Egg

Scallion Pancakes

by:
May 20, 2021
4.7
12 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes two 8" pancakes
Author Notes

Sconegirl and I have been trying to recreate scallion pancakes at home. Every time we eat at a Chinese restaurant, we always order them. We were pretty happy with the way these turned out. Adapted from my recipe for Nonna's Piadina and most of the techniques of scallion pancake-rolling on the internet. —mrslarkin

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: mrslarkin sells scones at the Pound Ridge farmers' market and has been a FOOD52er since the early days.
WHAT: A flaky pancake studded with slices of scallion, with a bonus simple dipping sauce.
HOW: The ingredients are all pantry staples, and mrslarkin's simple, clear instructions make rolling out the dough an easy task.
WHY WE LOVE IT: The best scallion pancake is the one you have straight off the skillet, still piping hot. These are that and more. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon room-temperature lard or shortening (I saved the pork fat from my last braised pork belly), separated
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 cup thin-sliced scallion rounds (green part only)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, separated
Directions
  1. In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt.
  2. Combine water and milk in a small measuring cup. Warm in microwave at full power for 1 minute. Pour into flour and stir with a fork until dough comes together. Add a little more warm water or flour, if needed. You want a soft dough - not at all sticky.
  3. Using a bowl scraper, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute. Divide dough evenly into two pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest, covered with a barely-damp paper towel, for at least 5 minutes.
  4. On a lightly-floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a 9" circle, using a generously-floured rolling pin. With your fingertips, smear about a half-tablespoon of the lard over the dough circle. Beginning at an edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Then, from one end of the log, roll up the log into a spiral (see pictures for details.) Tuck the end under and set aside, covered with the slightly-damp paper towel, and rest the dough for at least 5 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
  5. On a lightly-floured surface, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out one spiral of dough into a 9" circle again. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sliced scallions over the dough. Beginning at an edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Then, from one end of the log, roll up the log into a spiral again. Tuck the end under and set aside, covered with the slightly-damp paper towel, and rest the dough for at least 5 minutes. Repeat with the second spiral of dough.
  6. On a lightly-floured surface, using a generously-floured rolling pin, gently roll out one spiral of scallion-filled dough into an 8" circle (about 1/8-inch thick). Set aside, and cover with the slightly-damp paper towel. Repeat with the second scallion-filled dough spiral.
  7. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium to medium/high heat. Carefully lay one pancake into the skillet, taking care not to splatter the hot oil onto yourself. Cook until the underside takes on nice splotches of toasty golden-brown. Flip and cook other side until toasty/splotchy (you may want to ask a friend to help you add a bit more oil for the second side). Remove to a plate, cut into triangles and serve immediately with dipping sauce.
  8. For a quick and easy dipping sauce, mix together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine, a pinch of grated ginger and a few scallion slices.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

94 Reviews

judy January 14, 2021
Scallion pancakes are some of my favorite. But I now have a very small kitchen, and very little energy. So I went hunting and found a really good recipe that can be baked in my toaster oven, so I don't have to stand over a stove. Based on Japanese Okonomiyaki, they can be made with any combination of veggies. But I like cabbage and green onion best. Use a sauce made of chili-garlic paste and mayo. I bake them in the oven instead of standing over the stove. A shout out to Budget Bytes for her cabbage pancake recipe. If one omits the cabbage and just makes the batter and uses the scallion greens, they are pretty close to these here. And about as good as any I have had in a Chinese take out. I put a thin layer of oil on the bottom of my small sheet pan (finds in my toaster oven) and pour over the batter, making sure all the mix-ins are spread evenly, and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Of course, watch them as every oven varies. Cut them into squares of desired size from 2 inch appetizer to 4 or 6 inch pancake--up to you. Serve as desired as well, they are great hot, cold or reheated the next day.....
J May 2, 2021
These are much more appealing, thanx Judy. Did you omit the carrot, also?
ELCookie December 27, 2019
Terrific! Made these instead of Latkes, as a "fried pancake" for 5th night of Hanukkah. Used butter and next time might add another layer of butter for more lamination. Thanks for the pictures which helped a lot.
Darian October 18, 2018
These were PERFECT!! I served them with Mongolian Beef and a side of lemon-ginger sugar snap peas. My whole family was so impressed with how well they turned out - me included!
ElaNY September 20, 2018
These scallion pancakes were delicious, and so much fun to make.
pqmommy September 10, 2016
I'm wondering if you can prep them hours in advance and keep them covered with a damp cloth to fry up at dinnertime?
mrslarkin September 10, 2016
I haven't tried that but I think it might work if you make sure to keep them covered and separated so they don't dry out and don't stick together.
pqmommy September 11, 2016
Thank you. I will try layering them in waxed paper and report back.
Kaite August 1, 2016
These were delicious and so much fun to make! I made one of the pancakes following the recipe above (with the substitution of butter instead of lard). The other pancake I used sesame oil instead of lard, sprinkled sesame seeds and finely chopped some of my homegrown chiles to add in with the scallions. They were tasty! I look forward to making them again and trying other variations.
Kerry G. October 6, 2015
These were really good. I used butter, as it is what I had on hand. Longer resting is definitely worth it.
pam July 12, 2015
The recipe worked fine but I found these to be tasteless. Disappointing. Cutting into eighths was too small also.
Julie B. May 27, 2015
I had scallion pancakes in China and couldn't wait to make them when I got home. I've made them for years and my family loves them! IF you have leftovers you can put ground meat (cooked) like ground lamb or burger inside 2 of them and cook like quesadillas. Also you can put raw ground lamb between 2 uncooked scallion pancakes cook on the stove then pop in the oven for a few minutes until cooked through (which is how these are often made to vary things)
Cialina N. October 6, 2014
I made these the other day and they were so delicious! I had more scallions than the recipe called for so I doubled the recipe and made four pancakes.

