Gluten-Free Scallion Pancakes
These gluten-free scallion pancakes are pretty much indistinguishable from the ones I used to order at my favorite Mandarin breakfast joints—only mine are vegan, grain-free, egg-free, nut-free, and fried in good fats! These crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside flatbreads filled with minced scallions are delicious!
Servings: 8 pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cup cassava flour
- ½ cup arrowroot powder
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1½ cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 cups thinly sliced scallions
- ghee avocado oil, or your fave high temperature cooking fat for frying
Instructions
- Measure out the cassava flour, arrowroot powder, and 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt into a large bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Add about 1 cup of the boiling water and mix well with a spoon (or your hands if your nerve endings are gone like mine). Slowly add the rest of the boiling water and knead well until you form a spring-y, not-sticky dough. If it seems extra dry, add a touch more water, but watch out—you don’t want a wet, soft dough, or you’ll have trouble working with it. If it gets too wet, knead in a bit more cassava flour.
- Divide the dough in half, and then in half again. Next, divide the dough in half one more time. If you followed my instructions correctly, you should end up with 8 equal-sized portions. Roll ’em into balls with your hands.
- Grab one dough ball, making sure to keep the rest of the balls covered. (I just pop a silicone lid or damp kitchen towel over the bowl.) Smush down the piece of dough with your fingers, and then flatten it between two pieces of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to flatten it until it’s very thin—about ⅛-inch.
- Brush on a thin layer of toasted sesame oil. Add ¼ cup of the minced scallions in a single layer to the flattened dough. Sprinkle on some salt as well.
- Carefully roll the dough up into it looks like a scallion cigar. Then, take one end and tuck it in. Coil the cigar around until you end up with something that kinda looks like a pinwheel or a cinnamon bun.
- Place the “cinnamon bun” between two pieces of parchment paper, and either flatten it into a thin circular pancake with a tortilla press (which helps give your pancake a nice circular shape) or roll it out by hand with a rolling dowel. I usually do both: I smush mine with a tortilla press and then roll it out even thinner with a rolling dowel ’cause I like my scallion pancakes extra crispy. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and roll out as many as you feel like serving.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add enough fat so it covers the bottom of the pan. Carefully transfer a pancake to the pan and cook for 5 minutes on one side (or until nicely browned).
- Right before you’re ready to flip it, brush on some hot oil on the un-fried side. Then, fry on the other side for about 3 minutes or until crispy and browned.
- Transfer the cooked pancake to a wire rack to cool a bit while you fry up more cakes.
- Don’t wait too long before cutting and eating. As my pop said, serve these pancakes while they’re warm, and with some strong hot tea!
Video
Notes
If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can form the "cinnamon buns" and wrap those up individually (with plastic wrap or parchment paper) and store them in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. Thaw the "buns" in the fridge overnight and roll them out before frying. The frozen uncooked pancakes are pretty delicate, so it is best to roll them out right before you fry them.
Nutrition
Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g