Scallion Pancakes Revisited

Scallion pancakes are best rolled very thin.  I couldn't make the pancakes too thin because the lard melted easily and made a mess, causing the pastry to break and pushing the spring onions out. On another try, I used shortening (Crisco) and the results were much better.

Recently I'm crazy about scallion pancakes, cong you bing (onion oil pancakes), sometimes called Chinese pizza. I prefer them to Korean pancakes because cong you bing are more fragrant. They are also easy and quick to make and cost very little. All you need are scallions, salt, oil/shortening and plain flour. Sesame seeds are optional. Scallions are more suitable for the pancakes because they are have thicker leaves and you can still taste them after they are cooked, unlike spring onions which are thinner and delicate. Scallions, however, do not smell as fragrant as spring onions. I have pots of spring onions in my backyard so I use those instead of scallions.  I also have a large patch of Chinese chives that have been growing perennially and they can be used in place of the scallions to make jiu cai bing. You can also add ground meat or even fried bacon bits, like I did here.

Scallion pancakes from street vendors in Shanghai are usually thick and about the size of a small saucer, handy for eating on the go. The pancakes from restaurants are twice as big, very thin and crispy and I prefer them to the vendor-type. Whether thick or thin, scallion pancakes are best eaten when hot. Once cold, the pancakes are heavy and soft.

Whoever came up with the flaky pastry for scallion pancakes was a genius. The dough is flattened into an 'ox-tongue' shape and oiled, then rolled and coiled. When fried, the pastry separates into layers, the outer pastry crispy while the inner pastry is soft. If the pancake is rolled thin enough, the whole pancake is crispy. Most recipes do not call for lard or oil in the flour but I do add some to make the pastry short.

You can mix the salt and oil with the scallions but the water in the scallions and the oil will dissolve the salt and give a general saltiness to the pancakes. I prefer to layer the ingredients so that I can taste a grain of salt here and there. I think the worst recipe I've come across is one where the salt is added to the flour. I also prefer to use shortening (lard is good too but tends to melt easily) because it doesn't wet the dough like oil does.

Scallion pancakes are best eaten as a light meal with hot and sour soup because the sourness cuts the oil and refreshes the palate. You can also eat the pancakes as a snack with a cup of hot green tea.

Scallion Pancakes (makes 5 to 6 large pancakes)
3 cups plain flour
1 1/3 cups boiling water
3/4 cup finely sliced scallions
medium-texture salt (I'm told that vendors add msg)
veg oil or lard or shortening (shortening is best)

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl, pour the boiling water in (leaving 2 T, as all flours have different absorbency) and use a pair of chopsticks to mix, swirling round and round until all the flour form lumps. Wait a minute if you can't handle the hot dough. Gather into a ball. If needed, add the remaining water. Mix in 1 heaped T shortening. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Add more flour if too soft, or more water if too hard. Overall, the dough should be soft-firm when you press it with a fingertip. Cover and leave 10 minutes or you can even continue without resting the dough.

2. Divide the dough into 5 or 6 pieces. You can also use the whole ball of dough in one go to make a long roll but I find that working with small pieces of the dough is easier. Roll one piece of dough into a cylinder and flatten into 'ox-tongue' shape (oblong) of about 1/2 cm thick. Brush veg oil or spread shortening over entire surface. (I prefer shortening because it doesn't melt too easily in hot weather so that the pancakes won't break so easily when rolled.) Sprinkle the pastry with a generous pinch of salt, followed by the scallions (but leave the furthest edge clear so that the scallions will not get squeezed out when rolled) and roll, tucking in snugly. Now coil the roll, the seam inside the coil so that it can't open. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over and flatten with your palm. Roll into a thin pancake, the thinner the better.

It's best to cook one pancake and taste it so that you get an idea of how much salt to use.

