Green Scallion Pancakes
Green Scallion Pancakes seem a good choice for the first post of this website. It’s a well known dish among Chinese people globally. It is also so well loved that I honestly haven’t heard of any person not liking it!
Green scallion is such an essential ingredient in Chinese cuisine that it is probably used in every Chinese meal preparation. It is a very clever dish to attract your kids to eat scallions willingly, and nonstop. Scallions have a strong taste that children usually run away from. But when scallions are packed in between these soft layers of dough and heated with oil and salt, the oniony smell turns into this irresistibly pungent aroma. Look how much scallions are packed in this pancake!
There are so many ways to make all variations of Green Scallion Pancakes. Pancakes are called “Bing” in Chinese, and there are countless Bing recipes. In Northern China, every family has its own Bing recipe, just like spice mix in Indian families. Thick or thin, soft or chewy, layered or wrapped, it all comes down to personal preference and family tradition. The word “pancake” is actually not very accurate in describing this dish, yet an equivalent English word couldn’t be found. Though shaped similarly, “Bing” doesn’t have the lightness and fluffiness of a pancake, it is much more chewy and elastic. Its appearance may resemble that of a Roti or Naan, but less buttery, carrying its unique texture and taste.
This Bing recipe introduced here is a favourite in my family as it has crispy outer skin and soft inner layers. It uses very little oil, just enough to infuse the fragrance from green scallions. The ingredients used are very minimal and the success rate is high for first-timers. On a relaxing day, it is the perfect snack or main course to make for the family. All it requires is an open mind to touch sticky dough. In my opinion, washing hands seems much more convenient than washing dishes?
History of Green Scallion Pancake
It’s hard to trace its origin but multiple sources point to Shandong, an East Northern region along the coastline of China, from around 25-200AD. The Shandong area is known for the use of flour in its cuisine. In general, “Bing” is a common Northern China staple like bread, but Green Scallion Pancake was popularised in Taiwan in the last 70 years and since has spread to Chinese restaurants globally. In Asia, it is often served on the streets or hawker stalls. There are a variety of these pancakes, in different shapes, textures, and ways of making.
Something about Scallions
Scallions (“Cong蔥” in Chinese), a variety of onion, were cultivated around 3500 BC and were native to Asia. Scallions can be categorised into 2 main types in China, though each has its own variations. They are also called differently depending on the region and dialect. In Chinese cookbooks, they are generally distinguished by the names Big Scallions or Small Scallions (also called Green Scallions or Spring Onions).
Big Scallions can grow up to 2-3cm in diameter and 60-80cm long. It is almost like a thinner version of leek with a longer white stem and a finer texture. Often, the green, tubular section is discarded or used for stocks. The white stem contains the most flavour and is perfect for removing gamey taste in meat dishes.
In contrast, the Small (Green) Scallions are much shorter and thinner than the Big Scallions. The best part is the green section. The taste is much milder and sweeter, thus it is commonly used in seafood dishes or consumed raw or as garnishes for both cold and hot dishes. In this pancake recipe, Small (Green) Scallions are used.
Health Benefits of Scallions
Scallion’s medicinal value has been frequently mentioned in Chinese herbals since ancient times. It boosts our immune system, lowers cholesterol, and reduces inflammation. It contains antioxidants like vitamin C, and is an excellent source of Vitamin K, which is crucial to bone health and to prevent blood clotting. Eating 3 medium sized Green Scallions provides enough daily dose of vitamin K for adults.
Cooking Tips
Flour and water ratio: The dough in this recipe contains a high ratio of water (every 100g flour to 80mL water) to create the soft texture of the pancake. However, the mixture can really stick to hands because of this. To reduce some of the discomfort, I use chopsticks or spatula first when mixing the water and flour. Only after water and flour are combined, and the mixture turns into small chunks and flakes of dough, I start to knead with bare hands. Both hot and room-temperature water is used in the recipe. The hot water “cooks” half of the flour to prevent gluten forming, giving the pancake its desired softness. The other half of flour is mixed with room-temperature water to maintain the dough’s elasticity for shaping. Mixed together, this dough is perfect for making pancakes, soft yet elastic.
Kneading: Kneading in this recipe can get very uncomfortable because the high water to flour ratio. The mixture is so sticky during kneading that your hand can barely lift up. Allow this discomfort and keep kneading. After a few minutes, you can start to feel the change in dough texture. It is still sticky but there is more strength, the dough can be pulled high without breaking. The kneading almost becomes a repeated movement of pulling the dough away from the bottom of the bowl and dropping it back. Keep going for about 3-5 minutes. The leftover flour bits on the wall of the bowl will be all gone as the gluten forms strong bonds in the dough. At this point, stop and scrape the doughs off your hand using a scraper or spatula. Wash and dry your hands completely before kneading again for another 15 seconds or so. This second kneading is to shape the dough into a ball. Not much strength is needed. The surface of the dough is becoming smooth with a sheen. It’ll get more smooth and shiny after resting . Cover with wet cloth and begin the first rest for 20-30 minutes. The relaxation of dough happens during this time. This dough will not rise much as hot water prevented half of the gluten forming.
Cutting green onions: Do not cut the green onions too small. The size of a small pea is perfect. Bits of beautiful green colour show through the pancake when finished.
Rolling the dough: Roll gently but quickly. It’s ok if the dough is not rolled into a perfect circle, don’t stress out. Use your hand to stretch it if needed. The dough should be very loose, easy to shape. I prefer rolling on a large silicone baking sheet. Key is to dust dry flours on all surfaces including hands, rolling pin, and work area. Working quickly can avoid overworking the dough, which makes it sticky and easy to break.
