Chinese Scallion (Green Onion) Pancakes With Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce (蔥油餅配姜汁醬油)

Chinese Scallion (Green Onion) Pancake (蔥油餅) is a savory, non-leavened flatbread dough folded with oil and chopped scallions; then, pan fry to golden brown perfection.  It was originated in China, a very popular snack often sold as street food or in restaurants as appetizers.  It’s definitely one of my favorite Chinese savory snacks to enjoy since I was a little kid.   



The Chinese Scallion Pancake is similar to paratha in Indian cuisine or pajeon in the Korean version.  I love savory pancakes, and they are truly comfort food to me.  Back in my college years, I often gather with good friends on the weekends in one of those tiny Chinese cafés specialized in these pancakes along with other popular street foods from Asia.  I would munch on these crispy and flavorful scallion pancakes along with a cup of hot soy milk as breakfast when catching up (a.k.a. gossiping) with my good friends, as we planned out the activities for the rest of our weekends.  Those were the good old memories.



I don’t live closed by to those cafes anymore and many of my good old friends moved away/back home after college.  But the great news is, these pancakes are quite simple to prepare and they store really well.   On the other hand, although I don’t see my good old friends often, we can always keep in touch with emails, phone calls, or with Facebook these days!  That is much more convenience than the time when I was in college, relying on pagers and landlines (ha…that made me sounded like I was from another era!)   



Follow me to the kitchen and I’ll show you how to make these scrumptious pancakes.

1) In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt.
2) With a wooden spoon, make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water in a steady stream while continue stirring.
3) Knead the dough a few times and form into a ball.  Cover with a clean towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4) This would be the good time to chop up those green onions and prepare the dipping sauce. 



5) After 30 minutes of resting, transfer the dough onto a slightly floured board.  Gently press it to form a round disk.
6) With a pastry cutter or a knife, divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
7) With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a thin disk, about 1/8-inch thick.  With the back of a spoon, spread 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around.
8) Sprinkle the chopped scallions on top in an even layer.  Roll up the filled dough from one end to the other into a log, leaving the seam side down.



9) Pinch the end of the log and roll it into a circle.  Pinch the other end of the log and tuck it underneath the dough.
10) Roll the filled dough with a floured rolling pin into 1/4-inch thick disk.
11) I like to divide each pancake with a piece of parchment paper and stack them all up.
12)  In a large non-stick skillet, heat up 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Pan fry the pancakes until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.  Add more oil as needed in the pan frying process.  Transfer cooked pancakes onto a cooling rack and cut into wedges. Enjoy with the soy-ginger dipping sauce.



Remember step #11 from above?  After rolling out all the dough and separate them with a piece of parchment, you can store them in an air tight container or in a freezer safe ziploc bag until you need them, simply defrost them in the fridge overnight before pan frying.  It’ll be wonderful to double the recipe and keep the extras in the freezer for later. 



For the Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce, I simply grated some fresh ginger and stir with the rest of the ingredients.  The picture below shows you the grater that I use.  It’s one of my favorite kitchen tool because it works wonderfully.  Somehow, the tough fibers from the ginger would mysterious disappear after grating with this grater.  You can find similar products here.



To serve these Scallion Pancakes, I like to cut them into wedges, about 6-8 triangles from each cake.  Your kitchen scissors would do a great job with these.  Stack them up and serve.  They would be a wonderful appetizer in parties or afternoon snacks.



Here we go….



Don’t forget the dipping sauce!



The Soy-Ginger Dipping sauce is very earthy and slightly spicy from the ginger.  Yet, a little tangy and sweet at the same time with the rice wine vinegar and sugar.  The complex yet refreshing flavors from the sauce compliment perfectly with these crispy and savory pancakes. 



It’s really impossible to stop eating at just 1, or 10.  And my hubby would agree on that 100%! 











Chinese Scallion Pancakes With Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce (蔥油餅配姜汁醬油):
(Printable Recipe)
Makes: 6 Pancakes

Ingredients for the Chinese Scallion Pancakes:
2 cups all purpose flour, more for rolling
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup water
1 bunch scallion (green onions), around 8 of them (reserve 1 teaspoon for the sauce)
vegetable oil

Ingredients for the Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce:
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
a pinch of red pepper flakes
a pinch of white pepper
1 teaspoon chopped green onions

To make the pancakes:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water in a steady stream while continue stirring. Knead the dough a few times and form into a ball.  Cover with a clean towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. This would be the good time to chop up those green onions and prepare the dipping sauce. 

After 30 minutes of resting, transfer the dough onto a slightly floured board.  Gently press it to form a round disk. With a pastry cutter or a knife, divide the dough into 6 equal portions. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a thin disk, about 1/8-inch thick.  With the back of a spoon, spread 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Sprinkle the chopped scallions on top in an even layer. 

Roll up the filled dough from one end to the other into a log, leaving the seam side down.  Pinch the end of the log and roll it into a circle.  Pinch the other end of the log and tuck it underneath the dough. Roll the filled dough with a floured rolling pin into 1/4-inch thick disk. I like to divide each pancake with a piece of parchment paper and stack them all up. 

In a large non-stick skillet, heat up 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Pan fry the pancakes until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.  Add more oil as needed in the pan frying process.  Transfer cooked pancakes onto a cooling rack and cut into wedges. Enjoy with the soy-ginger dipping sauce.

To make the Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce:
In a small mixing bowl, stir all the ingredients together until sugar dissolved.  Serve with Scallion Pancakes and enjoy!