Nina Simonds' Scallion Pancakes

I've been hearing about scallion pancakes for ages, have enjoyed them countless times, read a while back about them on Dorie Greenspan's blog and have always wanted to make them at home. But this is one of those recipes I kept putting off as I knew it would take an entire afternoon after reading Dorie's comment about patience.

When I think of Chinese cooking, breads don't usually come to mind. But of course, they do make breads...for one, think of steamed pork buns.....and another, these scallion pancakes. They are a unique flatbread in that they are pan-fried, but made from a dough that's kneaded and shaped rather than  poured. You don't use a wok, you use a non-stick skillet for frying. 

Beause I have a copy of A Spoonful of Ginger, I went to the original recipe and finally spent a rainy afternoon making them. If you're going to give them a try (and oh so worth it) read through the recipe carefully; it's not that they're hard, they're not. Easy as pie actually, using simple ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now. It's just there's a lot of resting between steps and you want to allow time. And once you have your little patties, you can refrigerate or freeze them for future use.

Flaky Scallion Pancakes
From A Spoonful of Ginger by Nina Simonds

Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons corn oil

1 3/4 cups boiling water

1/4 cup or more all-purpose flour, if necessary, for kneading

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

3/4 cup minced scallion greens

3/4 cup canola or corn oil

Method:

Stir the flours and salt in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.  Add the corn oil and the boiling water, and stir until a rough dough forms.  If the dough is too soft, knead in about 1/4 cup more flour.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth, kneading in more all-purpose flour as necessary.  Cover with a cloth or wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes, or longer if possible.

On a very lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a long snakelike roll about 1 inch in diameter.  Cut the roll into 24 pieces.  Keep the unused dough covered with a damp towel as you work.

With a rolling pin, roll out one piece of dough, cut side down on the work surface, into a 5-inch circle.  Brush the top with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with some of the minced scallion greens.

Roll up the circle like a jelly roll and pinch the ends to seal.  Flatten the roll slightly with the rolling pin, and coil it into a snail shape, with the seam on the inside.  Pinch the end to secure it and set aside on a lightly floured surface.  Prepare the remaining pancakes, and let them rest for 30 minutes uncovered.

Reflour the work surface and roll each coiled pancake out to a 4-inch circle.  Place them on a lightly floured tray.  Let them rest for 30 minutes uncovered, or longer if possible.  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Heat a large, heavy skillet, add the oil, and heat to 350 degrees F.  Put a few of the pancakes in the pan, not touching, and fry over medium heat, turning once, until golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove with a spatula and drain briefly in a colander, then transfer to absorbent paper.  Arrange the cooked pancakes on a cookie sheet and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the remaining pancakes, reheating the oil between batches.  Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven.

Makes 24 pancakes.

Serve with dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil:

General Dipping Sauce for Japanese Gyoza, Scallion Pancakes (or just about anything)

Ingredients:
2 parts soy sauce

1 part rice wine vinegar

½ part sesame oil or chili sesame oil

1 part sugar (optional)

Method:

Combine ingredients and serve. 

Gyōza

And what is gyōza you ask? Japanese potstickers, my dears. Something I adore and order every chance I get when I'm dining out. But make them from scratch at home? Never even considered it. And if it weren't for blogger buddies Amy and Lisa, I would still be eating these only at restaurants, never realizing how amazing these can be if you make them yourself.....oh my, what a difference. Night and day.  

Gyōza originated in China, and it's said to have been introduced to Japan in late 17th century. You can cook them in various ways: deep-fried, boiled, steamed, or pan-fried. And they can be filled with only vegetables or in combination with meat. The most common filling combination would be shrimp, pork and cabbage. And just so you know, gyōza is pronounced hard "g" Gee--yo--zah.

First, let me tell you how I discovered this wonderful cookbook. I was introduced to Andrea Nguyen on Amy's blog in February. And then again on Lisa's blog in April. Those two posts convinced me I had to try my hand at these so I ordered the book. And I thought: I can do these! I think.
 
So the book arrived and has been staring me in the face ever since I received it. I've been procrastinating; no question the book was intimidating me. The photos, the talent this chef has. Amazing. It was starting to draw dust on the kitchen counter; my thinking was that sooner or later I would either force myself to make something or put it away. Have you ever done that? The problem is I don't cook a lot of Asian food (basic fried rice, shrimp with lobster sauce and sweet and sour pork are the only recipes I've ever made. How Chinese and simple can it get?) and I certainly had never made dumplings. A couple weeks ago I opened the book, read it cover to cover, reread Amy and Lisa's postings and then spent Saturday afternoon making these. Man, were they good. And not as difficult as I thought it would be. But the best thing is this: you can make them when you have time and freeze them!

