Savor the tantalizing flavors of scallion cakes, a beloved Chinese delicacy renowned for its crispy exterior and savory, aromatic interior. These golden-brown delights, also known as cong you bing, are a staple in many dim sum restaurants and street food stalls across China and beyond. With their flaky layers and umami-rich filling, scallion cakes are a true culinary delight that can be enjoyed as a snack, appetizer, or even as part of a main meal.
In this collection of recipes, we bring you three variations of this classic dish, each with its own unique twist. The traditional scallion cake recipe stays true to the original, with a simple filling of scallions, ginger, and five-spice powder. For those who prefer a vegetarian option, the chive cake recipe offers a vibrant green filling packed with chives, wood ear mushrooms, and vermicelli noodles. And for a more indulgent experience, the pork and scallion cake recipe combines the savory flavors of pork belly with the aromatic scallions, creating a mouthwatering combination that is sure to satisfy.
No matter which recipe you choose, you'll be treated to a crispy, flaky pastry that yields to a tender, savory filling. The scallions, with their sharp and pungent flavor, take center stage, while the other ingredients play supporting roles, adding depth and complexity to the overall taste. Whether you're a seasoned home cook or just starting out, our detailed instructions and helpful tips will guide you through the process of making these delicious scallion cakes. So, gather your ingredients, preheat your skillet, and let's embark on a culinary journey to savor the delightful flavors of this Chinese classic.
SCALLION PANCAKES WITH GINGER DIPPING SAUCE
Steps:
- In a bowl, sift flour. Slowly add water in a steady stream while mixing with a wooden spoon. Keep adding water until a ball is formed. With the same procedure, one can use a food processor with a metal blade. Let ball of dough relax for about 30 minutes and cover with damp cloth.
- On a floured surface, roll out dough into a thin rectangle. Brush on oil mixture, cover with scallion and season with salt and pepper. Carefully roll dough like a sponge cake. Cut into 4 pieces. Take one piece and twist 3 times. Make a spiral out of this and roll again and flatten to achieve a 5 to 6 inch pancake. In a hot non-stick pan, coat with canola oil and pan sear both sides until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with dipping sauce.
- Combine all ingredients.
SHRIMP CAKES WITH SCALLION DIP
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Time 40m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Puree the mayonnaise, parsley, scallion, garlic, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor; transfer to a bowl.
- Add half of the shrimp to the food processor and pulse until a thick paste forms. Add the remaining shrimp, 1/2 cup panko, 2 tablespoons of the prepared dressing, the egg and lemon zest. Pulse until combined but still chunky. With oiled hands, shape the mixture into eight 1/2-inch-thick patties. Transfer to a baking sheet; freeze 5 minutes.
- Put the remaining 1/2 cup panko on a plate. Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Coat the patties on both sides with the panko; cook until golden, 2 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the patties are cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss the greens, radishes, 2 tablespoons of the dressing and the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve the shrimp cakes with the salad and remaining dressing.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 445 calorie, Fat 29 grams, SaturatedFat 4 grams, Cholesterol 236 milligrams, Sodium 680 milligrams, Carbohydrate 18 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 27 grams
CHINESE SCALLION PANCAKES
Scallion pancakes are a popular dish in China, and available from restaurants and street vendors. There are many different regional variations. My version is Shanghai-style and is my grandmother's recipe. These can be frozen after step 3, and thawed and finished cooking when ready to eat.
Provided by Mei
Categories Appetizers and Snacks
Time 1h45m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Mix flour and 1 teaspoon salt together in a large bowl; pour in boiling water and quickly mix together until water is absorbed. Work cold water, about 1 tablespoon at a time, into flour mixture just until dough forms. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and let dough rest for 40 minutes.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface; divide into 4 equal pieces.
- Roll 1 piece of dough into a large thin round; brush the top with vegetable oil and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 the green onions. Pick up 1 end of the round and roll dough around green onions into a long scroll-shape. Take 1 scroll end and roll dough into a disk. Repeat with remaining dough, letting each disk rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Place 1 disk on a floured surface and roll into a 1/2-inch thick round; cook in the hot oil until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining disks.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 365.9 calories, Carbohydrate 51.8 g, Fat 14.3 g, Fiber 3.2 g, Protein 7.5 g, SaturatedFat 2.2 g, Sodium 1756.6 mg, Sugar 1.5 g
SCALLION CAKES
Provided by Grace Young
Categories Cake Onion Appetizer Fry Sugar Conscious Kidney Friendly Vegan Vegetarian Pescatarian Dairy Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 4 scallion cakes. Serves 6 to 8 as apart of a multicourse lunch
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Stir in 2/3 cup boiling water, mixing flour and water just until flour absorbs all the water. Gradually stir in enough cold water (1/4 to 1/3 cup) so that a dough is formed and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should not be sticky.
- Remove dough from the bowl and knead on a lightly dusted board with floured hands 3 to 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary. Lightly cover with a dampened cloth and allow to rest for 1 hour.
- Redust the surface and hands with flour, and knead again for a few minutes or until smooth. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. As you work, always cover any unused dough with a lightly damp cloth. Using a floured rolling pin, roll each section into a 7-inch round. Lightly brush each round with sesame oil. Evenly sprinkle 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and scallions on each round, and then tightly roll each round into a fat rope. Tightly coil each rope, pinching the end of the rope into the dough to seal. Cover with a lightly damp cloth and allow to rest 15 to 20 minutes. Redust surface with flour, and using a floured rolling pin, roll each coiled bun into 7-inch rounds.
