Sort of for beginners, but sort of not: scallion pancakes

Ciao, ragazzi, or more appropriate for this one  TS'AO!  Ni hao ma?  For those of you who have learned Chinese with a different romanization, Annalena apologizes.  See, she learned it in the days of the dinosaurs and then they changed everything on her.  So, if you're looking at it and thinking WTF?   she is greeting you and asking you how you are.  And that is because we are going East today and making scallion pancakes.  And, if you read on enough, you will see that, in Annalena's view, these are really  VEGETABLE pancakes.  Indeed, in Korea,  they are made with things other than scallions.  So, learn the technique (because there IS a technique),  and then have some fun.

Annalena got this recipe from one of the on line sources for her groceries and meal planning.  The original recipe was decribed as "difficult."  Well, it's not, with a bit of help (which the recipe does NOT give you).     It is unusual in some of the techniques, so play along here, ragazzi, and we'll get through this.  You're going to be doing some things that you've been taught you shouldn't do (cooking wise...), and you're going to need to take a few odd steps, but ultimately, it's not hard.

To begin, we need  - and this shouldn't surprise you - some flour, and some scallions.  And that is just about all you'll need for making them.  Sesame oil is a good thing to have, too, but ultimately, if you don't have it, you won't need it, but they won't be as good.

Annalena made four larger pancakes with this recipe.  You can cut down the size of the pancakes, or make a double, triple, etc, recipe, in order to get more.  So, we begin.  You will need about one scallion for every two pancakes of the 5 inch variety (the picture is below).  Slice them on an angle, and put them aside.

Now, the techniques begin to get unusual.  Put a cup of all purpose flour in a bowl, and  bring 3/4 of a cup of water to a boil.  When the water boils, pour it slowly, into the flour, stirring all the time.
Never done that, have you?  You're waking up the gluten here, and as you stir the flour, you are going to notice that the texture is very different than what you would get if you had used cold water.  Do NOT worry.  You're doing fine. And it is gloppy.  And when you have to knead it, well, it's hot.    And to knead it, dump the load out onto a surface that has about half a cup more flour on it, and just knead as if you were making bread dough (this is the business letter technique, ragazzi.  You know how to do that.  ).   After about a minute, divide the dough into four equal parts.

And now, we're going to do things differently than the recipe orginally said, because if you do it the way the recipe said, you're going to get aggravated.  The recipe called for rolling the buggers out, nice and thin, to five inch circles.  Let Annalena tell you, carissimi, if you roll this with a standard rolling pin, it will tear, stick and you will be miserable.  And you don't need to:  ascolta (that means "LISTEN UP!).  Get an aid for measuring five inches.   For some of us, it's a ruler.  For others, it's a 3x5 card.  For others, well...   Use what's convenient.  Ok, now take that   fourth of the dough, and pound it with the base of your hand.  Measure.  Betcha you get 4 inches or so.  So why do you need to roll?  Stretch it out by hand. Annalena can guarantee you that in Asian homes, they are not using matarelli (rolling pins).  After you have done this to all four pieces, working individually, spread about a teaspoon of sesame oil on each one (if you're using it), then a quarter of the scallion pieces, and if you're using anything else, that too.  Don't go crazy though, because they will fall apart.

Now, more new techniques, and this is one that is used in Middle Eastern griddle cooking.  Take each pancake, and roll it into a log, or a cigar , or... whatever long cylindrical object comes to mind.  When you're done, coil it into a cinnamon roll kind of shape, and then pound it out again, once again to five inches.  Do this with all of them.

Time to cook.  Get a non stick skillet ready.   Add about a tablespoon of sesame oil, or another oil, to the pan, and when it begins to shimmer, put in a pancake.  Lower your head, and cook for about two -three minutes on a side.  This cooking time is important, because you don't have eggs, or anything else, to hold the buggers together.  It is just flour and scallions.  Flip the cake and do the other side.   Chances are, you are going to need to add oil periodically, perhaps after each pancake (something the recipe Annalena worked with, does NOT tell you).

When you're done, you can keep these warm in an oven, or you can crisp them up later, in that same pan.  The careful observer will ask, however  "where's the sauce," and indeed, this is a fair question, because  you need a sauce with these.  Think about it:  flour and vegetables.  Did Annalena mention salt? Or other seasonings?  She did not.  Here is Annalena's sauce:  a quarter cup each of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and a dash of hot sauce or red pepper.  And that's it.

Want to see what they look like?

Ok ragazzi, so now you know what to expect, and Annalena wants all of you to start making these.  Ultimately, she thinks you will agree that it wasn't difficult.  It's just one of those "Zen" things where you are shocked out of the normal, in terms of how you cook.  Nothing wrong with that.