Self isolation during COVID-19 had me craving good Chinese food, and in particular flaky ‘Spring Onion Pancakes’. I decided to have a go at making these at home myself to curb the cravings, and of course learn something new. I was SO happy with the outcome and super excited to share this one – I didn’t have anyone teach me the tricks for this recipe! A true experiment and one that I thoroughly enjoyed making.
I highly recommend watching the video while making this recipe to work out the method to roll out the pancakes themselves. This little technique to roll up the dough, and create a snail then roll it out again will ensure you get a nice flaky and buttery pancake. I’ve noted it as optional, but brushing the dough with butter after the first time you roll it out will give you the ultra crispy but oh-so-flaky result that I was really craving. You still get a beautiful pancake without this step, but if you are making this for a special night or for the first time, then the butter is highly recommended. Traditional recipes use lard for this, so if you wish to use it go ahead, but I kept this recipe vegetarian. Alternatively, brush over more vegetable oil if you want a vegan variation.
Now this dipping sauce is what makes this recipe amazing. The spring onion pancakes are incomplete without a delicious dipping sauce, and this one is a real favourite in my house. I use Sichaun peppercorns for this sauce and it makes a huge difference. These peppercorns are also known as numbing peppers providing this sauce a wonderful hint of numbing spice. You can find these in your local Asian grocer or in an artisanal grocer. Nowadays in Sydney it’s reasonably common to get your hands on these. I add some spring onions too to impart the delicious onion-y flavour.
Watch me make these delicious pancakes here:
And as always here is the recipe card!
Spring Onion Pancakes
Equipment
- Flat fry pan
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour
- ½ cup hot water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
- 4 tbsp. black sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 chilli, sliced
- vegetable oil, butter or lard for cooking
- butter or lard for brushing melted
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl
- Pour the water into the flour and use your hands to knead together
- Add the oil roughly 1 tsp at a time and knead it through. You may not require all of the oil! Knead until you get a thick dough that is no longer sticky. Lightly brush the dough ball with oil and set in the mixing bowl with a lid or damp tea towel to cover the bowl. Keep aside for 1 hour
- In the meantime prepare the dipping sauce by mixing the soy sauce, vinegar, chilli, and a few pieces of the spring onion together. Set the sauce aside to infuse
- After 1 hours, check if the dough is ready by gently pressing into the dough. If the dough springs back quickly then let the dough rest for another 15 minutes. If, after pressing the dough, the dent remaining, the dough is ready. Knead the dough and separate into 8 balls.
- Flour the bench and roll out one of the balls into a really thin rectangle or square. The sheet should be almost transparent such that you can see your hand through it
- Brush the sheet lightly with melted butter
- Sprinkle the sheet with ⅛ of the black sesame seeds evenly leaving a 1 cm border around the edges
- Sprinkle the sheet with ⅙ of the chopped spring onion, evenly leaving a 1 cam border around the edges
- Roll the pancake starting at one edge and gently tugging and rolling it up into a log
- Curl this log into a snail shape and tuck the end in
- Flatten the snail shape and gently roll it out using the rolling pin to make a thick pancake
- Heat up 1 tbsp. of butter, vegetable oil or lard in a fry pan
- Add the prepared pancake in the fry pan and move it around to ensure it is fully coated with the oil. Fry for 30 seconds and then check the colour of the base of the pancake. Once golden brown, flip the pancake over and cook until the other side is golden brown. Remove and place onto some kitchen paper to soak up excess oil
- When the pancake is warm but cool enough to touch, gently push either edge of the pancake to loosen the layers and make it appear very flakey
- Serve the pancakes hot alongside the dipping sauce
