Spring Onion Pancake (蔥油餅）

Flatbread is a common staple food in almost every culture. This spring onion “bing” is my favorite version of flatbread. Just a piece of “bing”(pancake) can be a meal  itself. It’s nutritious and easy to make.

In my opinion, spring onion is under rated in western cooking. I use spring onion frequently in my cooking and it works wonders. Its unique flavor brings all my dishes to the next level. Try to add a little bit to your omelet then you will know what I am talking about. I usually buy bunches of spring onions, chop them into small pieces and store it in the freezer. Those little frozen spring onion make my cooking a lot easier and tastier. Oh I really can’t say enough good things about spring onions. If you haven’t tried spring onions before. Please give it a try, I am sure you will fall in love with them just like I do.

This is one of the dishes that can really show you how wonderful spring onion is. I make this over and over again and I am absolutely adore this dish.

Spring Onion Pancake

250g all-purpose flour

1 cup lukewarm water

1) In a large bowl, mix flour and 1/2 cup of water together with a fork (or your hand), then add the other half cup of water, little bit at the time until it incorporated into a dough. (the dough should be a little sticky)

2) Start kneading the dough. (either in the same bowl or on the kitchen counter). Knead until the dough is firm and smooth and not too sticky, about 2 minutes. (my dough looks like this)

Cover the dough and set side for 25 minutes. (if you are not in a hurry, put it in the fridge overnight will be even better!)

Filling:

1 bunch spring onion, finely chopped

sesame oil

salt

1) Chop spring onion.

2) Drizzle sesame oil over chopped spring onion and season with some salt.

Method of making pancake:

1) Roll and cut the dough into 4-5 equal pieces.

2) Roll out into a thin circle (I know, my pancake doesn’t look very round)

3) Spread a thin layer of oil over the pancake and then sprinkle with some salt.

4) Spread spring onions evenly then roll it up.

5) Let the snail like roll rest for a while, about 5 minutes or so. This will help gluten relax.

6) Spread a thin layer of oil on a griddle and heat it over medium low heat .

7) Roll out the pancake then put in the hot pan. Let it sit on the pan for 2-3 minutes until crispy and golden brown then flip it over. Add a little oil and then fry another 2-3 minutes on this side as well. The key here is not to flip the pancake too many times, just let the pan do the work.

Cut into little pieces. Serve immediately.