Sunday, I made these Chinese Scallion Pancakes for the first time. I made 1/2 the recipe to try it out. Then I made another 1/2 recipe to see how they kept – frozen and refrigerated.
This morning I made a double recipe and most of them made it into the freezer!
I woke up, rested, ready to go…at 4:45 a.m.
Bear and I had a quick down the driveway walk in the dark, then back inside and I started a pot of beans, the coffee, put my Dutch Oven in the oven to heat for crusty bread and then mixed and kneaded the dough for the pancakes.
The simple flour and water mix gets kneaded until smooth and then rests for 30 minutes.
The genius of this recipe – in my opinion! – is that the scallions, some salt and olive oil are brushed on the rolled out pancake. Then you roll the circle up like a cigar…roll it around itself like a snail, squash it and roll it into a circle once more which means that the onions and seasoning are inside the pancake.
I’m thinking of many different flavor combos that would be scrumptious using this same technique…herbs like chives or basil or oregano, some garlic and cumin. Maybe a slightly cheese-y version with some parmesan and smoked paprika.
The pancakes get lightly fried in a bit more olive oil so end up a little crispy, a littly chewy and full of flavor. The Woks of Life post also includes a garlic dipping sauce. And by the way, the The Woks of Life blog is not only a lot of fun, with some great recipes but they (it is the entire family writing the blog!) include some pages de-mystifying ingredients and utensils used in their Chinese recipes.
I’ve eaten the pancakes as snacks with the dipping sauce, as a “bread” with a Chinese chicken salad, and this morning with some goat cheese, beans and a drizzle of the dipping sauce. I like them!
As I was working in the kitchen, the sky lightened to the East. I love watching the range of colors as the sun works its way over the mountains of the Continental Divide.
One moment it was a deep blue and the next I was surprised to see fog. The temperature at just before 5 a.m. was 55, but it dropped to 49 as the sun rose – close enough to the morning dewpoint to make fog.
Bear and I took our full morning walk in the misty woods.
The yellow jackets had been buzzing the kitchen windows earlier, but as the fog dropped down, they apparently went back to their nests and we walked in foggy quiet.
Headed back toward the house, the sun found its way though the mist, hitting the house like a spotlight.
Scallion pancakes, morning walk: Tuesday.
