Chinese scallion pancakes

These scallion pancakes are a restaurant and street food classic - a delicious combination of savory flavors and chewiness.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour (plain flour)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup hot water (boiling hot, or a little more as needed)
• 2 scallions (green onion/spring onion, or 3, if small)
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or more/less as needed, or other neutral oil)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Preparation ---
2. 2Place the flour in a bowl and mix in the salt. Add the hot water and mix to a smooth dough. If needed, add a little more hot water so that the dough comes together into a ball but is not wet.
3. 3Knead the dough for around 3 - 5 minutes then wrap in cling wrap/film and set aside to rest for around 30 minutes.
4. 4While the dough is resting, trim the white part and dark ends from the scallions then finely mince/chop the middle light and mid-green part for the filling and set aside. Separately, blend together the flour and oils into a smooth paste.
5. 5Mix together the ingredients for the dipping sauce and set aside. You'll need to mix a little more before serving as the sesame oil will likely separate a little.
6. 6--- Forming the pancakes ---
7. 7Once the dough has rested, divide it into 4 even pieces and roll each into a ball. Take one and set the others aside and cover them until needed.
8. 8Roll out the one piece of dough as thinly and large as possible. It can be helpful to roll on a silicone mat. You can make it a rectangle or circle, as the dough rolls.
9. 9Brush the top of the dough with a thin layer of the oil-flour paste then sprinkle over some scallions evenly over the top (use around 1 rounded tbsp).
10. 10Starting from one side, roll up the pancake with the scallions inside to form a relatively tight roll. Then, flatten the roll slightly with the seam on the top (this also helps push out the air). Take one end and roll it up in a coil, so that the seam ends up on the inside of the coil (see photos above and video). At the end, you can either just press the end against the coil or tuck it under. Set the coil aside while you repeat the same process with the rest of the dough and filling.
11. 11Once all the coiled pancakes are formed, flatten the coil side with your hand to spread it out a little then roll it out into a circle around 6 in (15cm) diameter. Don't worry if some air bubbles pop a little and pieces of scallion pop out, just tuck them back in.
12. 12Warm a thin layer of oil in a small skillet/frying pan over a medium heat then fry the pancakes for a minute or two either side until lightly brown over most of the pancake and cooked through. Repeat with rest, adding a little more oil as needed. Cut the pancakes into triangles (quarters or smaller, if you prefer) and serve warm. If can be good to bend them a little either before you cut or as you eat to help fluff up and separate the layers.