The secret to layered, flaky, chewy-crunchy Chinese scallion pancakes? It’s all in the roll (and the spin, and the re-roll). Thankfully, the boiling water in this recipe helps keep the dough pliable and easy to work with. Before the first round of rolling, the dough is brushed with chicken fat or vegetable oil, which not only helps with texture but adds a richness to the dough.
If you’re tight on time, consider saving this recipe for another day and trying Millet Scallion Pancakes or these ones inspired by Korean pajeon, both of which don’t require rolling and come together fairly quickly.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published on August 30, 2016.
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What you’ll need
Cloth Bowl Covers
$18 At Amazon
Small Wooden Rolling Pin
$11 At Amazon
Pastry Brush
$6 At Amazon
Wire Rack
$23 At BA Market
Ingredients
Makes 8 Servings
Pancakes
2½
1
⅓
2
8
Sauce
3
2
1
½
¼
Preparation
Pancakes
Step 1
Whisk 2½ cups flour and 1 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Mix in sesame oil and 1 cup boiling water with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
Step 2
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover; let rest at room temperature 1 hour.
Step 3
Divide dough into 8 pieces. Working with one at a time, roll out on a lightly floured work surface as thin as possible (each should be approximately 10" in diameter). Brush about 2 tsp. chicken fat on dough and top with about ¼ cup scallions; season with salt. Roll dough away from you (like a jelly roll) into a thin cylinder, then, starting at 1 end, wind roll onto itself to create a coil (like a cinnamon roll). Cover and repeat with remaining dough. Let rest at room temperature 15 minutes.
Step 4
Working with 1 coil at a time, roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 5" round (keep other coils covered). Repeat with remaining dough and stack as you go, separating with parchment or lightly greased foil brushed with vegetable oil.
Step 5
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-low. Working with one at a time, cook pancake, turning frequently to prevent scallions from burning, until golden brown and crisp on both sides and cooked through, 8–10 minutes. Transfer pancakes to a wire rack and let rest about 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.
Sauce
Step 6
Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, chili oil, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Serve alongside pancakes for dipping.
Leave a Review
Reviews (45)
Back to TopI had 2 bunches of scallions, but after chopping it only came out to one cup. I had some leeks and chives on hand so I made up the difference with those. As might be expected, not so good because leek is too mild. Don't make the same mistake, make sure you have enough scallions!
Lisa
Idaho
4/16/2023
I echo the sentiment of much work involved. I don't cook a lot and am very deliberate, so this was closer to 4 hours for me. End product is good, but not flaky like what I enjoy at a restaurant. User error perhaps. Without sauce, flavor is lacking, and improved with more salt I'd say. Overall, fun mostly for the satisfaction of completing such a production, but the pancakes themselves are a bit of a letdown - they are a little better with sauce, but the flavor on their own is more important to me.
Andrew R.
Denver, CO
3/17/2023
Awesome recipe! I followed it exactly and the pancakes were perfect. But, listen to the other reviews. This was a 3 HOUR endeavor. Make sure and give yourself time.
Janette
95037
10/8/2022
I have been making them for years with this recipe. They are perfect fresh or frozen. My family always asks for them and I never say no.
Ken Berk
Sarasota
1/11/2022
This is a great recipe! Cooking the pancakes is time intensive so I recommend starting two skillets so it will go faster. I also did not do chicken fat, I used vegetable crisco instead and the result was great! I also left out the second salt step, the step when you roll out the dough and add the scallions and a little bit of extra salt. I figured between the soy sauce dipping sauce and the disco, it would be salty enough and I was right.
Anonymous
Washington DC
10/28/2021
This is horrible!! Flour and water for the dough? That’s the recipe for glue. And that’s exactly what it came out as. So elastic, it’s hard to roll and def can’t roll it thin. The worst recipe I’ve made in a long time.
Anonymous
Denver
10/26/2021
I made it as described but did not need to make them all right away, so I covered 6 in the fridge, separated by parchment. The fresh ones were great, but the ready-to-fry discs were just as good the next day or two. Then, I tested how it would be to pre-cook a couple and freeze them after cooling and another couple in the refrigerator to reheat the next day in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes on each side. The reheat ones from the fridge were crispy and a bit tougher than they should've been. I will try he frozen reheats, but suspect they are best eaten immediately after frying.
Tulsa Juggler
Ormond Beach, FL
10/13/2021
First, these are delicious and taste exactly like what you would expect at a Chinese takeout. This was a date night activity, so we didn’t mind how long they took to make. However, I am glad we ordered takeout for the rest of the menu because it would have been an exhausting evening otherwise. We followed the recipe exactly and from start to finish it took us about 3.5 hours, including about 1.5 hours of down time which we used for clean up, wine, and water coloring. Will I make these again soon? Unlikely, but I’m glad to know I can.
Karla Jamaica
Long Beach, CA
11/7/2020
These were so good; I’d venture to say restaurant quality/flavor. I followed the recipe exactly using vegetable oil. I cooked one at a time and wish I had used a larger pan and cooked more at a time to speed up the process. My picky kids at them all up.
Anonymous
Berkeley
10/9/2020
These are fantastic, fun to make but do take a long time. This is my second batch. I’ll cook 2 to go with dinner and freeze the rest in packs of 2. They thaw out fast and cook up great. I cook quick on med-high heat for color on both sides then turn it down and continue on low til they cook through.
Anonymous
Cambridge
8/22/2020
one of my favourite BA recipes. very time consuming but worth it for such a moreish delight. haven't been able to find chicken fat though, I just use duck fat.
Anonymous
australia
5/14/2020
RAMPed up this recipe - used ramps in place of scallions - and used probably an extra 1/4 cup of water to get the dough together, but this was a great base recipe to play with, and turned out seriously delicious. It's definitely a project, but is something different and fun to try when we've got the time. Ate alongside Chinese sausage for a great meal!
Anonymous
Chicago
5/3/2020
I followed this to a T! And they turned out beautifully.. me and my boyfriend accidentally finished the whole plate.. thank you!
Anonymous
Pennsylvania
5/1/2020
The technique for making these is solid but the cooking times are a lie. 8 to 10 minutes over a low heat will get you raw pancakes with no colour to them (nothing like the illustrative photo). Why not just be honest in the recipe that they take significantly longer than that?
F C-S
Somerset
5/1/2020
These were so successful and actually much simpler than they appeared. The cook time was pretty long, but if I had done more than one pancake at once I could've improved that
Anonymous
4/27/2020