Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Pizza Dough Scallion Pancakes with Soy Dipping Sauce


I recently read about Chef Joanna Chang's approach to using supermarket staples for making Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. I was looking for an appetizer that was tasty, yet not too labor intensive. I decided to try Chef Chang's scallion pancakes with soy dipping sauce. All I can say is WOW. The toughest part was driving to my local pizza shop for the dough. I had to deal with Vinnie saying.."my pizza no good for you???" I didn't feel like explaining the scallion pancake deal, I bought a slice with the dough just to shut him up.

I'm sure Chef Chang's pancakes came out flatter and more attractive than mine. Even though they were somewhat puffy, everyone loved them, especially the warm center that reminded my friends of a fresh soft pretzel. I promise you these won't disappoint.
  • 5 scallions 4 minced 1 sliced
  • 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 pound pizza dough room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon water
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil

In a small bowl mix the minced scallions with 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil. Add salt. Slice dough in half. Roll out each piece of dough to a large rectangle. Mine turned out to be about 4' x 8' inches. I had to really stretch the dough as it kept wanting to snap back into a ball. Spread the scallion mixture over dough, leaving a 1 inch border. Beginning at wide end, roll up dough as if you were making a jelly roll. Pinch ends to seal. Coil each roll of dough into a round, tucking end under the coil.Cover for about 20 minutes.

For dipping sauce, combine sliced scallions, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, water and vinegar in a bowl.

After 20 minutes uncover dough. Using a large rolling pin roll out dough coil into a flat circle.(some of the scallion mixture will come out, don't worry about it) I had to stretch the dough with my hands, it was somewhat difficult getting it flat.

In a large skillet, heat canola oil. When the oil is hot, place 1 pancake in pan. It took about 1 to 2 minutes per side.(watch as they brown quickly) If I burnt them I really didn't want to go back to get more dough and deal with Vinnie again. Flip over pancake when golden. I used a spatula to flatten dough as it cooked, this seemed to work well. Drain on paper towels. Cut into quarters and serve with soy dipping sauce. Thank you chef Chang your a genius. Vinnie your a genius too. :)

19 comments:

  1. Wow! That would be good. I like the ease these days as work life has heated up and familylife is busy and so forth. It's a must-do.

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  2. What a tasty recipe; they look totally scrumptious! Pizza dough is such a versatile food element. My mom used to fry dough for breakfast, and serve it with butter and sugar.

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  3. Oh my gosh those sound soo dang good, I must try them!

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  4. Wow, this recipe looks incredible! To start with, I LOVE scallion pancakes! But your description of these as having a center like a soft pretzel makes them completely irresistible for me! I'll be making these soon, thanks for sharing!

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  5. This looks wonderful. I have been wanting to try these for a while now, but i have a tendency to just collect recipes and not make them lol. Awesome job!

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  6. wow! this is extreme! I LOVE IT!!!!
    -Mini Baker

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  7. ah ha, vinnie. too cute! i love this idea, the soy sauce that goes with it sounds excellent!

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  8. Impressive! I always thought these are hard to make! But yours look so perfectly crunchy and flaky yet chewy! love!!

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  9. Mmmm these look great! Yeah I can really see how the pizza dough would add a great flavour and texture

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  10. The scallion pancakes look quite alike the 'roti prata' or 'roti canai'. So inviting! And thank you very much for stoppng by my blog earlier and hope to hear from you more often. Thanks again.

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  11. This is a great idea! Simple and fast. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Now I know what to do with that last little bit of dough I inevitably end up having in the back of my fridge when I make pizza.

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  13. How very innovative!! Recipes like this makes life a bit easier :)

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  14. How did I miss these delish treats? What a wonderful idea!

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  15. Great idea for the bits of dough I usually have hanging around my fridge. I love these pancakes but never thought to make them this way. Thanks for the tip : ) No more commercial frozen scallion pancakes for me!

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