Scallion Pancakes

One of my favorite things about New York City is finding the hole in the wall restaurants in Chinatown and ordering scallion pancakes to start. No matter which restaurant you go into the scallion pancakes are always freshly made. This recipe is the real deal. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The dipping sauce I paired is spectacular.

Make the dough. In a large bowl, add the flour and salt and whisk. Stir in a cup of boiling water and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Keep mixing and eventually start kneading the dough, adding flour until the dough isn’t sticky and is smooth. Cover and let it rest for an hour.

Make the pancakes. Divide the dough into eight pieces. Grab one piece but keep the other pieces covered at all times. Roll the dough out on a light floured work surface as thin as possible. Brush vegetable oil lightly, season with salt, and top with scallions. Roll the dough away from you into a thin cylinder and then roll onto itself to create a snail-like figure, like a cinnamon roll. Place your coiled dough on a plate and keep it covered with cling wrap. Repeat with the rest of the dough and make sure each piece rests for 15 minutes in the cling wrap.

Working with one coiled dough piece at a time, roll it out to create a pancake. Place the pancake on a plate lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the coiled dough, separating each pancake with parchment paper to pr event sticking.

Cook the pancakes. Heat up 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium low heat and wait for it to shimmer. Working with one at a time, cook the pancake, about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer pancakes to a wire rack to cool before cutting into wedges.

Make the dipping sauce. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, honey and red pepper flakes.

When you roll out the coiled piece, a lot of times the oil can get out. I threw more flour on there to prevent it from sticking.

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