International / Recipe

Scallion Pancakes Recipe

Flavorful and easy Chinese Scallion Pancakes recipe. This recipe results in the best flaky, delicious, and absolutely addicting scallion pancakes ever!

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

Before I get to talking about how amazing this scallion pancakes recipe is, I’d like to take a shot at collecting many thoughts from the past month– thoughts that need to be shared “out-loud” with you. They’re updates on life, a behind-the-scenes project, and much more. I’ll do my best not to leave anything out, but if I do, I’ll most likely remember for my next post.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

So, before anything, I’d like to share one of the behind-the-scenes projects I’ve been helping work on with Anita and Stephanie, two very talented folks that you may already know. It’s an idea that Anita and Stephanie created over dessert one day– Sated Magazine. A lot of hard work and love has been poured into the beautiful design, photography, and writings for the magazine. The first issue is about one of my favorite subjects– dark chocolate!

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

Now, I’m bouncing around a bit, but my excitement has gotten the best of me! Sated Magazine is, as Stephanie wonderfully puts it, “a gastronomy publication” dedicated to sharing beautiful photos, great recipes, informative articles, and our obsessions with food.

I cannot share more than I have about the first issue (hey, you get this great scallion pancake recipe!), as we’d all like to leave you a bit surprised, but I can say this much: the big launch for the magazine is soon, and we’d love if you could start following the Sated Magazine Blog, the official Sated Magazine Twitter feed, and of course, be sure to sign-up for the Sated Magazine mailing list. Once we have copies hot-off-the-press, we’ll be sure to let you know, so you can order yourself (and your friends) some copies!

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

The last time we spoke, I mentioned that I’d be taking a trip to San Francisco; I’d like to thank all of you who wrote in and sent me great lists of places to dine at and visit! The trip was wonderfully productive and inspiring. I met with so many great folks: Julie, Irvin & A.J., Kimberley, Heidi, Stephanie, Prerna, Anita, Sabrina, Greg, Pamela, Shauna, and of course– the great folks at Chronicle Books and Driscoll’s Berries! I dined at many great places, and I found myself at The Ferry Building a couple times each day.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

The morning that I had to leave for my trip, while packing all of my stuff up, I came to the realization that I’ve an addiction to buying good cookbooks and that I could barely fit all of the cookbooks I’d bought during my trip. I’m talking about the kind of cookbooks make you swoon over the gorgeous photographs and beautiful writing. The ones with recipes that constantly give inspiration, and have you going back to cook more and more.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

Easy Chinese Recipes

One book I’ve had in my kitchen for many months now, is my friend, BeeYinn Low’s cookbook, Easy Chinese Recipes. I’m sure many of you know Bee from her very popular Asian food site, Rasa Malaysia. Bee, as many of you know, knows what good food is, and I’m so glad to say that I know such an inspiring and hard-working author as Bee!

In her first book, Easy Chinese Recipes, you’ll find authentic, simple, and mouthwatering Chinese recipes. Not only is the book filled with great go-to recipes, it is filled with beautiful photographs and step-by-step photographs of dishes that require a bit of a visual explanation. One recipe, in particular, that I’ve been making (at my family’s request) almost twice a week for the past couple months has been her Scallion Pancakes recipe.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com
Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

Scallion Pancakes Recipe

You’d think that after making and eating the scallion pancakes on a regular basis would have left us bored, but they say that the simplest recipes are the ones you find yourself constantly going back to. It’s recipes like Bee’s Chinese Scallion Pancakes recipe, well– all of the recipes in her book, that have you going back to cook your favorites!

Bee’s green and gold-freckled Chinese scallion pancakes are simple to put together. They are a tiny bit laborious, but very simple, as the only laborious part of making the pancakes is rolling them out, which I find rather relaxing.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

Ingredients For Scallion Pancakes

Technically speaking, this recipe only requires 5 ingredients! It doesn’t take much to make these Chinese scallion pancakes, which is what makes these beauties so appealing!

