Vegan scallion pancakes require few ingredients but are full-on in flavour. Although they may look tricky to make if you’ve never done it before, the technique is actually very simple – just flatten, roll, coil, flatten and fry. Follow along with the pictures and you’ll be just fine.
This is a dish that you’ll find on many Chinese restaurant menus but be careful; although they seem innocent, they may or may not contain lard or butter.
My vegan scallion pancakes get their flavour from the green onions (obviously), a brushing of sesame oil and a ginger-soy dipping sauce rather than weird and gross animal fats.
Vegan scallion pancakes are great served as an appetizer or to go with a main dish such as sesame-ginger soba or orange and ginger-glazed tofu.
Vegan Miam smears their scallion pancakes with miso paste and stuffs them with fresh veggies to make these delicious vegan scallion pancake rolls.
And you are certainly not limited to just green onions. You can also chop up and sprinkle on other veggies like mushrooms, carrots or bell peppers. T
his vegan scallion pancake recipe is so simple why not get creative?
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I first found a recipe for scallion pancakes in my vegan Chinese cookbook bible (affiliate link) The Chinese Vegan Kitchen.
However, while most of the recipes are excellent and I cook from this book all the time, her instructions for rolling the scallion pancakes were beyond my comprehension.
Fortunately, not long ago I got my hands on a copy of Cook’s Illustrated which just happened to have a recipe for scallion pancakes with very helpful photos. Turns out it is super simple.
So how to make scallion pancakes? Start with a basic dough that’s just flour and water.
After resting for 30 minutes, divide the dough into 4 pieces (here’s where I differ from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe.
I found that two larger pancakes were difficult to roll out and flip in the pan) and roll them out as thin as you can.
Brush with oil and sprinkle over chopped scallions. Roll into a cylinder and then a coil (follow the pictures!), flatten to your desired thickness and fry.
See? Told you it was easy!
Wanna see how easy it is to make these vegan scallion pancakes? Watch the video:
Vegan Scallion Pancakes
Vegan scallion pancakes are easy, tasty and make a great vegan or vegetarian appetizer or side. The technique may look tricky, but it's actually very easy!
Ingredients
For the scallion pancakes
- 1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
- ¾ cups boiling water
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil, divided, plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
For the ginger-soy dipping sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon thinly sliced green onions
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place 1 ½ cups of flour in a bowl and pour in the boiling water while stirring. When the dough is cool enough to touch, knead it into a ball. Continue kneading on the counter until you’ve got a smooth ball – about 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix together 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and the sesame oil.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Flour your counter and roll out one piece to a rough circle approximately 15 - 20 cm (6 – 8 inches). Brush the entire surface with half a tablespoon of the oil-flour mixture, sprinkle over a quarter teaspoon of salt and a quarter of the chopped green onions. Roll into a cylinder then coil the cylinder into a spiral, tucking the end underneath. Roll the spiral out into a circle approximately 12 – 15 cm (4 – 5 inches).
- Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Fry the pancake for 2 minutes each side or until golden brown. Continue with making the next pancake while the first is frying. Remove the fried pancake from the pan and drain on a paper-towel lined wire rack. If necessary, add more oil to the pan and continue frying the remaining pancakes.
- Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce. Cut each pancake into 6 triangles and serve with the dipping sauce.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 98Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 971mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
Jackie says
Looks fab
Lisa says
Can these be baked instead of fried?
Melissa says
No idea. Try it and let me know.
Amy says
These were so good. And easy.
Erin says
About how many does this make?
Melissa says
It depends how big you make them, enough to serve 4.
Ausra says
Just had them with pumpkin soup. They were
delicious. Crispy outside and soft inside. Thank you for the recipe.
Shanti says
Great recipe! I have added some 5-spice and honey to the dip. Went very well together and easy to make.
Wendy says
Can I take these to a potluck and serve at room temperature?
Melissa says
Yep!
Crissi says
Can you use whole wheat flour instead?
Melissa says
I think that'd be ok
Kaylene says
Very nice! Came out perfect and my husband requested more!
Jessie says
These look amazing! do you think this would work with gluten free flour?
Melissa says
Sorry, I don't know.
Kay says
Made them with whole wheat flour! Tastes great!
Hidayah says
This recipe is AMAZING !!! It taste like roti canai but in the easy way. I didn't have scallion so I used shallots instead. I love shallot and onion. Next time, I will use scallion. Thank you for the recipe.
MomoG says
Could these be made ahead of time and fried on site a couple of days later?
Melissa says
I'm not too sure about that, if you try it let me know.
Susannah says
Made it for a group of friends! It was all gone!!!
Virginie says
Just made them and I can't believe it worked! (I've had a lot of food mishaps lately...) They're way better than store-bought even. Will definitely make again. I'm having them now with kimchi, very good. Thanks for sharing!
Melissa says
Yum, kimchi - good idea!
Melissa Staggs says
Could you make this recipe ahead and freeze it?
Kirst says
Have you ever had them as left overs and if so how did you heat them back up?
Susan Bradley says
So yummy and easy to make!