Scallion Pancakes
Flaky, layered, shatteringly crisp pancakes from four ingredients. The rolling technique that creates the layers takes two minutes to learn.
Scallion pancakes are made from flour, water, oil, and scallions — and yet a good one has dozens of distinct flaky layers. All of that structure comes from geometry rather than ingredients: roll thin, grease, roll into a rope, coil the rope, then flatten. Each fold multiplies the layers.
Two details do the heavy lifting. The dough is a hot-water dough, made with boiling water, which makes it far more pliable than a cold-water dough and lets you roll it thin without it snapping back. And the fat between the layers is an oil-and-flour paste rather than plain oil, so it stays where you put it instead of leaking out under the rolling pin.
Get those two right and the rest is forgiving. Even a sloppy coil produces respectable layers.
Instructions
- 1
Pour the boiling water into the flour while stirring with chopsticks, then add the cold water. Knead 5 minutes into a smooth, soft dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes — this relaxes the gluten so it rolls thin without fighting back.
- 2
Make the oil paste: heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil until hot, pour it over the 2 tablespoons of flour, and stir into a smooth roux. Add the sesame oil and salt.
- 3
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll one into a thin rectangle, roughly 8 by 12 inches.
- 4
Spread a quarter of the oil paste thinly over the whole surface and scatter a quarter of the scallions.
- 5
Roll it up tightly from the long side into a rope, then coil the rope into a spiral like a snail shell and tuck the end underneath. Press flat and rest 10 minutes.
- 6
Roll the coil out gently into a 7-inch round. Do not press hard — you are trying to keep the layers intact.
- 7
Fry in a shallow film of oil over medium heat, 3 minutes per side, until deep golden and blistered. Cut into wedges and serve hot with a soy-vinegar dip.
Cook’s Notes
- Boiling water is not optional. It partly gelatinizes the starch and denatures some gluten, which is exactly why the dough stays tender and rollable instead of springing back.
- The oil-and-flour paste beats plain oil. Plain oil runs out during rolling; a paste stays put between the layers and is what actually creates the flaky separation.
- Roll the final round gently. Crushing the coil compresses the layers you just built and you end up with a flatbread instead of a pastry.
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