  1. All-Purpose Flour- this, aside from the scallions and water, is one of the most important ingredients for these scallion pancakes. A good quality flour makes all the difference
  2. Fine Grain Sea Salt – the smallest amount, just to add flavor and balance the flavor of the scallion pancakes
  3. Scallions – green onions work well, too. This is the basis of all the flavor of these easy scallion pancakes. In my book, the more the better!
  4. Hot Water – recently boiled is best, as this helps form this magical dough for the scallion pancakes.
  5. Oil- For frying. I suggest using any neutral-tasting oil such as sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil. Avoid using olive oil as it lends an odd taste to the scallion pancakes

How to Make Scallion Pancakes

These Chinese scallion pancakes start off with mixing together a small mound of snow white flour, a bit of fine grain sea salt, and jade shards of scallion. Soon after, some water is brought to a boil, and slowly poured into the green-freckled flour mixture.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

Once mixed together, the shaggy mess is kneaded for about ten minutes, until round and smooth.

The dough is covered with plastic wrap, or a damp cloth, and left to rest for 30-minutes on the work bench.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

After thirty minutes, the dough is divided, and shaped into rounds. Once divided, the rounds are sprinkled with flour, and are rolled out into 1/4-inch thick circles (I prefer my pancakes slightly thinner when eating the pancakes with something like a fried egg, or scrambled eggs; when it’s the main dish, I prefer to keep them thick), and are then cooked in a skillet filled with some oil, until blushing with gold. And that’s all she wrote!

Scallion pancake dough rounds

I know I’m bouncing around a bit, but I’d like to address something that’s been bothering me– I know I promised to set some sort of weekly posting schedule in stone, but thanks to camera and computer issues, I’ve been a little behind schedule, but I’ll make up for that.

Chinese green onion pancake rounds

I’ve a new camera, some new software, and I’m hoping to milk it for all its got. I’m still trying to adjust to the photo editing software and my new camera (I switched from Nikon to Canon– big jump!), so please bear with me as I try to share more with you.

Rolling Out Chinese Scallion Pancake Dough

As another side note, I’d also like to say that The Sophisticated Gourmet recently turned three-years-old a few weeks ago (celebration post next week- promise!). Here’s to many more years, my lovely friends!

Scallion Pancake Disc

Now, go make some scallion pancakes and be sure to pickup a copy of Bee’s book, Easy Chinese Recipes— you’ll love it! :)

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Yield: Makes 8 Scallion Pancakes

Scallion Pancakes

Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe | sophisticatedgourmet.com

This scallion pancakes recipe can be easily doubled. I’ve taken some liberties with Bee’s recipe; firstly, I’ve cut out a couple steps– rolling out the dough, adding oil, rolling it into a snake, and then into a snail… These are very classic techniques (which are also use in Paratha making), but I’ve found that you achieve quite similar results by simply making the dough into rounds, and then rolling them out, plus it saves a lot of time! If you’re interested in seeing the classic technique for making these lovely pancakes, please refer to page 47 of Bee’s book, Easy Chinese Recipes.

I cannot stress this enough when making these pancakes, but please try avoid adding too much flour when handing the dough rounds. Adding more flour than necessary results in hard, greasy pancakes, instead of soft and tender ones.

I’ve made these pancakes more times than I’d like to admit; last week when I made these pancakes, we ran out of all-purpose flour, and without any issues, I substituted Unbleached White Flour (bread flour) for the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe. The pancakes were lovely, and a bit more substantial and chewy compared to the one’s made with all-purpose flour (using my modified technique). If you’re serving these pancakes as a main dish, I highly recommend using half all-purpose flour, and half bread flour if you’re looking for something substantial, yet somewhat light.

If you’re short on time, this dough can easily be made in a standing mixer, just be sure to knead the dough for about 4-minutes, instead of 10 minutes.

I like to serve my pancakes with a fried egg or a quickly scrambled egg with sriracha sauce poured over the top, and a soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame concoction, as pictured above (simply mix together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, ½ tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon sesame oil, and top with ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds); the sesame-soy concoction isn’t very traditional, but it’s lovely for dipping your pancakes in!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups / 180g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and rolling
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons fine grain sea salt
  • 3 green onions or scallions, green parts only, trimmed and cut into small rounds, to yield ⅓ cup / 25g
  • ½ cup / 125ml water
  • Oil, for frying (Any neutral-tasting oil: Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, Canola, Vegetable, Peanut. Avoid olive oil– it lends an odd taste to the pancakes)