My pleating/crimping is certainly not professional, but passable. Andrea ( and the rest of you talented Asian cooks) would probably cringe. The filling was wonderful and the only hesitation I have is the dipping sauce suggested for this particular recipe. I really didn't care for it. I fiddled with a couple others and finally came up with one that I liked, but I can see it's going to be an ongoing project to find a perfect sauce. Perhaps you already have your own favorite dipping sauces, so by all means, use them.

I am going to try to give you directions the way Andrea did in the book, so while this may sound a little long and involved, I'll try to simplify it as best I can. These really are not difficult to make, I promise! And so worth the time (there are periods of dough resting, so it took me a good part of an afternoon) it takes. Make them on a rainy day and freeze them. And I bet your kids can make the pleats better than I did!
 
Gyōza
(Japanese pork and shrimp pot stickers)
From Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen

 Ingredients for the filling:
2 cups lightly packed, finely chopped napa cabbage
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus another 1/4 teaspoon
2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped Chinese chives or scallions (white and green parts)
6 ounces ground pork, coarsely chopped to loosen
1/3 pound medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and chopped
Scant 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Generous 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce or light (regular) soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Canola oil or sesame oil or a combination of both, for frying

Ingredients for the dumplings:
10 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup just-boiled water

Ingredients for the dipping sauce:
(Mix together well so the sugar dissolves)
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
slivers of scallions
2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chile oil (optional)

Method for filling:
In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside for about 15 minutes to draw excess moisture from the cabbage. Drain in a fine mesh strainer, rinse with water and drain again. Place in a tea towel and wring out any excess moisture. You should end up with about 1/2 cup firmly packed cabbage.

Place the cabbage in a bowl and add the garlic, ginger, chives, pork and shrimp. Stir and ligihtly mash the ingredients so they start coming together.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, the sugar, pepper, soy sauce, sake and sesame oil. Pour over the cabbage mixture and stir, breaking up the larger chunks of pork until everything comes together in a cohesive, thick mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to develop the flavors. You should have about 2 cups of filling. You may prepare this a day ahead and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before assembling the dumplings.

Method for the dumpling dough:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour.
Have your filling ready to go because you will want to fill the dumplings right away.

Bring the water to a boil and remove from heat. Let stand about a minute.
Put the flour in the work bowl of a processor. (You can also make these by hand.) With the machine running, add the 3/4 cup of water in a steady stream through the feed tube. When all the water has been added, stop the machine and check the dough. It should look rough and feel soft but firm enough to hold its shape when pinched. Add water by the teaspoon or flour by the tablespoon if needed. (I didn't) Then run the machine for another 10 seconds to further knead and form a ball around the blade. Do not overwork the dough.

Flour a work surface and knead the dough for about 30 seconds for machine-made dough, 2 minutes for hand made dough. The resulting dough should be smooth and somewhat elastic.
Press on the dough; it should bounce back slightly, but leave a slight impression of your finger. Place the dough in a zip lock bag and seal tightly, expelling all the air. Allow to rest at room temperature for a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 2 hours. The dough will steam up the bag and make it ear-lobe soft.

Method for shaping the dumplings:
Remove the dough from the bag, turn it out on a floured work surface and cut the dough in half. Return the other half to the bag, squeeze out the air and reseal.
Roll out the dough to a 1 inch thick log. Cut the log into about 16 pieces. (See below)

Dip all the sides of each piece in flour and form it into a scallop shape. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and roll out to a perfect circle about 3 1/4 inches in diameter. (I covered the remaining pieces with a cloth and filled each one as I finished rolling it out.)

Hold the wrapper in a slightly cupped hand and place about 1 tablespoon of the filling slightly off center on the dough. (At this point I dipped my finger in water and damped the edge half way around.) Fold the dumpling in half and press lightly to seal. Pleat and press into a half moon shape and place on the floured parchment paper. Keep the dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel while you finish working. Proceed with the remaining pieces and then remove the rest of the dough from the zip lock bag and repeat the procedure. At this point you can cover and refrigerate or freeze the dumplings. They will keep in the freezer for up to a month. Partially thaw and smooth over any cracks with your fingers before cooking.

