sum.ptuo.us

08 May · Tue 2007

How to Make Green Onion Cakes

Green onion cakes are so addictive that I always wind up eating too many of them. They are so easy to make and they freeze perfectly. Just take them out, as you need them, pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds to soften, and then fry. Dipped in soy sauce, red vinegar, and sambal oelek, they make a scrumptious and crunchy appetizer or snack.

3 cups	bread flour (or all-purpose)
1 1/4 cup	just boiled water (more or less)
1 bunch	green onion, thinly sliced
	vegetable oil
	sea salt and pepper
	peanut oil for frying

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, pour the boiling water over the flour. Stir quickly with a fork to combine. Dump the mixture onto a counter top and knead the dough until smooth. The dough will be quite firm. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and shape into rounds. Using a rolling pin, roll into a disc about 1/8" thick. Brush lightly with vegetable oil, season well with salt and pepper, and sprinkle green onions over half of the surface. Roll up like a cigar and coil the dough as shown below. Once again, roll out into a disc approximately 1/8" thick, dusting with flour as needed.

3. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add enough oil to cover its surface. When the oil is shimmering, fry each cake until golden brown; approximately 1-2 minutes. Turn with tongs and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes longer, or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with soy sauce, red vinegar, sambal oelek.

Keep green onion cakes on hand by storing them in the freezer. After rolling them out, stack between plastic wrap so they don't stick to each other. Take out as many as you need by easily prying them apart. Thaw slightly in the microwave for 20-30 seconds by placing the onion cakes in a single layer on paper towel. Fry and serve.

Yield: 16 - 4.5" cakes.

Tagged as: [ howto recipes ]

Posted by Kimberley Slobodian on May 08, 2007

[ Add Your Comment [25] ]• Email This • Permalink • Add to del.icio.us

Subscribe now with RSS or receive my posts by Email.

Comments:

Is it wrong that it is only 7:30 a.m. and I wish I had some of those for breakfast? They look so good and addictive!

Posted by dawn on May 08, 2007 at 09:47 PM GMT #

Not at all ;) They are yummy anytime!

Posted by Kimberley on May 09, 2007 at 12:44 AM GMT #

These are also called scallion pancakes? If so I love them :) They were so common in Chinese restaurants when I lived in the US but they are not common on menus here. I keep meaning to make a batch for myself, I'm gonna bookmark this to try :D Thanks for taking part in NYAM :D I'm formatting the entry at the mo :D

Posted by The TriniGourmet on May 20, 2007 at 03:30 AM GMT #

Yes, they are also called scallion pancakes and are a traditional Chinese snack. Let me know how they turn out when you make them. Thanks again for including me in your NYAM series.

Posted by Kimberley on May 20, 2007 at 04:06 AM GMT #

These look incredible!!!!

Posted by Chef John on May 20, 2007 at 04:08 AM GMT #

omg, i finally made these and they were JUST AS I REMEMBERED :D It really took me back :) Yours was one of several recipes I tried and yours was the only one that really hit the mark :) I'm gonna blog about it with pics, and a link to this page in the coming weeks :D Just wanted to give you the heads up and say THANKS! :D

Posted by The TriniGourmet on July 14, 2007 at 01:24 PM GMT #

Fantastic! I'm so happy they were a hit! I no longer have a stock of these in my freezer so I think I'll fix that!

Posted by Kimberley on July 15, 2007 at 12:23 AM GMT #

Dear Kimberley, my writeup is done! :)

http://www.trinigourmet.com/index.php/scallion-pancakes-and-sarinas-sparkling-green-tea/

Best Wishes :D

Posted by The TriniGourmet on July 21, 2007 at 08:50 AM GMT #

How do you make them round? They come out all oddly shaped for me and the oil and onion go everywhere.

Posted by Stu on May 11, 2009 at 12:16 AM GMT #

Just roll the dough up like a cigar and then form into a coil as shown in the pictures. You might be putting too many green onions? It doesn't really matter if they are perfectly round - any shape will taste good. :)

Posted by Kimberley on May 13, 2009 at 11:00 PM GMT #

I just made these and had a quick question. When i put them in the pan they started to poof up alot, is it because the dough didnt properly rise earlier? or are they supposed to do this? my first time making these and am not to sure! Thanks a bunch, though, your was the best recipe i found while looking for a good one for green onion cakes!

