered with paper towels to drain and cool a bit. Serve with soy sauce or your favorite Asian dipping sauce.

I served these for dinner tonight with this recipe for hot and sour soup from the Ranting Chef’s blog!