Method for cooking the dumplings:
In  large non-stick skillet, place 2 parts canola oil to 1 part sesame oil. Add the dumplings (it's OK if they touch each other) sealed side up. Fry for a few minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Carefully, add about 1/3 cup water. It will boil and bubble. Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil and lower the heat to medium. Cook until the water is nearly gone, about 8 to 10 minutes. After 8-10 minutes, remove the top slightly to allow the steam to escape. When you hear a frying sound, remove the lid entirely and allow to fry another 2 minutes or so until the dumplings are brown and crisp on the bottoms. Remove from pan and serve with the bottoms up so they remain crisp. Serve with dipping sauce.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza)

How long has it been since you had a regular old fashioned pizza? You know- like from Pizza Hut or someplace like that. Well it’s been maybe 35 years or so for me. I used to love it, but my tummy has never taken kindly to that kind of food - gooey cheese, garlicky tomato sauce, pepperoni etc. etc. Sometimes I really miss it- in fact I’m just drooling thinking about it. I get it though, it’s not for me. Once in a blue moon I take a Zantac, cross my fingers and splurge on a whole wheat vegetarian pizza at California Pizza Kitchen when my granddaughter is here. Rather a boring splurge actually. And yes, I suppose I could make my own but then I start thinking about my other bugaboo: calories. Pizza is fattening. You can’t get around it. And let’s face it- while there are tons of things worth wasting calories on- for me pizza is not one of them. Well, take hope; I have a (sort of) solution, although it won’t be quite the same for you pizza die-hards.

Recently, while trolling through my favorite food blogs, I ran across a recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. It was for something called Okonomiyaki. She had been in Japan and was watching someone make it through a glass window and a man, seeing her confusion, told her it was Japanese pizza. I found out the word ‘okonomiyaki’ translates into two words: okonomi, which means ‘as you like’, and yaki, which means ‘grilled’. Together, you get okonomiyaki: ‘grilled as you like’. Okonomiyaki is sort of a cross between pancakes and pizza although it's not a fluffy pancake and really does not resemble pizza a bit except maybe its shape and the fact that it has toppings. The Japanese pile things on- like thinly sliced pork, red ginger, yakisoba noodles, tempura crumbs, corn, green onion, squid, shrimp, dried bonito flakes, bean sprouts, yam, kimchi and more. Hardly our familiar pizza. Someone referred to it as Japanese street food. There appear to be an awful lot of ways to make this dish, look what I found online- the simplest version to one with tons of toppings:

So I double checked with my expert. I have a good friend in New York City whose husband owns several Japanese restaurants- and she is a frequent visitor to Japan where his family lives. She makes Okonomiyaki all the time for her family and I got into an email discussion with her. Vicki makes a basic pancake batter (flour, eggs, water) and then adds some Japanese yam. She chops up shrimp, squid or octopus and along with some shredded cabbage, mixes everything together. Then Vicki oils a pan, adds thin slices of pork to the pan and pours on the cabbage/pancake mixture. Browns it on both sides. She tops it with a sauce: a mixture of ketchup, Japanese mayo, and Japanese Okonomiyaki sauce (which she found in Japanese food store) and the final touches are thinly sliced scallion, pickled red ginger and dried bonito flakes. My daughter has had it many times at Vicki's house and says it’s to die for.

But back to the 101 Cookbooks recipe: Heidi makes her own style of Okonomiyaki - she calls it the California version and I made it last week. I did not feel guilty. My tummy was fine. I did not feel full. I did not splurge on calories. It was cheap to make. I also did not think it needed a sauce. But then, I didn’t add toppings either. And I really I liked it the way it was: perfect.

This is quite a simple recipe really- Vicki was intrigued by the addition of almonds, which appears to be unusual. But I loved the crunchiness they gave the dish. So come up with your own version- think up topping ideas if you want them, but give this basic recipe a try to start with, even if you never dreamed you would like cabbage. Believe me, you will.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza)

(Adapted from 101 Cookbooks )

Ingredients:

2 cups cabbage, finely shredded

1 cup leeks, well washed and sliced

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour

2 pinches fine sea salt

2 large eggs, beaten

olive oil

toasted slivered almonds and chopped chives for garnish

Method:

Trim the ends and then slice the leeks lengthwise and clean them well under cold running water. Slice them. Combine the cabbage, leeks, flour and salt in a bowl.

Add the flour and toss together with your hands until everything is dusted with flour. Add the beaten eggs and mix until everything is well coated.

Heat a large skillet and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Reduce heat to medium and add the cabbage mixture to the pan. Press it firmly into a pancake shape, as flat as you can get it.

Fry for about 5 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Slide it out of the pan onto a plate, then place another plate on top of it and flip the pancake. You will need to add more olive oil at this point. Then slide the pancake with the browned side up back into the skillet. Press down again and fry until it is golden on this side as well- perhaps another 3-5 minutes. Slide the pancake out on your serving plate or cutting board and sprinkle with the toasted almonds and chopped chives. Cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 2-3 people.