scallion pancakes.

The scallion pancakes I had discussed earlier this week were made again last night (when I like something I become obsessed to the point that I eat it until I find something new to obsess over).  There is something about the simplicity of this pancake that I find irresistible (simplicity seems to be the current name of the game since I am finding that preference being extended to my wardrobe as well!).  They are chewy and light with the most wonderful onion flavor dispersed throughout.  I could eat these plain any day of the week but they are best dipped in a mixture of soy sauce and Sriracha and served with Sriracha scrambled eggs (can you tell I love Sriracha) or fried rice made with the leftover Korean marinated beef!  Simple and utterly satisfying and best consumed while watching Homeland! (Halfway through Season 2!  I am obsessed with this show.)   

Scallion Pancakes

Recipe from The Sophisticated Gourmet

Makes 6-8 pancakes

1 ½ cups/180 grams all-purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoons fine grain sea salt

3 green onions or scallions, green parts only, trimmed and cut into small rounds to yield 1/3 cup

½ cup boiling water

Oil, for frying (any neutral-oil but no olive oil!)

In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of your electric mixer), whisk together the flour, salt, and scallions.  Slowly add the boiled water to the flour and scallion mixture.  Briefly knead the dough until it’s no longer sticky.  If the dough is too dry, keep adding tablespoons of hot water until a soft dough forms; it should be similar in consistency to chewing gum. 

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a clean, lightly floured surface until soft and smooth, about 10 minutes. (You can also beat this in the electric mixer for about 4 minutes.) 

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. 

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.)

Once all the pieces of dough are shaped into perfect rounds, lightly dust the tops and bottoms of each round of dough with some flour.  Then slightly flatten each dough round. 

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.  When rolling out the dough rounds, avoid adding too much flour to the work surface as this results in hard, greasy pancakes.  To get perfect discs, give the dough ¼ turn each time you roll. 

Once all the discs are rolled0out, heat a dry stir-fry pan, cast-iron skillet, or heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.  Pour in about ¼ inch of oil into the pan or skillet.  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.  Add more oil to the skillet, and repeat for the remaining pancakes, always making sure to dust off any excess flour before placing the discs in the pan.  Serve immediately.