I ended up having leftovers. I reheated them the next day by toasting on a skillet - no extra oil added since mine ended up pretty oily. They were even better as leftovers. They were crunchier and flakier.

This recipe is a keeper!
Amy February 21, 2014
First attempt at these. My BF and I love scallion pancakes and these were terrific. I think next time I may try to sauté the scallions (maybe more?) for a few minutes before adding them to the dough. I wanted more scallion taste so think this might be the fix. Thank you so much for the recipe.
mrslarkin February 22, 2014
Yay! You're welcome, Amy.
Bryan February 18, 2014
I used sesame oil instead of lard and it turned out great. This was my 3rd attempt at scallion pancakes, using different recipes. This is definitely the best. Thanks for sharing.
mrslarkin February 18, 2014
You're welcome, Bryan! I'm glad they worked out for you.
Tanzanite December 20, 2013
can i use butter instead of the lard/shortening
mrslarkin December 20, 2013
I haven't tried these with butter, but I think it might work.
lillianstrange December 16, 2013
Thanks for the recipe! These are one of my favorite things to eat. I like to use the white parts of the green onion, too. I also like to add chopped up Thai chili peppers for added heat. We Chinese like to waste nothing! lol
mrslarkin December 20, 2013
oh, i like the idea of adding some HEAT!
Humphrey P. June 7, 2013
Can you do these ahead and reheat in foil?
mrslarkin June 7, 2013
I would imagine it can be done. Haven't tried it, though.
Cat822 January 24, 2013
officially the best scallion recipe I've used. I'm nearly vegan so I used almond milk and sesame oil in place of the bacon. dip in duck sauce or ginger soy sauce. yum very impressed!
mrslarkin January 24, 2013
That's great, Cat822! Thanks for letting me know.
Chantal M. December 23, 2012
What sides did you cook to go with this?
mrslarkin December 24, 2012
Hi Chantal, we just eat these straight from the pan. It's more of an appetizer. ChefJune's idea is to match them with this dish: http://www.food52.com/recipes/13872_1234_spareribs

And others have made them for breakfast. I bet they'd be great with scrambled eggs.

Here's a great Chinese menu that these would be great alongside: http://www.food52.com/blog/5302_a_jewish_tradition_8_chinese_takeoutinspired_recipes_for_christmas_day
jeanmarieok September 25, 2012
I've made these with lard, bacon grease and sesame oil, and all turn out beautifully. We probably like bacon grease best - the bacon flavor is not pronounced. And I always have it on hand.
mrslarkin September 25, 2012
yum!
Kitchie August 12, 2012
A Chinese friend suggested making one batch with green onions, one with peanut butter mixed with a bit of chili oil. Both excellent!
mrslarkin August 12, 2012
Glad it worked out! Peanut butter? Sounds interesting! Tell us where you added the peanut butter and chili oil, please!
Kitchie August 12, 2012
First mix about 2 Tbs unsweetened "natural" peanut butter (I use chunky) with a few drops of chili oil (maybe 1/8th tsp... more or less, to taste). At Step 5, instead of adding scallions, dab half the peanut butter/oil mixture onto the rolled-out pancake, then roll again, as in your recipe. My Chinese friend (from Wuxi, Jiangsu province) says both kinds are popular.
littlebear May 14, 2012
This recipe looks amazing, I have some schmaltz in the fridge, would that do in place of lard?
mrslarkin May 14, 2012
Thanks littlebear. I would definitely give that a try. let us know how it turns out!