Recipe from Grace Young
Adapted by Rachel Wharton
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus resting
- Rating
- 4(458)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The cookbook author Grace Young learned to make these scallion pancakes from her mother, who is from Hong Kong, and first published the formula in her book “The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen” (Simon & Schuster, 1999). In homage to the Cantonese immigrant experience, Ms. Young phoneticized dish names in the same way they appeared on Cantonese-American restaurant menus and titled this recipe chung yul bang. They have the perfect blend of crispy flakiness and tenderness. The trick is a mix of boiling and cold water: The boiling water gives you a soft, malleable dough that is easy to work, the cold water just the right chewiness in the fried pancake. She prefers these served without any dipping sauce: “Hot out of the wok, they don’t need anything,” she said. “They’re perfect the way they are.” —Rachel Wharton
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Ingredients
Yield:4 cakes
- 2cups/270 grams all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- ¾teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅔cup/160 grams boiling water
- ¼cup/60 grams cold water, plus more as needed
- 2teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- Kosher salt
- ⅓cup/26 grams finely minced scallions, patted completely dry
- ⅔cup/144 grams vegetable oil, or as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
589 calories; 39 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 7 grams protein; 391 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the flour and sugar. Pour in the boiling water, quickly mixing everything together with a wooden spoon until the flour absorbs all the water. It will look a bit dry and flaky. Stir in the cold water. A dough should form and begin to pull away from the side of the bowl. If needed, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time. The dough should not be sticky, but dry to the touch.
Step
2
Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary, 3 to 5 minutes. Lightly cover the dough with a clean damp cloth or plastic bag and let it rest for 1 hour.
Step
3
Redust the work surface with flour and knead the rested dough for a few minutes, or until it is smooth. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll into balls. Cover three of them with the damp cloth or plastic, then use a floured rolling pin to roll the fourth into a 7-inch round. Cover the round with the damp cloth or plastic, then roll out the remaining three pieces, keeping any unused dough well covered while you work.
Step
4
Brush each round very lightly with the sesame oil and sprinkle each with ¼ teaspoon salt and a quarter of the minced scallions. Tightly roll each circle into a fat rope, then tightly coil each rope so that it looks like a snail’s shell, pinching the end of the rope into the bun so that it seals. Cover the rounds with the damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
Step
5
Redust your work surface with flour and roll each cake out with a floured rolling pin into a 7-inch round. Set aside to fry when the oil is ready. Or, refrigerate in an airtight container dusted with flour for up to 1 day. Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes before frying. You can also stack the rolled dough between parchment paper, wrap tightly in plastic, seal in a resealable plastic freezer bag and freeze for a few weeks. Unwrap and let them come to room temperature, about 15 minutes, before you fry them.
Step
6
Line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels. Heat the oil in a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over medium until it is hot but not smoking. Working carefully, as the oil will spatter, add a scallion cake to the bottom of the pan using a metal spatula or tongs, and let it fry until golden brown on the bottom, just a minute or two. Carefully flip the cake over and fry until the other side is golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. As it fries, adjust the heat to maintain a steady sizzle and lightly press the center of the cake with a metal spatula to make sure the center is cooked through, being careful of oil spatters. Alternatively, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high and pan-fry a round of dough until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes. When the cake is done, transfer it to the paper towels and fry the three remaining cakes, adding 1 tablespoon oil per cake if pan-frying.
Step
7
Sprinkle the scallion cakes with a little more salt, cut them into 6 to 8 wedges, and serve them immediately.
Ratings
4
out of 5
458
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Cooking Notes
Barb in VT
These are excellent! Had to add 3-4tbsp flour than it called for. I don’t think any quality is lost by pan frying—they had that perfect chewy-flakey layered texture with crisp outsides. Delicious!Made a dipping sauce with tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and ginger.
Judi Goodman
Can you make this with gluten free flour?
BW
I haven't made this recipe, but I often make scallion pancakes with a similar recipe - they freeze, uncooked, extremely well. You could freeze the extras for a quick appetizer (be sure to keep parchment paper between them so they don't stick together). They defrost quickly and cook up the same as fresh (nearly). They pan fry very well if you don't want to deep fry. Otherwise, just half each ingredient to cut the recipe in half.
CBB
I've made Melissa Clark's scallion pancakes which called for equal amounts of potato flour and regular flour. I substituted chick pea flour for the regular flour and they came out great. I'm assuming you could do the same with these.
jeremy in denver
I had the same issue the first time I tried but was also on the mission as good scallion pancakes are really hard to find in this town. But I did it!1. I used my stand mixer to do the first mix/knead2. I kept an extra 2-3 T of flour on the side of my cutting board for each step of the process and dusted my hands, my rolling pin, the board and each pancake with a little extra flour before each step.3. I worked pretty quickly, compared my normal pokey kitchen pace
open Sesame
When I’m cooking these on the pan, I love adding sesame seeds for next level delish.