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups / 180g flour, and the salt. Then add in the scallions, and set the bowl aside.
  2. Bring the water to a boil.
  3. Slowly add the boiled water to the flour and scallion mixture. Briefly knead the dough in the bowl until it’s no longer sticky. If the dough is too dry, keep adding tablespoonfuls of hot water until a soft dough forms; it should be similar to the consistency of chewing gum.
  4. Remove the dough from the bowl, and knead on a clean, lightly floured surface until soft and smooth, about 10 minutes.
  5. Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let it rest for 30 minutes, or up to a day in the refrigerator.
  6. Once rested, divide the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces. Using your palm, roll each piece of dough into perfect rounds (avoid adding flour when shaping the pieces of dough).
  7. Once all of the pieces of dough are shaped into perfect rounds, lightly dust the tops and bottoms of each round of dough with some flour (Kamran note: I sprinkle it on, however, you can simply dust your work surface with flour, and slightly flatten each dough round into the flour, lightly dredging each side). Then, slightly flatten each dough round.
  8. Using a rolling pin, roll each round of dough into discs, starting from the center-out, into 5 ½-inches to 6-inches in diameter (if you prefer your scallion pancakes on the thicker side– 5 ½-inches; if you prefer them slightly thinner, 6-inches). When rolling out the dough rounds, avoid adding too much flour to the work surface, as this will result in hard, greasy pancakes. To get perfect discs, give the dough ¼ turn each time you roll.
  9. Once all of the discs are rolled-out, heat a dry stir-fry pan, cast-iron skillet, or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high. Pour in about ¼-inch (6mm) of oil into the pan or skillet.
  10. Working quickly, dust any excess flour off of the dough disc, and shallow fry each side of the pancake until light golden brown (about 1-minute for each side), pressing down around the edges of the pancake with a large spoon or spatula. the pancake should slightly puff up in places; try to coax the air bubbles to other parts of the dough, creating a big puff; if your dough doesn’t puff up entirely, no worries– they’ll still be perfectly lovely! Add more oil to the skillet, and repeat the same for the remaining pancakes, always making sure to dust off any excess flour before placing the dough discs into the pan. Serve immediately.

Notes

Tweaked from Easy Chinese Recipes by BeeYinn Low, with permission from the author

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 84Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 332mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

51 Comments

  • Alex
    May 16, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    Love these Kam! :)

    Reply
  • Belinda @zomppa
    May 16, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    So cool that you got to meet all those wonderful folks! These pancakes look awesome!

    Reply
  • Bee
    May 16, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    Thanks for the post and cookbook shout out. Congrats on all the good things and the new camera and gear!

    Reply
    • Kamran
      May 16, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      Oh, my pleasure, Bee! No need to thank me! Also, thanks so much! I’m still learning how to use it, but gosh, it’s such a fun learning curve! :)

      Reply
  • MikeVFMK
    May 16, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    Absolutely lovely recipe and photos, Kamran! I’m a big breakfast cakes fan and I’ve tried most varieties but this looks brilliant.

    Reply
  • Heidi Leon
    May 16, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    Kamran, congratulations on the magazine collaboration and especially for those fantastic three years blogging at TSG.

    Also, thanks for sharing Bee´s recipe on chinese scallion green onion pancakes since is one of my favorite recipes but oddly here in Macau is not so easy to find as lets say Shanghai where you can see a street food stall selling these pancakes at every corner.

    ps. love your step-by-step photography!

    Reply
  • sreebindu
    May 16, 2012 at 11:04 pm

    perfect =)

    Reply
  • Kulsum at JourneyKitchen
    May 17, 2012 at 2:29 am

    Beautiful Kamran :) Congrats on all the good things. Sated looks amazing. And so does this pancakes.

    Reply
  • Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
    May 17, 2012 at 6:36 am

    These little guys turnes out beautiful! Love this idea!

    Reply
  • Helene
    May 17, 2012 at 10:11 am

    Congrats on everything! So exciting. I just ordered the cookbook. Can’t wait to get it. Thanks!

    Reply
  • Patty
    May 17, 2012 at 2:27 pm

    Kam:: when I saw these on Facebook last night I ran into the kitchen to make them! These are by far some of the best green onion pancakes I have ever had. I also made the ”sesame concoction” you spoke about in the recipe. I thought it was very interesting with the flavors of the scallion pancakes. I loved the touch of the sesame seeds in the sauce too. 5/5 STARS!

