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Friday, May 28, 2010

Scallion Pancakes and Egg Drop Soup


This is a simple dinner that can be made with ingredients you probably have on hand. It doesn't take long to make, and is a kid favorite around here. The scallion pancakes are dipped in sauce, which makes them fun to eat. The kids also like the swirls of egg in the soup.
Scallion pancakes are a street food in Taiwan. You can find vendors selling these steaming hot pancakes, wrapped in paper, so you can eat on the go. They are usually quite large, but I made mine about the size of my frying pan, for obvious reasons.

Egg Drop Soup 

Boil 2 cups chicken broth in a medium saucepan. (Add salt if your broth is unsalted.) Add chopped scallions to taste. Beat 2 eggs with a fork.  Slowly add the eggs while stirring. Serve.

Scallion pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup flour
Sesame oil
4 Tbsp  chopped scallion greens
Fat for frying

Mix flour and salt in the base of a stand mixer. Add olive oil and boiling water. If dough is too soft, add more flour (up to 1/4 cup). Knead about 5 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes. (I skip this step, or just let it stand for a minute if I'm really in a hurry; it still turns out.) Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out into a rectangle, brush with sesame oil and sprinkle with scallions.


From the long end, roll the dough into a cylinder, pinching the ends to seal. Coil into a little snail shape. Repeat with remaining dough. You can let the dough rest here for about 1/2 hour. I'm sure a chef could tell you why this step is so important. I'm not a chef, but a mom who is sometimes in a hurry, and I sometimes don't let it rest at all. ( I don't get to rest, why should my dinner?) Roll the coiled pancakes into circles, about 8 inches in diameter.

Heat fat in frying pan. I use beef tallow, but lard would also work well. If you don't have either of those, my next choice would be a combination of olive oil and butter. Whichever you choose, heat the fat, fry the pancake for about  to 3 minutes per side.

Dip in soy sauce, or try the egg roll dipping sauce here.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade and Vegetarian Foodie Fridays.

6 comments:

  1. Both recipes look delicious and the Egg Drop Soup seems so easy! We'll try them both -- thanks.

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  2. Thanks, Ellen. Hope you enjoy them!

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  3. The pancakes look yummy! and I always love egg drop soup! Thanks for stopping by my blog - I love yours, I am your newest follower.

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  4. Thanks for linking with me! I assume one can use vegetable stock instead of chicken or beef stock right? :)

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  5. Christy, Hi! Thanks for following, glad to have you!
    Melodie, I was so proud that I had a vegetarian recipe to link up, I didn't even think of the fact that this uses chicken stock! But I bet vegetable broth would work also. I've never substituted it in this recipe, but have in other soups and it's been great.

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  6. I like to add some soy sauce and a tiny bit of sesame oil and ginger to my egg drop soup... it adds just enough flavor!

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