Pan-frying: At the beginning, the pancake is pan-fried without any oil. This technique in Chinese cooking is called “White Wok”, which is often used to bring out the fragrance of ingredients. But before putting pancake inside the pan, the pan must be hot enough. To test, place your palm above the bottom of the pan (without touch it!). If your palm feels hot, then the pan is also hot.
“Flip and throw” technique: This is commonly used during pan-frying to loosen up the inner layers. Lift the pancake high and flip it upside-down, throwing it onto the frying pan with a large “bang”. For beginners, just lift the pancake to eye-level high with a spatula, then release and drop it on the frying pan to create the same effect. “Flip and throw” requires some practice to avoid landing the pancake outside of the pan during flipping.
Green Scallion Pancakes
Servings for 4 persons
Preparation time: 1hr
Ingredients
400g (3 1/2 cups) flour (plain or multipurpose)
160mL (3/4 cup and 1 tbsp) hot water (around 80F/26C)
160mL (3/4 cup and 1 tbsp) room-temperature water
60mL (4 tbsp) cooking oil (2 tbsp per pancake. Any flavourless oil works. Traditionally lard is used)
12g (2 1/4 tsp) salt
2 cups cut green onions (about 15pcs)
Extra flours for dusting
Equipment
Cutting board and knife
Rolling pin
Large working area for rolling out the dough
Mixing bowl (glass, aluminium, ceramic, plastic etc.)
Wet cloth
Non-stick frying pan or flat iron pan
Chopsticks or Spatula for mixing dough
Spatula for frying pancake
Baking brush (optional)
Steps
Prepare your mise en place.
1.Pour flour and 2g (¼ tsp) of salt into a large bowl, mix well. Use chopsticks or spatula to draw a thorough line in the center of the bowl vertically to divide the flour into two halves.
2. Add hot water to half of the flour, at the same time use spatula to mix till flour and water form small chunks. Add room-temperature water to the other half and mix as well. By now, dry flour is not visible, the flour mixture is flaky and has small chunks of dough. Use your hand to combine the two mixtures. The dough will get really sticky and it can be uncomfortable. Keep kneading! The dough will eventually become stretchy and elastic. The process takes about 5 minutes. At this point, stop kneading and scratch the sticky dough from your hand, then wash hands clean.
3. Use a dry and clean hand to gently knead the dough again to form a ball shape. With a dry hand, you can clearly feel the dough is much easier to work with. Work quickly as the dough becomes more sticky when kneaded. The surface looks rough and it’s fine. Cover with wet cloth to rest for 20-30 minutes. More resting time is needed in cold weather.
4. While the dough is relaxing, wash the green onions clean and shake off excess water. Cut the green onions into pea-sizes, yielding about 2 cups.
5. Dust the working area, rolling pin and hands with a thin layer of dry flour. Make sure the area is large enough for a 30cm (almost 12”) dia. circle. Cut the relaxed dough into two equal parts using a knife. Put one part of dough in the center of the working area. Leave the other part covered with wet cloth for later use.
6. Shape the dough into a ball quickly (don’t need to be perfect). Press the dough with your fingers or with your palm to flatten it into a small, thick disk. Gently roll from the center of the disk to the side of the circle in all directions. Try your best to roll it into an even circle. Lift and pull the edge of the dough as needed to help shaping. The finished dough should be about 30cm in diameter and 3mm in thickness.
7. Swirl 15mL (1 tbsp) of oil onto the dough surface. Use a brush (I use fingers, easy to wipe or wash) to smear oil evenly all over the surface. Sprinkle 5g (1 tsp) of salt over the oil (add more if you like it more salty). The saltiness and green onions go very well together. Again, smear salt and oil evenly.
8. Then spread a thick layer of cut green onions all over the dough (1 cup), leaving just a narrow (about 6mm or 1/4”) border around the edge.
9. Starting from the bottom, roll up the dough with both hands. Make sure it’s tight by tugging it toward yourself while rolling. Press the two ends a few times when finished to close the openings.
10. Now the dough is like a “snake”. Starting from the center, grab the dough with both hands and twist it in the opposite directions, like to twist-dry laundry. Twist all the way to the end.
11. Lift one end of the twisted dough and curl up the “snake”. Hide the other end underneath the curled up “snake”. The rolling, twisting, and curling are to create layers inside the pancakes.
12. Repeat steps 5 to 11 for the second part of the dough.
13. Cover both curled-up doughs with wet cloth to rest again for 20 mins. This second rest will further relax the dough.
14. Heat up a non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. This takes a few minutes. The pan has to be hot enough first.
15. While the pan is heating, take one curled up dough out, then roll or press to flatten it into a thick pancake, about 3cm (about 1”) thick and 20cm (about 8”) in diameter (I prefer the pancake to be slightly thicker, to contain more layers). The dough is so loose at this point that it is very easy to roll.
16. Put the pancake into the hot pan, and press the dough further with your hand to adjust the size as desired. Turn the heat to medium low. Do not flip until the bottom side is turning slightly golden. This takes about 4 mins.
17. Flip the pancake to make the other side golden too (another 3 mins)
18. Flip-n-Throw or just drop the pancake hard onto the frying pan. “Bang” both sides a couple of times.
19. Pour 15mL (1 tbsp) of oil around the pancake. Move it around to evenly coat the surface with oil. Adding oil makes the outer skin crispy. After 20-30 seconds, the bottom of the pancake will be covered with golden spots. Flip the pancake and golden the other side. By now the pancake should be cooked both inside and outside. Repeat for the other dough.
To serve:
Cut the pancakes like cutting a pizza (4-8pcs each). The crunchy sound is so mesmerising. Traditionally the pancake is served without any dipping sauce to fully enjoy the aroma and flavour from flour, oil, salt, and scallions. Voila! Ready to serve!