    Reply
  • Patty
    May 17, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    p.s. i made them with bread flour like you suggested.

    Reply
    • Kamran
      May 17, 2012 at 2:33 pm

      Hi Patty! I am so glad that you liked these pancakes and the flavor of my “sesame concoction”–I’ve seen the combination used a lot in Japanese cooking. And while these pancakes aren’t exactly Japanese, I did feel that the flavors of the pancakes and the sauce were, as you put it, interesting together. Thanks again for the lovely comment! :)

      Reply
  • angela@spinachtiger
    May 17, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    I love this idea especially with the egg on top. Glad SF was a great time for you. I could wonder around the Ferry Building all day every day.

    Reply
  • Nicole Franzen
    May 19, 2012 at 9:30 am

    This is so beautiful Kamran, love the feel of your pics.

    Reply
  • Mika
    May 20, 2012 at 7:27 am

    Congratulations on everything Kamran! I’m so happy for you!!!

    Reply
  • sarah
    May 20, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    These are on my to-make list this week! And I’m so excited about this cookbook. And about Sated. So many good things in this post! ;) {and your photos are gorgeous, as always}.

    Reply
  • Quick Asian Recipes - Ashish Negi
    May 22, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    Coming over from Food Gawker… thanks for sharing the recipe… lovely pics :)

    Reply
  • Javeria
    May 28, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    I just bought green onions so I can make this for dinner tomorrow! What would this go well with, other than eggs?

    Reply
    • Kamran
      May 28, 2012 at 1:59 pm

      Hi Javeria- other than eggs, I highly suggest serving with a vegetable or chicken curry (totally Asian fusion, but very delicious combo!).

      Reply
  • Javeria
    May 29, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    Thanks Kamran, these were great! I think my proudest moment was when they puffed up! I ended up serving it with palak paneer… Also, is it meant to be oily like a paratha or dry?

    Reply
  • Stephanie
    May 30, 2012 at 2:50 am

    Thanks for the cookbook recommendation! I will definitely be checking it out, as well as trying these delicious looking scallion pancakes.

    Reply
  • caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
    June 2, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    savory pancakes! how interesting! i bet they’re delicious! gorgeous photos too! thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Jen Laceda | Tartine and Apron Strings
    June 22, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    i just made scallion pancakes myself, recipe from Eileen Yin Fei Lo from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking. They are perpetual faves at home!

    Reply
  • JulieD
    June 30, 2012 at 11:35 am

    Kamran, first of all, congrats on all of the great stuff that’s been happening. And oooh new camera!! :) And I’m dying over these scallion pancakes. Must add Bee’s book to my amazon wish list. xoxo

    Reply
  • Claire
    July 4, 2012 at 9:05 am

    I made the scallion pancakes yesterday for my sonny as yesterday was his Chinese lunar calender birthday. I served the pancakes with curried mashed chick peas and pumpkins and two hard boiled eggs (chinese tradition – must have two eggs on our birthday). I like the idea to prepare the dough a day in advance. It is quick and easy. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Jessica
    July 5, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    Hi Kamran,
    I want to go make those now!! yum! Why did you switch from Nikon to Canon, what nikon camera did you have? just curious since someday i may do the same!
    Jessica

    Reply
  • Marc @ NoRecipes
    July 10, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    Your scallion pancakes look great! I love how thin you got them. Also, congrats on reaching the 3 year mark! I just did some mental math and realized my 5 year anniversary came and went in April! Scary to think how fast time passes.

    Reply
  • Rachael
    September 10, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    These look delicious!! Congrats on all the exciting life updates! Out of curiosity, what do you do to help them? I believe they are based in CA and you are in NY, no?

    Reply
  • sunidhi
    September 15, 2012 at 12:43 pm

    Hi, This looks very yummy and mouth watering. definitely i will try and let u know. you have described it really good anyone can follow it . thanks for a wonderful recipe.

    Reply
  • Tiffany
    September 20, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    Those look absolutely delicious, although tomorrow I’m going to try your chocolate cupcakes (in spite of being down with fever).