- In a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat until oil is hot but not smoking. Carefully add one scallion round and fry 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Carefully turn cake over and fry 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until golden brown. As the cake fries, lightly press the center with a metal spatula to make sure center is cooked. Transfer each cake to a plate lined with several thicknesses of paper towels. Continue frying the remaining scallion rounds one at a time. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set oil aside to cool before discarding. Cut cakes into 6 to 8 wedges and serve immediately.
NOODLE CAKE
Steps:
- In an 8-inch skillet set over moderate heat, heat the butter and oil until hot. Add the scallion and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the noodles, salt and pepper to taste and pat into an even layer. Let cook over moderate heat for a few minutes or until lightly golden on the bottom. Turn and cook until golden on the bottom. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the parsley.
CHUNG YUL BANG (SCALLION PANCAKES)
The cookbook author Grace Young learned to make these scallion pancakes from her mother, who is from Hong Kong, and first published the formula in her book "The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen" (Simon & Schuster, 1999). In homage to the Cantonese immigrant experience, Ms. Young phoneticized dish names in the same way they appeared on Cantonese-American restaurant menus and titled this recipe chung yul bang. They have the perfect blend of crispy flakiness and tenderness. The trick is a mix of boiling and cold water: The boiling water gives you a soft, malleable dough that is easy to work, the cold water just the right chewiness in the fried pancake. She prefers these served without any dipping sauce: "Hot out of the wok, they don't need anything," she said. "They're perfect the way they are."
Provided by Rachel Wharton
Categories snack, finger foods, pancakes, main course, side dish
Time 45m
Yield 4 cakes
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the flour and sugar. Pour in the boiling water, quickly mixing everything together with a wooden spoon until the flour absorbs all the water. It will look a bit dry and flaky. Stir in the cold water. A dough should form and begin to pull away from the side of the bowl. If needed, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time. The dough should not be sticky, but dry to the touch.
- Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary, 3 to 5 minutes. Lightly cover the dough with a clean damp cloth or plastic bag and let it rest for 1 hour.
- Redust the work surface with flour and knead the rested dough for a few minutes, or until it is smooth. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll into balls. Cover three of them with the damp cloth or plastic, then use a floured rolling pin to roll the fourth into a 7-inch round. Cover the round with the damp cloth or plastic, then roll out the remaining three pieces, keeping any unused dough well covered while you work.
- Brush each round very lightly with the sesame oil and sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a quarter of the minced scallions. Tightly roll each circle into a fat rope, then tightly coil each rope so that it looks like a snail's shell, pinching the end of the rope into the bun so that it seals. Cover the rounds with the damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Redust your work surface with flour and roll each cake out with a floured rolling pin into a 7-inch round. Set aside to fry when the oil is ready. Or, refrigerate in an airtight container dusted with flour for up to 1 day. Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes before frying. You can also stack the rolled dough between parchment paper, wrap tightly in plastic, seal in a resealable plastic freezer bag and freeze for a few weeks. Unwrap and let them come to room temperature, about 15 minutes, before you fry them.
- Line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels. Heat the oil in a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over medium until it is hot but not smoking. Working carefully, as the oil will spatter, add a scallion cake to the bottom of the pan using a metal spatula or tongs, and let it fry until golden brown on the bottom, just a minute or two. Carefully flip the cake over and fry until the other side is golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. As it fries, adjust the heat to maintain a steady sizzle and lightly press the center of the cake with a metal spatula to make sure the center is cooked through, being careful of oil spatters. Alternatively, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high and pan-fry a round of dough until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes. When the cake is done, transfer it to the paper towels and fry the three remaining cakes, adding 1 tablespoon oil per cake if pan-frying.
- Sprinkle the scallion cakes with a little more salt, cut them into 6 to 8 wedges, and serve them immediately.
SCALLION CAKE
I love these cakes. I serve them with wonton soup or use them as an appetizer or a snack with tea. These can be frozen after frying and reheated in a moderate oven for 10 minutes before serving. Another great recipe from my tattered copy of "Madame Wong's Long-Life Chinese Cookbook".
Provided by Hey Jude
Categories Breads
Time 28m
Yield 16 wedges
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Put flour on a board; make a well in the center and add the water; mix into a soft, smooth dough and divide into 2 portions.
- Roll each portion very thin.
- Brush each with 1 tablespoon of oil; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.
- Spread half the scallions evenly on each sheet.
- Roll each portion up like a jelly roll; coil it up so it's lying flat on the board in a spiral.
- Flatten with a rolling pin until it is 7-inches in diameter.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small saute pan; add the cakes, one at a time, and fry 2 minutes on each side.
- Cut each cake into 8 wedges (I use a pizza cutter) and serve.
Tips:
- Use a well-seasoned wok or cast iron skillet. This will help the scallion cakes cook evenly and get a nice, crispy crust.
- Don't overcrowd the pan. Cook the scallion cakes in batches if necessary, so that they have enough room to cook properly.
- Be patient. It takes a little time to cook scallion cakes properly. Don't rush the process, or they won't be as good.
- Serve scallion cakes hot. They're best fresh out of the pan, with a dipping sauce of your choice.
Conclusion:
Scallion cakes are a delicious and versatile dish that can be served as an appetizer, main course, or snack. They're easy to make, and can be customized to your liking. So next time you're looking for something new and flavorful to cook, give scallion cakes a try!
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