Recipes
Scallion and Corn Pancakes
Serves 4
| Prep Time: 1 hr 15 mins
| Cook Time: 15 mins
| Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
You may need: Silk Road Blend
Discover The Recipe
These flaky, crispy, and tender Scallion and Corn Pancakes are going to be a showstopper at your next brunch or dinner party. Seasoned with our proprietary Silk Road Blend, this recipe has a nutty, warm flavor with just a touch of spicy heat from the combination of cumin, sesame seeds, coriander, cayenne, garlic, and Sichuan pepper. The addition of corn to traditional Chinese Scallion Pancakes gives this recipe a delightful twist on this classic side dish. Don't forget the dipping sauce to add plenty of Asian flavor to each bite. In Chinese, the name for this dish is Cong You Bing, translated as "scallion oil pancake."
The technique behind forming the dough into pancakes takes some practice, but the resulting texture is well worth the time. This secret to this dough is not from leavening (meaning it doesn't contain any yeast or baking powder to make it rise) but from the addition of HOT water mixed with the flour, which denatures or cooks the protein to prevent the gluten from developing fully. The resulting dough will be easy to work with and extremely tender. Folding the thin pancake dough just right rewards you with a flaky crust and a tender inside.
Ingredients
Scallion and Corn Pancakes
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Piquant Post Silk Road Blend
1 cup hot water
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 bunches of scallions, chopped
4 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Dipping Sauce
3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chili oil
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Notes
The secret to the flaky, layered perfection of these pancakes is all in the rolling technique! It leads to a texture that is both crispy and tender. Don’t skip any of the steps and you’ll be rewarded with perfect pancakes! Read more about the best techniques for perfect scallion pancakes here.
Make sure to use hot water in the dough! That is key to the tender chewy texture and will keep the dough from being puffy. It also makes the dough easy to handle and roll out.
We decided to add corn for a unique twist on this traditional Chinese recipe. You can simply leave the corn out if it’s not in season. For a more traditional Scallion Pancake, check out this recipe.
Instructions
Whisk together the 2 1/2 cups of flour with the sea salt and the Piquant Post Silk Road Blend. Mix in the hot water and the sesame oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough is formed. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for one hour.
After the dough has rested, remove it from the bowl and divide into 8 pieces. Lightly roll out one piece at a time onto a floured surface as thin as possible (each one will be about 10” in diameter) and brush the surface with a little vegetable oil and then top with a thin layer of corn and green onions. Season with salt lightly. Start to roll the pancake up away from you into a thin cylinder. Next, starting at one end, wind the roll onto itself to create a coil like a cinnamon roll. Cover and repeat with the remaining dough. Let the coiled dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Heat 1 Tbsp of the vegetable oil over medium heat in a non-stick or cast iron skillet. Take one of the rested rolls and roll it out with a rolling pin into a 7”-8” pancake on a floured surface. It should be about 1/4” thick. Place the pancake into the hot pan. Cook on both sides until the pancake is crispy and browned on both sides. Cook all the pancakes, placing them on a wire rack to cool before serving. You can reheat these in the oven at 350°F if you want to serve them hot.
Whisk together the sauce ingredients and serve the pancake sliced with the sauce on the side.
Alternatives & Substitutions
Serve these pancakes with our Tangerine Pork Fried Rice and our Five Spice BBQ Chicken Wings for a complete, Chinese-inspired meal.
Try this blend to make another plant based dish: our delicious Spicy Tofu Steaks, or our Chinese Yu Xiang Eggplant!
For additional meat-based recipes, try using Silk Road spice blend in our Spicy Beef Lo Mein or Cumin Lamb. If you like seafood, try our Chinese Fish Sandwich!
Silk Road spice blend works great as a marinade seasoning, too. Try our delicious Cumin Shrimp with Garlic Rice.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Scallion and Corn Pancakes
Serves
4
Prep Time
1 hr 15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
Piquant Post spice you'll need: Silk Road Blend
Ingredients
Scallion and Corn Pancakes
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Piquant Post Silk Road Blend
1 cup hot water
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 bunches of scallions, chopped
4 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Dipping Sauce
3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chili oil
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
Whisk together the 2 1/2 cups of flour with the sea salt and the Piquant Post Silk Road Blend. Mix in the hot water and the sesame oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough is formed. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for one hour.
After the dough has rested, remove it from the bowl and divide into 8 pieces. Lightly roll out one piece at a time onto a floured surface as thin as possible (each one will be about 10” in diameter) and brush the surface with a little vegetable oil and then top with a thin layer of corn and green onions. Season with salt lightly. Start to roll the pancake up away from you into a thin cylinder. Next, starting at one end, wind the roll onto itself to create a coil like a cinnamon roll. Cover and repeat with the remaining dough. Let the coiled dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Heat 1 Tbsp of the vegetable oil over medium heat in a non-stick or cast iron skillet. Take one of the rested rolls and roll it out with a rolling pin into a 7”-8” pancake on a floured surface. It should be about 1/4” thick. Place the pancake into the hot pan. Cook on both sides until the pancake is crispy and browned on both sides. Cook all the pancakes, placing them on a wire rack to cool before serving. You can reheat these in the oven at 350°F if you want to serve them hot.
Whisk together the sauce ingredients and serve the pancake sliced with the sauce on the side.
Notes
The secret to the flaky, layered perfection of these pancakes is all in the rolling technique! It leads to a texture that is both crispy and tender. Don’t skip any of the steps and you’ll be rewarded with perfect pancakes! Read more about the best techniques for perfect scallion pancakes here.
Make sure to use hot water in the dough! That is key to the tender chewy texture and will keep the dough from being puffy. It also makes the dough easy to handle and roll out.
We decided to add corn for a unique twist on this traditional Chinese recipe. You can simply leave the corn out if it’s not in season. For a more traditional Scallion Pancake, check out this recipe.
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