Scallion Pancakes (Green Onion Cakes)

Name: Scallion Pancakes (Green Onion Cakes)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 3 cups all purpose flour; 1 cup boiling water; 1/3 cup cold water; 6 T salted butter, softened; 6 T chopped green onions; table salt; oil for frying

These flaky, crispy, tender Scallion Pancakes are also known as Green Onion Pies. Regardless of what you call them, these Chinese treats are wildly popular for good reason.

Amy Dong
★★★★★
5 ratings
25 comments
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Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Chinese Scallion Pancakes and I go way back. We’re such old BFFs that I can’t even remember the first time we met.

Whenever I sink my teeth into a crispy, flaky, salty scallion cake, I think of a couple of hole-in-wall Chinese restaurants that were favorite destinations for my parents to take us. Piping hot savory pancakes fresh off the frying pan. Total bliss.

Scallion Pancakes never disappoint. They’re always mouthwatering, satisfying, and completely addictive. There’s nothing else quite like ’em, and all you need are 5 super basic pantry ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

Homemade Scallion Cakes Need Only 5 Ingredients

If you don’t live near an authentic hole-in-wall Chinese restaurant that makes crispy, flaky, delicious scallion cakes, you’ve got 2 options: find some frozen ones from Asian grocery stores or make them yourself.

In a desperate pinch, nobody will be judged for toasting up some frozen scallion cakes. That said, we all know store-bought scallion pancakes don’t come close to homemade. You’ll only need these 5 pantry ingredients:

all purpose flour
salted butter
freshly chopped green onions
table salt
oil

Chinese scallion pancakes are traditionally served as an appetizer, they’re delicious when served alongside Chinese Fried Rice or this faithful Chopped Asian Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing.

You might be hailed as Best Mom in the World when you serve these up. All the eaters will snag ’em up so fast, you’re encouraged to grab your fair share before putting these on the table.

Flaky, Tender Layers

It takes only a few ingredients to pull off these homemade scallion cakes. The itty bitty trick is rolling them out. Thinly rolling out the dough is what gives these pancakes their flaky layers inside. You just have to get one scallion cake up your sleeve and you’ll have it down. You’ll be showing off your skills in no time.

Freeze Them for Later

You can freeze uncooked pancake rounds for your own stash of at-the-ready scallion cakes (we don’t recommend freezing cooked pancakes.)

Just roll out the dough as instructed, and stack them with 2 layers of floured wax paper or parchment paper in between each uncooked pancake. It’s important to use double layers of wax paper, as we’ve found 1 layer of paper to be too thin. Store in airtight container and freeze until you’re ready to defrost and cook.

Try These Refreshing Vietnamese Style Spring Rolls:

Scallion Pancakes (Green Onion Cakes)

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

These Scallion Pancakes are made with butter instead of lard. They are flaky, crispy, salty, and completely addictive. Plan ahead for a bit of rest time for the dough. Serve these guys immediately after frying, and watch them disappear.

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Yield: 6

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup cold water
6 T salted butter, softened
6 T chopped green onions
table salt
oil for frying

Instructions

Place flour in a large bowl. Add boiling water and mix with wooden spatula (will be thick and rather dry.) Let cool a few minutes. Add the cold water and knead the dough 5 minutes, until it is smooth. If dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. Dough should be pliable and smooth, a bit tacky (like play-dough) but not sticky.
Cover with cling wrap and let rest 1 hour at room temp.
Transfer dough to a floured working surface. Divide into 6 even pieces and roll each piece of dough into a 10-inch round. Spread about 1 TB of butter on top of each round. Sprinkle each round evenly with 1/4 tsp table salt, followed by about 1 TB green onions evenly over the surface of each.
Roll each round tightly up like a jelly roll (think taquito.) Then take one end and roll it up to the other side into a wheel (think cinnamon bun.) Secure ends tightly pinched. Let the buns rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
On a floured surface, gently press bun down to flatten (swirly side up) and roll out to 1/4 inch thick pancakes. Butter may seep out a bit during the rolling.
Heat 2 TB oil in a large nonstick pan, over medium-low heat. Once oil is hot, gently place one cake into pan and fry until crispy and browned, shaking pan often. Flip over and fry other side the same way. Repeat with remaining pancakes. Pancakes can be kept on a paper towel lined baking sheet in a slightly warm oven, until all are prepared.
Cut into wedges and serve immediately.