Posted by maegan on June 28, 2009 at 08:27 AM GMT #

Hi there,
They poof up from the heat of the pan. After mixing/kneading the dough, it doesn't rise. The time after is just to let the gluten in the dough relax so it's easier to roll out/shape. You didn't do anything wrong. It's great that they poof up in the pan - I'm sure they had a nice texture. Hope you liked them! Let me know if you have any other questions and happy cooking!

Posted by Kimberley on June 29, 2009 at 11:09 AM GMT #

I just made these tonight! They were easy to make and tasted great. I love green onion cakes and this was the first time I had tried to make them. This recipe tastes the same as the best that I have had! Thank you for your great instructions and photos. Can't wait to make these again.

Posted by 127.0.0.1 on September 21, 2009 at 02:57 AM GMT #

Super! Thanks! I'm glad you like them. I haven't had them in a while - they're soooo yummy!

Posted by Kimberley on September 23, 2009 at 04:47 AM GMT #

We've always used sesame oil instead of vegtable oil. It imparts a rich smokey flavor that underlines the green onion.

Posted by Troy on December 08, 2009 at 04:39 PM GMT #

Hi Troy,

Great idea. I'll try this the next time I make them. For some people, sesame oil can be overpowering - perhaps they could cut it with a bit of vegetable/grapeseed oil so they just get a hint of flavor. Thanks for the comment!

Posted by Kimberley on December 09, 2009 at 08:30 PM GMT #

we always ate these at chinese places in Alberta and haven't been able to find them here in the Maritimes going to make them tonight.. we were always served them with a dip which is soy sauce mixed with chilli garlic sauce(chinese).. I can't wait:)

Posted by heidi on January 20, 2010 at 05:29 PM GMT #

There is another way of doing step 2. Roll out the a half of your dough and flatten them into a more-or-less rectangular shape, 1/16" thick. Then add salt, oil and more finely chopped scallion over the entire area. Then cigarette roll the dough with chopped scallion. Make the roll tight. Cut into small lengths, like sausage shape, 3:1 aspect ratios. Twist and tuck ends beneath the ball-shaped mass.
Use palm of hand to press to shape the mass into a round pancake (much easier to make it round than using a rolling pin).
When frying, keep some pressure with any utensil on or near the center of pancake so it will brown uniformly. (Press against the air bubble trapped between pancake and frying pan.)
Leftover pancake can make famous Peking dish "chowbing" by julien the pancake as the starch and mix and cook with stir fried meat and vegetables.

Posted by Stephen W. Tsai on March 13, 2010 at 07:26 AM GMT #

Thanks for the tip! I keep meaning to try the dish "chowbing" that you describe. Mmmmmm sounds so good. Cheers!

Posted by Kimberley on March 15, 2010 at 06:37 PM GMT #

Can you substitute bisquick instead of flour?

Posted by Amy on April 14, 2010 at 07:12 PM GMT #

Bisquick contains a combination of flour, baking powder, shortening and salt. I do not use this product myself, so I'm not familiar with how it would work. You could try it and see how they turn out...or keep it simple and just use plain old flour. Cheers!

Posted by Kimberley on April 17, 2010 at 09:15 PM GMT #

This is such a great recipe! I am making them as i type this ( I know! I am a miracle...lol) I wanted to thank you for this recipe. I have a garden and way more green onions than I need and I am so excited to try these. Question- What other things can you dip them in? I wasn't sure what would really work and if you have any suggestions! Thanks again so much!

Posted by Kristen on June 28, 2010 at 02:59 AM GMT #

Hope you liked them! I have only used those 3 condiments (soy, sambal and vinegar)...but you could try sriracha sauce. Let me know if you come up with anything else that's yummy! Cheers!

Posted by Kimberley on June 28, 2010 at 05:06 AM GMT #

They make and sell them at Spruce Meadows in Calgary and they serve them as a germen dish and include sour cream as a dip and put chicken or smoked salmon (so good!!) with them.........very popular here!!........Cheers!

Posted by Karin on July 06, 2010 at 01:45 PM GMT #

I made these this morning to have with brunch. My family loved them!
We buy green onion cakes at the farmer's market a few times a month for a dollar each! I thought I was getting such a deal! Thanks for showing me that I can make them myself for a tenth of the cost! Much love!

Posted by Lesley on July 31, 2010 at 06:03 PM GMT #