Scallion Pancakes

Scallion Pancakes are one of my favorite Chinese food appetizers. Most Chinese restaurants seem to serve these delicious fried, scallion-filled pancakes in the northeast United States. Where I currently live in the south though, scallion pancakes are more of a rarity, so I resorted to learning how to cook them myself. This Instructable is my method on how to do this.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 Cups of Flour
• 1 Cup Water
• Scallions
• Salt
• Oil
• Other (Garlic, ginger, or whatever other addition you're feeling)

First thing to do when making your scallion pancakes is to make the dough. I forget where I first got the scallion pancake recipe from, but it is very simple. It basically consists of 2.5 cups of flour and 1 cup of warm water. Mix the flour and water and kneed until you get a slightly sticky ball of dough. I've experimented with both white flour and whole wheat flour and both work with these proportions. Once you get your ball of dough, stick it in the refrigerator for a bit to let it rest.

While your dough is resting, chop the scallions for your scallion pancakes. I used an entire package of scallions as sold in my local supermarket (about six onions). I also added some chopped ginger root on this particular batch of scallion pancakes.

By the time you get your scallions chopped, the dough should be done resting. Take out the dough and section it out into smaller dough-balls. Press these balls flat. You can get all fancy and use rolling pins, but I use the less technical method and use my hands. Brush the dough with oil and generously sprinkle on the scallions. I also sprinkled with salt here for added flavor. Next, roll the dough up and over the scallions. Take your scallion filled roll and spin it into a spiral. This rolling/spiraling process allows the scallions to be spread equally throughout the dough. Finally, press the dough flat once again into a pancake shape again. You should be ready to fry the pancakes at this point.

Heat up a pan with oil on high heat. I used canola oil. Once the pan/oil is hot, add the pancakes. Just like on your standard pancakes, when the edges start to change color, the scallion pancake is ready to flip. I find each pancake cooks at somewhere between 1.5 - 2 minutes on each side. Once done, you're almost ready to eat.

Once cooked, I slice the pancakes into quarters and serve with soy sauce for dipping.