Scallion Pancakes | 蔥油餅, Cōng You Bˇıng
At nearly a century old, Tung Yu-Chu 董玉珠 dresses impeccably every time he leaves the house with a neatly ironed shirt and shiny, polished shoes, a habit from his military days. Born in 1934 in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China, he came to Taiwan at the age of 16 as an air force soldier and was stationed on Kinmen, a Taiwanese-owned island just four miles off the coast of the Chinese mainland, at the height of the Chinese Civil War. He remembers the bombs that were lobbed over by the Communists every other day and says surviving was just a matter of luck.Like many other men who came over with the armed forces, Yu-Chu moved to Taiwan with the hopes of eventually returning home. But history had other plans. Yu-Chu ended up falling in love and marrying a local Taiwanese woman, and he never got an opportunity to see his hometown ever again, even when cross-strait family visits finally opened up in 1987. Yet after all these years, he still vividly remembers the food of his northern Chinese hometown, a cold, dry region resplendent with thick, scallion pancakes; hearty dumplings; and dreamy, cloud-like baos. A prolific home cook in his younger days, he re-created the flavors of his heritage entirely from memory, and this is his recipe for scallion pancakes. He can no longer cook at his advanced age, but he spelled out the instructions for this dish in meticulous, handwritten calligraphy for his family as a keepsake.I made a couple of adjustments to the original recipe. Because American all-purpose flour is milled differently than Taiwanese all-purpose flour, the proportion of water to dough is different. Yu-Chu’s original recipe also contains monosodium glutamate (MSG), which I’ve omitted because while a sprinkle of MSG can go a long way, it’s completely optional and admittedly not for everyone. The use of lard is mandatory, though, because according to Yu-Chu, “it really wouldn’t be a scallion pancake otherwise.”
Ingredients
- 2scallions (spring onions), minced
- 2 cups(250 g) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tspfine sea salt, divided
- 60 millilitersboiling water
- 90 millilitersroom-temperature water
- 1 tbsp+2 teaspoons lard or unsalted butter, divided, softened
- 4 tspcanola (rapeseed) or soybean oil, divided, plus more for frying
Instructions
- 1
Spread the scallions out evenly on top of a paper towel–lined plate. Air dry them for at least 30 minutes. This gets rid of excess moisture and prevents the scallions from weighing down the pancakes later. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the all-purpose flour and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Gradually pour in the boiling water, stirring as you add it. Pour in the room-temperature water and mix everything together until it forms a shaggy dough. Add 1 tablespoon of the lard, then knead the dough with your hands until it forms a solid mass and is completely smooth, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, churn the dough in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment on low speed for about 2 minutes.) The dough should be soft and slightly gummy. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- 2
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces; the pieces should weigh about 103 g each. Flatten each piece with your palm and with a rolling pin, shape the dough into 4 round discs, each measuring 9 inches (23 cm).
- 3
In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 teaspoons of the lard and the remaining . teaspoon salt. With a pastry brush, brush the seasoned lard mixture on the dough discs. Evenly divide the scallions among each of the discs.
- 4
Tightly roll up each disc into a thin log and pinch the seams and sides so that everything is sealed. Gently stretch one log so that it elongates into a 10 inch (25 cm) long rope. Place your palms face down on the rope, with one palm on each side. Swipe the right palm up and the left palm down at the same time so that the rope begins to twist onto itself. Take one end of the rope and begin to coil it up against itself like a snail shell. Pinch it closed and cover it with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- 5
On a lightly floured surface, flatten a snail shell dough piece with the palm of your hand, then with a rolling pin, gently shape it into a round pancake, about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. Gently dust flour on the pancake as you roll so it doesn’t rip or get too oily. Repeat with the remaining pieces.
- 6
Heat a well-seasoned skillet over medium heat, and then swirl in . Teaspoon of the oil. When the oil is hot and begins to shimmer, put a scallion pancake in the pan, and cook until dark golden brown spots appear on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes. Lift up the pancake with tongs, add ½ teaspoon more oil to the pan, flip the pancake, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining scallion pancakes, adding more oil in between batches. Remove from the heat and enjoy immediately. Uncooked pancakes can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, cook the pancakes in a well-oiled pan on medium heat until warm, about 5 minutes.