Green Onion Pancakes

Crispy flaky pancakes filled with finely chopped onions and seasoned with salt and sesame oil. These green onion pancakes are so addictive and great for snacking.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Happy Sunday!

I have to admit that I miss going out to eat. It’s not as if I go out to eat all that often. But I think just not being able to makes me suddenly crave so many things. Some dishes aren’t easy to make, or they require ingredients that I don’t normally use so I don’t have them on hand. And homemade things don’t always taste the same, especially when it comes to authenticity. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Foods like dim sum or Korean BBQ or authentic Mexican tacos are definitely not easy to come by right now. Delivery? It’s not as easy as people think. While I live in the city, I’m actually out of delivery range for many restaurants. So, I can’t wait to be able to eat good food again even if our future normal won’t be the same as it was before.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

The best part about living in SF is that there’s so many different places to eat. Especially when it comes to dim sum. There are the sit down restaurants where you can either order from menus or pick items from carts that roll by. The latter is my favorite. Because you don’t always know what you want until you see the dish presented to you.

There are also the take out dim sum restaurants. Where everything is prepared and you just get what you want, pay for it, and eat it wherever it is that you want. When we were kids, every weekend, our dad would buy us shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and green onion pancakes. It would always be our weekend “brunch.” And right now, I’m missing that.

So today, I want to share with you how to make green onion pancakes at home. They’re not the traditional fluffy pancakes that we eat for breakfast that most of us think of. These are crispy on the edges and have flaky layers and are often greasy if bought from restaurants. And to top it off, cut these green onion pancakes into slices and dip them in a sweet and savory and tangy dipping sauce.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

These green onion pancakes have a hint of sesame oil, are seasoned with salt, and are filled with finely chopped green onions or scallions. They are relatively easy to make and use very basic ingredients. It does take some time to make, but that’s because you have to allow the dough to rest for about an hour. So if you’re craving those Chinese dim sum snacks, this is the perfect Sunday project. We made these a couple days in a row.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Oh, and in case you think these sound familiar, about two years ago? I attempted to do this and somehow I managed to melt a spatula. It was seriously embarrassing and made it to my Recipe Fails post at the end of 2018. After all this time, I was finally brave enough to attempt these pancakes again. lol

2018 Recipe Fails | Cooking with a Wallflower

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do. <3

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour and salt until combined.

Next, add toasted sesame oil and boiling water. Mix with a spatula until all the ingredients are combined and a dough starts to form. The dough will appear shaggy at first, but as you continue to mix, the dough will become smooth. You may need your hands to work the dough. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for about an hour to let it rest.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

After an hour, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 even pieces.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circle roughly 5-6 inches in diameter. It doesn’t have to be perfect as you can see with mine. Brush the dough lightly with vegetable oil. Then scatter about 1 1/2 tablespoons of finely chopped green onions onto the dough. Use the rolling pin to flatten the green onion onto the dough.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Take the edge closest to you and gently roll the pancake dough to the other end. So it appears like a jelly roll loaf. Then take one end and roll it into a circle so it appears like a cinnamon roll. This will help create the flaky layers in the green onion pancakes. Wrap this in plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out while you let it rest and work on the rest of the dough.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Once ready, place the first dough on a lightly floured surface. Use the rolling pin to flatten the dough until it’s thin with no holes in the center. Set this on a plate and cover with the plastic wrap that was used to cover it. Do this with the rest of the dough until you’re done with all eight.

Lightly grease a nonstick skillet with vegetable oil and heat over low to medium heat. Place one of the pancake dough onto the skillet and cook for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Lightly brush vegetable oil on the top side. Flip to the other side and cook until golden brown.

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

I prefer to brush oil onto the dough rather than place directly into the skillet to limit the amount of oil I use. Once the pancakes are done frying, I place them onto paper towels to drain some of the oil.

Repeat the cooking process with the rest of the green onion pancakes.

When ready to serve, add sugar, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, finely minced garlic, sesame oil, finely chopped red chili pepper, and chopped onions into a small bowl. Whisk to mix everything together.

Cut the green onion pancakes into small slices and serve with the pancake dipping sauce.

Enjoy! Stay safe and healthy <3

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Green Onion Pancakes | Cooking with a Wallflower

Green Onion Pancakes with Dipping Sauce
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Crispy flaky pancakes filled with finely chopped onions and seasoned with salt and sesame oil. These green onion pancakes are so addictive and great for snacking.
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Serves: 8 pancakes
Ingredients
Green Onion Pancakes
  • 1½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped green onions
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil for frying, more as needed
Dipping Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon finely minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 Thai chili pepper, sliced (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
Directions:
  1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour and salt until combined.
  2. Next, add toasted sesame oil and boiling water. Mix with a spatula until all the ingredients are combined and a dough starts to form. The dough will appear shaggy at first, but as you continue to mix, the dough will become smooth. You may need your hands to work the dough. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for about an hour to let it rest.
  3. After an hour, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 even pieces.
  4. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circle roughly 5-6 inches in diameter. It doesn’t have to be perfect as you can see with mine. Brush the dough lightly with vegetable oil. Then scatter about 1½ tablespoons of finely chopped green onions onto the dough. Use the rolling pin to flatten the green onion onto the dough.
  5. Take the edge closest to you and gently roll the pancake dough to the other end. So it appears like a jelly roll loaf. Then take one end and roll it into a circle so it appears like a cinnamon roll. This will help create the flaky layers in the green onion pancakes. Wrap this in plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out while you let it rest and work on the rest of the dough.
  6. Once ready, place the first dough on a lightly floured surface. Use the rolling pin to flatten the dough until it’s thin with no holes in the center. Set this on a plate and cover with the plastic wrap that was used to cover it. Do this with the rest of the dough until you’re done with all eight.
  7. Lightly grease a nonstick skillet with vegetable oil and heat over low to medium heat. Place one of the pancake dough onto the skillet and cook until golden brown. Lightly brush vegetable oil on the top side. Flip to the other side and cook until golden brown.
  8. Once the pancakes are done frying, place them onto paper towels to drain some of the oil.
  9. Repeat the cooking process with the rest of the green onion pancakes.
  10. When ready to serve, add sugar, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, finely minced garlic, sesame oil, finely chopped red chili pepper, and chopped onions into a small bowl. Whisk to mix everything together.
  11. Cut the green onion pancakes into small slices and serve with the pancake dipping sauce.

 

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