Pancakes. Growing up this meant one thing. An ever-so-slightly sweet batter cooked to golden perfection on a buttered griddle pan, then slathered with more butter and syrup. Then I learned that if you are in the UK and order pancakes, you’ll get what I would call crepes. These are made with a much thinner batter and are properly eaten with a sprinkling of sugar and a good squeeze of lemon. In our family, my husband is the crepe master and our girls like to eat his special crepes with lemon, sugar AND some chocolate syrup.
I was just about grown up when I met my first Chinese pancake, which really isn’t related, except by shape, to either of the other two. Spring onion pancakes start out as a dough. There are no leavening agents, just some oil between the layers that makes them puff up and gives them their flakey texture.
Typically, spring onion pancakes can be a bit oily. After all, they are supposed to be shallow fried, plus the dough’s been oiled to make it separate into flaky layers. It may not be traditional, but at our house, we like my way better, which is to use a non-stick skillet, and just a little bit of oil to still get the necessary crunch.
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
2 1/3 cups or 290g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup or 156ml lukewarm water
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light vegetable oil
1/2 cup or 25g spring onions, minced
For the spicy dipping sauce:
1/3 cup or 80ml light soy sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon kecap manis or sweet dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions or chives
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 small red chili pepper, sliced
Method
Sift your flour into a large bowl, along with the salt. Make a well in the center and add in your lukewarm water.
Start on the inside of the well and gradually mix the flour into the water until it is all absorbed.
It looks quite dry but turn it out onto a clean work surface and knead it all together until you have a smooth stretchy dough.
Put the dough ball back into the bowl and pour over the 1/4 cup or 60ml of oil. Turn the ball to coat and cover the bowl with cling film. Leave to rest for one hour.
While the dough rests, make the dipping sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
When the hour is up, remove the dough ball from the oil and set the bowl aside. We are going to use that oil to cook the pancakes, so don’t toss it out.
Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, cutting them with a sharp knife, then using your hands to rub the oil around each piece.
Use a rolling pin to roll each piece out into a circle of 6 in or 15cm. Sprinkle on the chopped green onions.
Roll the circle into a tube.
Starting at one end, roll the tube up into a spiral, tucking the end of the tube under. Press down on the spiral with the palm of your hand to secure the end.
Now use the rolling pin to roll the spiral into a circle of 6 in or 15cm. Set each aside on a lined baking sheet. Repeat till all of the pancakes are rolled out.
To cook the pancakes, heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over a medium heat and use your spatula to drip just a little of the oil from the dough resting bowl into the pan.
Cook each pancake for a couple of minutes on one side, watching carefully as it puffs up and gets golden spots on the underside.
Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side for another minute or two, until they puff again and have brown spots on that side. Keep the pancakes warm as you repeat the process until all of them are cooked.
Purists say you have to tear the pancakes and dip small bites into the sauce because cutting them flattens the flakiness. I’ve been served them whole or cut in many Chinese restaurants though, so do what makes you happy.
Do serve the spring onion pancakes warm, with the dipping sauce.
Enjoy!
Are you a lover of pancakes? Then this month’s Foodie Extravaganza event is going to be your favorite! We’ve got all sorts of pancakes, both sweet and savory for you. Many thanks to Caroline of Caroline’s Cooking for hosting this month!
- Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes by Cooking With Carlee
- Buckwheat Pancakes by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Caramel Apple Pancakes by The Freshman Cook
- Caramelized Banana Topped Pancakes by cookinandcraftin
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pancakes by Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Churro Pancakes by Cookaholic Wife
- Corn Panki / Corn Pancakes by Sneha's Recipe
- Gluten-Free Pikelets with Homemade Butter by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Heath Bar and Banana Pancakes by Our Good Life
- Masala dosa by Caroline's Cooking
- Panqueques con Dulce de Leche (Argentinian Dulce de Leche Crepes) by Tara's Multicultural Table /
- Peaches and Cream Crepes by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes by Making Miracles
- Pineapple Upside-down Pancakes by Love from the Kitchen
- Silver Dollar Chocolate Chip Pancakes by Hardly A Goddess
- Spring Onion Pancakes with Spicy Dipping Sauce by Food Lust People Love
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