Scallion Pancakes

[phatch]

I've talked about these off and on over the years. Most regions of China have their own variation on the idea.

Chinese Cooking Demystified makes theirs in a thick fried sort of cake style which is not what I see most often.

The Woks of Life make it thinner than the Demystified folks but thicker than I usually encounter.
https://thewoksoflife.com/shanghai-scallion-flatbread-qiang-bing/ Theirs is also Shanghai style as is Demystified's.

Souped Up Recipes gave me my personal breakthrough in a thin style pancake from scratch with good results.

The hot oil seasoned roux-- Yo Su-- is a critical step. I like to thin the finished paste a bit with sesame oil. Another thing I like is that this dough mixes in a snap in the food processor, which is not her technique, but one I use where I can.

So that is what I've been doing for a few years now after my public experimentation 3 years ago in the 2018 Feb Challenge, Chinese topic. https://cheftalk.com/threads/the-february-2018-challenge-is-chinese.96939/post-576269

Since then, I've added another Youtube cooking channel, Xiaoying Cuisine. It seems pretty clear that she doesn't speak english and uses an automated translation service, probably Google Translate. So the titles are usually off the wall and the subtitles can be equally strange. But you can follow it and she does things I've never seen before or with entirely different approaches.


Her scallion pancake deviates by kneading the scallions directly into the dough from the start. And her rolling method is different. She divides the dough into mini loaves, and then rolls those the long way. Her Yo Su includes salted eggs which is an interesting touch, but she just folds the dough across in thirds and then rolls it up with a rest before the final roll. This is less handling and rolling than I often see and she achieved quite good layering.

I'm going to have to try those varations and see how they affect my results.

 

[french fries]

Hi Phatch, thanks a lot for providing us with those videos. Really makes me want to try these!

 

[chefbillyb]

The hot oil seasoned roux-- Yo Su-- is a critical step. I like to thin the finished paste a bit with sesame oil. Another thing I like is that this dough mixes in a snap in the food processor, which is not her technique, but one I use where I can.

Phatch, Do you think the Hot Oil Roux help absorb some of the liquid/steam that may happen during the cooking process. When you think flaky what comes to mind is what frozen butter does in the baking process for biscuits. I like Yo Su's method, thanks for sharing. The Street food pancake on top may have to be processed differently because it's a street food and doesn't have the luxury of a controlled kitchen atmosphere....

 

[phatch]

I think the toasted flour roux resists incorporating into the dough better than just oil alone. Butter is usually chilled so it has that resistance to maintain separation. And the seasoning blooming in the hot oil is a bonus

 

[chefbillyb]

I think the toasted flour roux resists incorporating into the dough better than just oil alone. Butter is usually chilled so it has that resistance to maintain separation. And the seasoning blooming in the hot oil is a bonus

Phatch, I watched a few more videos and one showed equal parts of flour and just making a roux heating it on the stove. Another used just oil that wasn't hot. Watching these videos reminds me on how everyone has to change a recipe to make it their own. I liked how one gals recipes was described. She said she wanted the pancake to come out like a Chinese Croissant, flaky, chewy with a crunchy outside. I'm going to try the method you showed. If you come up with any other ideas or methods let me know.....Take care and thanks............