This week I made the Chinese-Style Scallion Pancakes recipe from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. It’s another savory pancake, but distinct from the previous Korean-style pancakes.

Whereas the Korean-style pancakes were a batter, these pancakes are made from a hot-water dough. Kenji notes that using hot-water reduces gluten production in the dough. The key to these pancakes is the technique.

Kenji directs to make the dough in a food processor, slowly drizzling in hot water until it comes together as a dough. We don’t have a food processor. Kenji says it can also be made stirring together in a bowl and then kneading until smooth, about 5 minutes. We don’t have a food processor, so that’s what I did.

After making the dough and letting rest, it’s divided into four portions. One at a time, a portion is rolled out in to an 8–10 inch disk and then brushed with a sesame oil-flour mixture. The disk is rolled up and then twisted into a spiral. That is then re-rolled back into an 8–10 inch disk. This time, after brushing with the sesame oil-flour mixture, a good handful of sliced scallions are sprinkled on. It’s rolled and twisted again and then re-rolled into a smaller 7-inch disk.

This final disk is pan-fried in the wok until golden. It’s flipped and cooked on the other side until it’s golden. Kenji directs to serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

As straightforward as the directions sound, I found it tricky in practice. The spiraled dough wanted to stay separated when re-rolling, leaving some gaps, and when the scallions were added, they often tore the outside layer during the spiraling/re-rolling process.

The pancakes did taste how Kenji describes: “flaky, crisp, light, multilayered.” Megan said that these were her favorite of the three pancakes made so far. Much like the previous pancakes, I don’t know when I would make these. They’re more work than the Korean-style batter pancakes, and not substantial enough to be more than a snack. But they were tasty.

I am cooking my way through J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. Read more about it.