How to Make the Best Scallion Pancakes

It's always more fun to DIY. Every week on Food52, we'll spare you a trip to the grocery store and show you how to make small batches of great foods at home.

Today: Mandy from Lady and Pups replicates a Taiwanese street snack at home: crispy scallion pancakes, with plenty of layers.

I can't tell you how many times I've tried and failed to make scallion pancakes over the past few years. They're one of my favorite street snacks in Taiwan: a thinly rolled out soft dough with layers of finely diced scallions, pan-fried to golden brown yumminess. It was a challenge to make a home-friendly version that tasted just as good -- not to mention the fact that the idea of replicating all of those layers was extremely daunting.

Did I mention the street-version is almost always fried in lard?

Luckily (or perhaps dangerously) for you, I think I did it. After years of harassing street vendors and a number of my mother's friends who allegedly make them, a love child was born. This scallion flatbread has a dough that's made with both all-purpose and bread flours, plus both hot water and cold water (a Chinese technique that creates both softness and body). Scallion oil with a pinch of baking soda puffs up the layers during cooking and boosts the overall flavor.

These can even make a hearty meal if you toss a golden brown flatbread on top of an egg that's still frying in the pan, and let them "stick" together, then brush some chili sauce over the top.

Multi-Layered Scallion Pancakes

Makes 4 large flatbreads

For the dough:

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (140 grams) bread flour

2 teaspoons of sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (120 grams) hot water (150° F)

1/4 cup of cold/room temperature water

1/4 cup (50 grams) vegetable oil

For the scallion oil and fillings:

2 cups (105 grams) diced scallions, divided

1/2 cup (100 grams) vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper, divided into 1/2 teaspoon each

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Coarse sea salt, to taste

See the full recipe (and save and print it) on Food52.

Photos by Mandy from Lady and Pups

This article originally appeared on Food52.com: Scallion Pancakes

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