3. Heat up some oil (1/4 cup or less) in a frying pan and fry the pancakes one by one until crispy. Turn over once only. The oil must be quite hot so that the layers of pastry'll separate and puff. Cut pancake into wedges and serve hot with a dip of black vinegar and light soy sauce if like.

Korean Potato Pancakes, Gamja Jeon

When I saw Lilyannette's gamja jeon or Korean potato pancakes, I knew I had to make them for breakfast asap. Breakfasts are testy meals in our home because Wey is always too sleepy/grumpy to eat. He prefers savory brekkies and since he eats in the car on the way to school (a not-so-uncommon practice here given the early start of school), I have to make sure the food doesn't spill easily.

I've only ever eaten and cooked pa jeon, a veg pancake with seafood that my Korean neighbor had taught me years ago. I love potatoes and a friend whose sons are six-footers has this theory that kids are taller when fed on potatoes so I'm desperately adding potatoes to my 16 year-old's diet. The truth is, I think, other than genes, easy eaters like my older son are tall because they eat everything and get a better range of nutrients. Anyway, I googled gamja jeon and stumbled upon a fantastic site for Korean recipes. Aeri's blog has very authentic Korean recipes and I like that like me, she posts what she cooks for her family. From what she has posted, you can make just about any kind of jeons so I used whatever I had in the fridge--bacon and leftover canned tuna. I added chives from my garden and half a chili and a couple of shiitake mushrooms that were drying up. Jeons are great for using up veggies and meat that you otherwise wouldn't know what to do with and also good for kids who otherwise won't eat veggies. It makes so much sense to feed my family savory pancakes stuffed with carbs, protein and vitamins than pancakes of carbs, sugar and fat (read: pancakes with maple syrup and butter--the Canadians won't be pleased). Really, if you think about it, a lot of sweet stuff like cakes and desserts are plain unhealthy food that makes us fat and sick. That's why I have stopped stocking my fridge with juices and sweet snacks and cakes are only for birthdays and special occasions.

Lilyannette's gamja jeons look light and crisp, almost like tempura. I didn't measure the ingredients and my gamja jeons didn't turn out as light but were still crisp outside and soft inside. And tasty. I think pancakes are versatile and you can test and try until you get the texture you like. For lighter pancakes, use less flour or use Korean pancake flour from Asian grocers. A bit more oil will make crispier pancakes. Be creative and throw in any veggie you have or like and come up with your own signature jeons. If making jeons for breakfast, you can cut the veggies and meat the night before. Grate potatoes when needed because they oxidize and brown easily.

Korean Potato Pancakes, Gamja Jeon

3/4 cup meat (bacon/tuna/crabsticks)

1 cup mixture of finely-cut veg such as carrots/chives/spring oions/bell peps/long beans/zucchini etc

2/3 cup onion, chopped finely

2 medium-sized potatoes (about 400 gm unpeeled), grated finely
1 red chili, thinly sliced

1/2 cup plain flour (or Korean pancake flour, which makes lighter & crispier pancakes)

2 large eggs

1/8 t salt (or to taste but remember the dip is salty) 

pinch of white or black pepper

Choganjang dip : 3 t light soy sauce and 1 t white rice vinegar but I like to substitute 1 teaspoon of the light soy sauce with dark soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee's) for a slightly sweetish taste. 

1. Grate the potatoes finely but not so fine that they turn mushy. I don't squeeze out the nutritious liquid.

2. Mix everything together in a bowl. The batter should be very thick. If using bacon, fry it until fat is transparent or better still, until golden brown~btw, canned tuna tastes great but Wey prefers bacon~

2. Heat up a non-stick frying pan. Grease lightly (for crispy pancakes, use more oil) with veg oil. Drop a large spoonful of the batter and flatten it out into a circle about 10 cm/4" diameter for eating with your hands, smaller if serving with chopsticks. Another way is to make a big pancake (saves time) and cut into wedges. When the bottom side is golden brown, turn over.

3. Serve hot with the dip.