Crispy and Flaky Chinese Scallion Pancake (蔥油餅)

Wash and thinly slice scallions, let them dry on the chopping board until ready to use. If your scallion is on the thicker side, cut the white portion of the scallion stalks lengthwise before slicing.

Pour hot water In a mixing bowl with all purpose flour, stir and mix with chopsticks until it becomes clumpy. After the dough cools slightly, knead the dough by hand for 2-3 minutes until a dough ball is formed and the mixing bowl and your hands become relatively clean. Add more cold water if needed.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled Ziploc bag or wrap it with plastic wrap to rest for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, mix the oil paste ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. The consistency will depend on the type of fat you use and the temperature; it can be runny.

After the dough is done resting, divide it into 4 equal pieces. Tuck the edges into the bottom, apply some oil on the surface, cover and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Work on the dough one at a time while keeping the others covered. Roll the dough into a long rectangular shape, with around 1/8 inch thickness.

Apply a thin and even layer of oil paste on the surface and put scallions on top of it. Add desired optional toppings.

Roll the dough from the bottom all the way up while squeezing out the air inside. Using the resulting log of dough, form two spirals from the two ends of the log, with one spiral being smaller than the other. (see pictures in the post for reference)

Tuck the small spiral under the big one and press the big spiral down over the small one. Repeat for the 3 other lumps of dough. Cover resulting buns with plastic wrap and let rest for around 30 minutes (could be stored overnight in the fridge for using the next day).

Roll the spiral lumps of dough out on an oiled surface into a 7 inch pancakes.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat before pan frying the pancake for one minute on each side. Continue flipping and cooking until evenly golden brown. Add more oil when needed as each pancake is being cooked.

Finally, after the pancake is almost finished, use two spatulas or tongs to scrunch the pancakes from two sides 2 to 3 times to "fluff it up" and accentuate the layers right before serving.