This week we will pay tribute to Ye-Ye’s Chinese side of our heritage and make Green Onion Pancakes (Cong you bing). We will build on the rolling technique that the kids learned while making the lumpias. And guess what? No special ingredients for this week!
Ingredients
- 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour (plus additional flour to roll out dough)
- 1 ¼ cups boiling water
- 1 tsp salt (kosher, fine sea salt, etc)
- ¼ cup cooking oil (I like sesame, but Arya complained last time of the taste, so we will use vegetable oil)
- 1 cup chopped green onions (about one bunch)
- Additional salt to sprinkle (kosher, flaky sea salt, etc)
- Oil to pan fry (if you have any leftover bacon grease, or sometimes I use the grease from the Trader Joe’s pork belly, that’s super yummy to use)
Optional dipping sauce
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 2 tbs vinegar (black, Chinkiang, etc)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp chopped green onions
- 1 tsp chili sauce (optional)
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Knife
- Chopsticks or wooden spoon or fork
- Kettle to boil water
- Clean surface to knead dough
- Rolling pin
- Brush (for oil)
- Light dishtowel (to cover dough while resting)
- Medium frying pan
- Tongs
- Plate lined with paper towels
Instructions
Place flour in a bowl and add boiling water slowly, stirring with chopsticks or a fork until dough is evenly moistened. On lightly floured board or countertop, knead dough until smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes. Cover with slightly damp kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
Chop green onions finely. Depending on size of the green onions, may need to slice lengthwise before chopping.
Combine dipping sauce ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
On a lightly floured board or countertop, roll dough into a cylinder and cut into 12 or 4 portions (depends on how thin or thick you prefer your green onion pancake). Roll a portion of the dough into circle about 1/8 inch thick (keep remaining dough covered to prevent drying out). Sprinkle with salt generously and roll dough so salt gets pressed into the dough. Then pour a little oil (about 1 tsp) around the center and fold each of the sides until the entire circle is covered with oil. Sprinkle chopped green onions generously. Roll circle into a tight roil. Pinch the ends. Twist roll starting at the center and then coil dough into a round patty and tuck the end of the dough underneath. Cover and let rest as you do the same thing to the remaining portions of dough. When all of the portions have been rolled and coiled into a patty, using your hands, flatten each patty into a circle about ¼ -1/2 inch thick.
Heat frying pan on medium heat.
Add 1 pancake and cook, turning once, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. Once golden brown on both sides, drizzle a little oil around the perimeter of the pancake. Using a spatula, press down on the edges so it crisps up a little more. Repeat on the other side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining pancakes.
Freezing Tip: You can freeze extra pancakes layered in wax or parchment paper and seal in a gallon size Ziploc bag. You can pan fry directly from the freezer, but cooking time will be slightly longer.