Sourdough Chinese Scallion Pancakes (葱油饼）

Updated on February 15, 2021 by Julia

Scallion pancakes are abundant in China. Walk down any street, and you’ll find a vendor expertly pouring batter onto a hot griddle, filling it with yummy scallion goodness. They press, flip, and serve it to you piping hot, sometimes with a Chinese donut wrapped within. Each pancake only costing several cents.

As always, I was on a quest to recreate a childhood food. You won’t find many scallion pancake vendors here in the US, but these are easy to find in the frozen section. It’s not that I’ve refused to try the frozen version, I just haven’t. However, I’ve found that these are easily replicable in a home kitchen!

Using sourdough starter in scallion pancakes

As always, this recipe stemmed from me, once again, having too much discard. I’ve made sourdough pancakes, sourdough waffles, sourdough crackers, and sourdough chocolate chip cookies. Now I wanted something home-y and savory.

Sourdough starter is just a mix of flour and water, two key ingredients in scallion pancakes. My starter mix is a 1:1 ratio, so 100% hydration. You will have to adjust the recipe based on your starter ratios. As with all Chinese recipes, it’s all feel and look. If the dough feels too dry, then add in a little bit more water, 1 teaspoon at at time. If the dough is too tacky and sticks to your hand, add in a sprinkling of flour.

Ingredients for scallion pancakes

This recipe is so simple and perfect for a weekend brunch (since it still requires some rest time).

• Sourdough starter (100% hydration)
• Flour
• Warm water
• Oil
• Scallions

Only five (technically four, since sourdough is water and flour) ingredients to make this delicious snack.

Instructions for Chinese pancakes

1. Mix 70 grams of sourdough starter, 140 grams of flour, 50 grams of warm water in a bowl. Use less water and add more based on the dough texture. It should be smooth and easy to fold (not sticky). Let sit covered for 1 hour
2. Flour your surface (I use rice flour) and roll out your dough into a rectangle/square. You’ll want to roll out the dough as thin as possible. If you find that the dough is fighting back, let it rest for 5 minutes.

3. Spread 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on the dough and sprinkle your chopped scallions

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4. Roll the dough from the bottom up tightly. Squeeze with your hands and pull the dough lengthwise.

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5. Cut in half. Then roll each half into a spiral.

6. Press down and roll with a rolling pin until flat. Rolling it thinner will ensure that the inside is cooked without burning the outside layer.

7. Heat up a hot pan with oil and cook until both sides of browned nicely.

8. Make yourself a little dipping sauce with a little soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chilli oil.

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