Chinese Green Onion Pancake

Chinese green onion pancake or “ 葱油饼” is a savory, flaky, flatbread folded with oil and scallions. It is a popular Chinese dish that is known to be a street snack as well as an appetizer at restaurants. When done right, a scallion pancake has layers of flavor and texture: crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with tender bits of scallion sprinkled throughout. I personally love eating this dish at Shanghainese restaurants with a cup of hot soy milk. Today, I’m going to share with you, my scallion pancake recipe!

How to Make the Perfect Chinese Scallion Pancake

I’ve made this scallion pancake a bunch of times, and honestly, it wasn’t always perfect.  In fact, I’ve failed several times. Sometimes it was too doughy on the inside, sometimes it was too thin and too crispy. Sometimes you can barely even taste the layers. I was so disheartened every time it wasn’t perfect. But after much trial and error, I’ve finally achieved the right texture and taste! There are a few components to keep in mind to make sure the correct texture is achieved. In this video you will learn how to make the correct dough and fold it in a way that the flakey middle section is achieved. I hope you enjoy this recipe and will try making this easy pancake at home with your family!

Equipment: Rolling Pin

Level: Easy

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 ¼ cups of flour
• 1 ½ cups of water
• 2 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp oil 
• 2 cups of green onions

Instructions

1. Heat water in a pot until it’s warm, not boiling. 
2. Add flour to a bowl and once the water is warm, slowly add in the water with the flour. The flour might stick to your hands but you can either rub your hands together or just use more flour to rub the dough off your hands. 
3. After your dough forms into a ball, use a damp paper towel and cover the dough for 20 minutes to let it rest.
4. Slice green onion into 2 cm increments. Dust your cutting board with flour. After the dough has rested, roll out the dough on the cutting board.  
5. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough until it is flattened. Then, roll the dough back into one ball. Roll out dough horizontally. Use a knife and evenly divide dough into 4 pieces. 
6. Starting with one piece at a time, roll out the dough. Dust the table with more flour, form the dough into a ball. Using the palm of your hand, lightly push the dough until it starts to flatten on the surface. 
7. Use a rolling pin, start to evenly roll out the dough on all the edges. Roll out the dough until it is really thin. If dough continues to stick, keep adding more flour to coat the dough. 
8. When dough is rolled out, use a basting brush to brush oil on the pancake. Then sprinkle ½ tsp of salt all over the dough evenly. Spread green onion evenly all over the dough. 
9. On one edge of the pancake, start rolling the pancake snuggly until you reach the end and it forms a rope. Tuck both ends of the dough so the green onion doesn’t stick out. 
10. Gently twist the dough with both hands up and down the rope. Then start curling your rope like a coil. Form two levels of the roll and then tuck in the end of the rope at the top of the coil. 
11. Use another damp paper towel to wrap dough.
12. Repeat for the 3 other pancakes. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, use the palm of your hand to push dough down evenly. Spread until the pancake spreads to around 7 inches in diameter. Be gentle with pressing the pancakes to not break green onions. 

Pan Fry Green Onion Pancake

1. Heat a nonstick pan on medium heat. Once the pan is warm, lay the pancake in the pan. Wait for a minute or two or until the pancake is lightly browned, and then turn over. 
2. After both sides are brown, add 1 tbsp of oil and put the pancake back in. 
3. Put a lid on top of the pan and let the pancake cook for 1 more minute. Take out the pancake and cut into 8 pieces and serve!

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