Scallion Pancakes and Eggs
Learn how to make a Sunday favorite at our house. Scallion pancakes the Huang way. Make the dough first, then cut the scallions, prep your plate and pan with oil to set up production. The amount of time you set aside rolling out all the servings allows the dough to rest and you can stretch it out more to make a thinner pancake. It’s all about the layers! Cut extra scallions so you have for the rest of the week for anything from breakfast eggs to Korean BBQ.
Equipment
Rolling Pin
Flat surface (I use a smooth cutting board)
Large frying pan (I recommend one with a cover as you will use this for everything)
3 large plates
Towel or paper towels
Pizza cutter (Or I like to call it. My scallion pancake cutter.)
Chef’s knife (So important to get the one knife you can use for everything)
Steel mixing bowl
Spatula
Scallion Pancakes
1 ½ cups flour (more if you need to help combine the dough)
1 cup warm water (I like to use my water boiler and add cold water to it.)
Oil (for rolling out the pancake and cooking)
2-3 eggs (Optional)
Dipping Sauce
¼ tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1-2 drops sesame oil (Optional)
1 pinch chopped scallions (Optional. They almost become pickled if you make the dipping sauce first before you make the pancakes.)
Directions
Combine the flour and ¾ cup of water in a mixing bowl. Mix with a fork until mostly combined. Then slowly knead it together until it has a nice medium toughness. Add more flour if needed. All the flour should be incorporated into the dough by the time you are done. Use the rest of the warm water to pour on a towel and cover the bowl. Let it rest and set aside.
Wash and chop the scallions. In a small bowl, combine the dipping sauce ingredients and take a pinch of of the scallions and add to the sauce.
Take the wet towel covering your bowl of dough and place it on a flat surface. Place a smooth cutting board or cookie sheet on the towel.
Now, pour some oil on a plate. Separate the dough into 12 small balls using a little olive oil on your hands and also put it on the plate. Take three of those balls and line them up on your surface in a row. Roll them out a couple times. Take a couple drops of oil and spread across all pieces. Put a handful of scallions on the first and third pieces and roll them out all together. Stack the second piece on top of the first, then the third piece on top of the second. Lift up and move it so it is a horizontal piece. Start to roll it out. Careful not to over-roll it.
Fold the left side of the dough over the middle up to ⅔ of the way, then fold the right side over the the middle to the end of the dough. Roll it out so that it ends up being a horizontal piece again. Repeat folding and set aside on your oiled plate.
Repeat the process with the rest of the dough. You should have 4 pancakes ready to be rolled out for cooking by the end.
Put 2 tbs (more if you want it crispier) of oil and put in a sauté pan on medium heat. Take the first pancake you started with. Roll it out on the surface. Allow it to sit and rest while you heat up the pan. Take a piece of scallion and put it in the pan. If the scallion is bubbling, the pan is ready! Roll out the pancake and gently (and quickly) put it in the pan. If you put the pancake in too soon, your pancake will taste very oily. You don't want that.
Cook the pancake for 3-5 minutes. While you are waiting, roll out the next pancake.
Using a spatula, flip the pancake once you see the top of the pancake is transparent. Let cook for 3-5 minutes.
Check the bottom of the pancake, if it is the desired brown crispness, flip it over one last time to crisp up the other side. 2-3 minutes. Lay paper towels or towel on a plate. Put the pancake on half the plate and fold the towel over and press on the pancake to squeeze the excess oil out of the pancake. Repeat cooking for the next three pancakes.
While you are cooking the pancake you can start another pan for some scrambled eggs. I like to just drop the eggs straight into the pan and use a spatula to mix the eggs rigorously. Less dishes to clean!
Then use your pizza cutter or knife to cut the pancake into quarters. Dip in sauce and enjoy!
Notes
If you make too many or you are a just one person, you can par-cook the pancakes. About 2-3 minutes on each side, drain oil, cut in quarters and put them in the fridge or freezer. If you make the pancake too large for your pan, you can cut it into sections to fry it up.
