Makes32 hors d’oeuvres
- Active time:35 min
- Start to finish:35 min
December 2003
These scallion cilantro pancakes are supple and crêpelike rather than crisp—more Korean pa jon than Chinese scallion pancake.
For dipping sauce
-
1/3
cup
soy sauce
-
2
tablespoons
rice vinegar (not seasoned)
-
3/8
teaspoon
Asian sesame oil
-
1
teaspoon
sesame seeds, toasted
For pancakes
-
3/4
cup
all-purpose flour
-
1/4
cup
rice flour (not from sweet rice; see cooks’ note, below)
-
Slightly rounded 1/2 teaspoon salt
-
1
whole large egg
-
1
large egg yolk
-
1
cup
water
-
1
small fresh green Thai or serrano chile, minced
-
1/8
teaspoon
black pepper
-
1/8
teaspoon
Asian sesame oil
-
1
tablespoon
vegetable oil
-
4
scallions (pale green and dark green parts only), diagonally sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
-
1/4
cup
loosely packed small fresh cilantro leaves
Make pancakes:
-
Whisk together flours, salt, whole egg, yolk, water, chile, pepper, and sesame oil in a bowl (batter will be thin). Heat 3/4 teaspoon vegetable oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Pour in 1/3 cup batter, then scatter one fourth of scallions and one fourth of cilantro leaves over top, gently pressing into pancake. Fry pancake until underside is pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn pancake over and cook until scallions are lightly browned, about 1 minute, then transfer to paper towels. Make 3 more pancakes in same manner, adding vegetable oil to skillet each time (there may be some leftover batter).
-
Transfer pancakes to a cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature, with dipping sauce.
Cooks’ notes: - Dipping sauce can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
- Rice flour—the base for numerous rice noodles and dim sum wrappers used in Southeast Asian and Chinese cuisines—is simply finely milled long-grain rice. Steer clear of “sweet rice flour,” made from sticky (glutinous) short-grain rice, as it gives food a distinct chewiness. Consistency among brands ranges from feathery soft to mildly gritty. The latter works best for this recipe (we like Arrowhead Mills brand; visit arrowheadmills.com for stores nearest you); the supersoft stuff made the pancakes too gummy.