Sara
Dan, I think of kids playing with modeling clay.Use both hands rubbing straight out and back in front of you to form a kind of a snake or long thick strand of dough. Then, starting at one end of the strand, roll the dough into itself so that it creates a spiral like a finished cinnamon roll. You want to then pinch the outer end of the snake against the edge of the spiral/cinnamon roll so that it doesn't unravel.
Maeve
I don't see any issue in halving the amounts here. It's not as if you have to split an egg or anything. I'm not a fan of adding sugar, so I'd use only a 1/4 of a tsp if making for two.
GCP
I thought that these were tasty and my husband thought they were too sweet. I agree that more flour was needed to decrease the stickiness. Next time, I'd reduce the sugar, add more flour and also more scallions. I cooked two of them in a nonstick pan with less oil, kept them warm under a towel and then reheated them slightly in a toaster oven before serving.
ian
Roll thinnerLess sugar
Samantha
This dough recipe works really well. I can’t ever cut the scallions thin enough, so I salt them when I make the dough. They wilt when the dough rests and the salt enhances the flavor too. Win, win.
Ashika
This was delicious! My only complaint: more onion is needed. I will be making this again with triple the amount of green onion.
Erin
This was a great way to use up those scallions that I forgot about in the fridge. I followed the recipe exactly, and I’m very pleased with the result. I’ll definitely make these again. The dough is so beautifully soft and smooth. I froze half of them and snacked on the others tonight.
Dan Hofer
"Tightly roll each circle into a fat rope, then tightly coil each rope so that it looks like a snail’s shell, pinching the end of the rope into the bun so that it seals."I'm having difficulty understanding what a rope that looks like a snail's shell means. Can anyone explain it any differently? Thanks in advance!
Sara
Dan, I think of kids playing with modeling clay.Use both hands rubbing straight out and back in front of you to form a kind of a snake or long thick strand of dough. Then, starting at one end of the strand, roll the dough into itself so that it creates a spiral like a finished cinnamon roll. You want to then pinch the outer end of the snake against the edge of the spiral/cinnamon roll so that it doesn't unravel.
visser.ja
I cooked these exactly according to the recipe, yet they came out hard as a rock. Did I over-cook them?
open Sesame
When I’m cooking these on the pan, I love adding sesame seeds for next level delish.
Dough too sticky
I am on a mission to master scallion pancakes but this dough ended up way to sticky for me. I tried to add more flour but it just got too difficult to handle. What am I doing wrong? Help how do I make this work!
jeremy in denver
I had the same issue the first time I tried but was also on the mission as good scallion pancakes are really hard to find in this town. But I did it!1. I used my stand mixer to do the first mix/knead2. I kept an extra 2-3 T of flour on the side of my cutting board for each step of the process and dusted my hands, my rolling pin, the board and each pancake with a little extra flour before each step.3. I worked pretty quickly, compared my normal pokey kitchen pace
James
A big hit at the dinner. Warning—they get very sticky during the rolling out process, before the rolling up with scallions. I'm wondering if maybe one could keep them in balls, covered, and then roll, brush and sprinkle with scallions one by one, rather than rolling all of them out and then doing the brushing and sprinkling. Kept them overnight in between sheets of parchment in the fridge, but the next day they were still pretty sticky and had to be handled carefully.
Maya
Obsessed with these pancakes. I've learned you don't necessarily need to bring out the rolling pin because they seem just as good when patted and stretched out by hand. Also, they take a little while to make and do freeze well, so it's worth it to make a couple recipes and store them separated by wax paper. I made a dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, and red chili flakes, but it's arguable whether it is even necessary.
Jelena
I thought these pancakes were a bit bland and they didn't puff up in places like the ones pictured.
Ember
So, so, so delicious! I probably used three times the scallions because I love onions and had a lot to use up. The dough came out perfectly crispy on the outside and delightfully chewy on the inside. Definitely recommend!
lava
Made this for dinner today. Added in chopped chili peppers and cilantro for more flavour. It worked out well, but I felt the distribution of salt was uneven, so I would add the salt to the dough next time round.
Meredith
These came out perfectly! I used a non-stick skillet, and they had the consistency I was hoping for. Loved the tip of sprinkling some extra salt at the end.
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