    Reply
  • Katie
    September 24, 2012 at 11:41 pm

    Oh I love these pancakes. They remind me of the Indian style pancakes that I once cooked for my friends and children and all of them absolutely loved those. I have just one query; can I use rice flour or oats in place of the all-purpose flour for this recipe. Would that make a lot of difference in the taste and cooking method? Thanks

    Reply
  • Dixya @ Food, Pleasure and Health
    November 2, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    so glad to come across your blog, so clean and awesome photographs. I am totally inspired. Bee always has the best recipes and i am sure these pancakes turned out pretty good :) will be looking forward for more of your posts.

    Reply
  • Dijana
    December 31, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    Kamran, why OH why are you not updating your blog??? I miss it and I don’t want to go to Facebook! (pouting now)

    Reply
    • Kamran
      December 31, 2012 at 10:52 pm

      Dijana- you’re the kindest! I’ve been quite busy with personal matters, working on the book, and many more projects. I PROMISE to offer a much more thorough explanation in the coming week or so! Thank you so much for the support– 2013 will be filled with many, many, many more posts! Happy New Year! :)

      Reply
  • Rochelle
    January 16, 2013 at 4:15 am

    I’ve always wanted to get Bee’s book, but I just haven’t. Maybe it’s because it’s not readily available in Portugal and certainly not in English if I could find it.

    But at least I can give these pancakes a try, thanks to you.

    Oh and congrats on the 3 years blogging too!

    Reply
  • Mae
    February 10, 2013 at 7:40 pm

    Wow! These were fabulous! Thanks so much for the recipe – these will be favorites from now, on. I’m actually writing because I read how much you didn’t like rolling the pancakes out. I decided to try my tortilla press and in like nothing flat, I had some nice flat pancakes to fry. Thought you might want to try it.

    Reply
  • Josh
    February 27, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    Love this recipe! I’ve been using a sauce recipe I picked up in Japan – Ponzu/sake/sugar/garlic/sesame oil.

    Reply
  • Ashley
    April 28, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    I saved this recipe for a while and. Just made them. I didn’t have quite as many scallions as I would have liked. Overall I’m really happy I tried them. My fiancé and I ate them at the most amazing restaurant on Christmas Day in Chinatown NYC and have been craving them ever since!

    Reply
  • Eileen Cuisine
    May 17, 2013 at 5:03 pm

    I’ve just discovered your blog and let me tell you I love it after the first recipe read! Your photos are amazing, great recipes and everything looks just sophisticated. Great job!

    Reply
  • janelle
    June 2, 2013 at 8:32 pm

    these look great, can’t wait to make them! love the photos and the writing, your website is divine.

    Reply
  • food recipes
    July 1, 2013 at 11:15 am

    these looks super tasty and tempting. Wil try this soon.

    Reply
  • kelly
    July 17, 2013 at 11:14 am

    Hearty congrats on all counts. The project sounds lovely — and the new camera? Welcome to the land of Canon! Great photos as always, and the pancakes look tasty.

    Reply
  • Anne's Kitchen
    August 4, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    Hi Kamran,
    wow wow wow, what an amazing blog you have here! I just discovered your site through the Food & Wine Digital Awards (I’m also amongst the 12 recipients). So glad I found you here, I will definitely follow you now!
    Happy cooking & styling!
    Anne

    Reply
  • Henry Sztern
    August 4, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    I found this blog through Food & Wine. Fascinating read so thank you. I’ll be back

    Reply
  • georgia
    August 7, 2013 at 4:54 am

    I wish you could update your blog!

    Reply
  • sisilia
    September 8, 2013 at 7:33 am

    I came across awesome recipes at this food blog which were a great hit with my family:

    whimsytummy.blogspot.in

    I am sure it will interest you:)

    Reply
  • Michel
    January 3, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    How and for how long long can I keep the rolled out pancakes in the fridge so I can fry them as I need them. I won’t eat a whole batch at once.

    Reply
  • Tanya
    November 20, 2014 at 3:46 pm

    I just made this recipe with my 4 yo’s preschool class and they loved it. Even the “picky eater” ate it. Great recipe!

    Reply
  • Yafa
    April 25, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    I came across this recipe this morning and made it for lunch today. We made the dipping sauce too. Fabulous and very satisfying. We had thicker and thinner, oilier and drier, crispier and softer pancakes and it was all quite tasty. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kamran
      April 26, 2015 at 1:15 pm

      My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed them! :)

      Reply

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