Tag: green onions

Scallion Pancakes

[image: scallion pancake with dipping sauce]
[image: scallion pancake with dipping sauce]

For a more in-depth look at how exactly to roll the pancakes, take a look at Serious Eats, which is where I got this recipe. I halved it (because my little desktop green onions could only yield so much!) and changed a few little things. Next time, I think I’ll add one of my chile peppers to the scallions inside the pancake for some extra kick.

1 cup AP flour (plus extra for rolling)
1/2 cup boiling water
sesame oil
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
vegetable oil
kosher salt

Put flour in food processor. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the boiling water until the dough just comes together (it will probably end up being not the entire amount). Remove from workbowl and knead a few times on a floured surface. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for a half hour (or overnight in the fridge).

Divide dough into two balls. Take one half and with a rolling pin, roll out on a floured surface into an 8-inch round. With a pastry brush (or just lightly with your hand), lightly coat with sesame oil. Roll up into a cylinder, then twist the roll into a spiral, tucking the end underneath. Reroll into an 8-inch round.

Coat with another layer of sesame oil, then sprinkle 1/2 cup of green onions on top evenly. Roll up again (carefully) and twist into a spiral, and roll down into an 7-inch round (carefully, dusting more flour around if things start sticking). Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and lightly press in.

Repeat for other half of dough.

Heat vegetable oil (Serious Eats recommends 1/4 cup, I just used enough to coat my pan) in a non-stick 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, slip in one pancake. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, shaking pan so that it heats evenly. Be careful when flipping so that you don’t get oil everywhere. Remove from pan, let drain on paper towels, and cut into wedges. Repeat for second pancake. Serve with…

Dipping Sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sriracha
1 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp minced green onion (basically whatever you have leftover from filling the pancakes)

Mix together.

So my first pancake turned out uneven and sort of burned in spots because I didn’t keep the pan moving enough and wasn’t cognizant of the oil temperature.

[image: slightly burnt scallion pancake]
[image: unevenly burnt scallion pancake]

So look more like the top picture and less like this one. (Of course, the ones on Serious Eats look way better, but I do what I can.)

Indoor Kitchen Scrap Gardening

deskgarden

I may have jumped the gun on this project a little bit. I assumed that since October hit I would be getting less from my garden (and mostly be preparing to rip it out and say a eulogy over the compost). That’s obviously not the case.

A few weeks ago, I read an article on regrowing kitchen scraps. It sounded fun and easy, so I gave it a try. I have a window that gets very good afternoon sun. From their bottom inch, I have regrown four green onions and have just started on a fifth. These I’ve just been doing in a glass filled with damp paper towels.

My little pots contain celery (the leafy one on the right) and butter lettuce (the one that doesn’t appear to be doing much on the left). The celery I started from a cut down head, maybe 2.5 inches long. I planted another head outside to see if that soil would do better. I hear that squirrels like celery, so I don’t expect it to last very long. And maybe eventually someday the weather will turn cold. Possibly.

The butter lettuce is from one of those “living lettuce heads” which, score, already comes with a root ball and some soil. You can’t see in that photo, and you would have to lean in very close to see in person, but there are a couple tiny little leaves forming.

Do I think I’ll be able to make a salad eventually? Nah. Will I grow enough celery just to serve alongside buffalo chicken wings? Seems iffy. But it’s a fun little project, and I definitely will be able to use the green onions. Plus, I like being able to look over from the couch to my desk and see some greenery. It’s pleasant!