Gettin' Down and Dirty!

Whatever thought(s) could be going through your head right now after seeing that title, shame on you ;-) 

I went back and did it--I made green onion pancakes again.  I did it the night before our Chang Cousins' Thanksgiving Lunch because, of course, green onion pancakes taste the best when they've been sitting the least amount of time AND, I heart my cousins a lot so, I thought I would treat them to some homemade green onion pancakes as opposed to the stuff they get at the 99 Ranch Market, a Chinese supermarket chain for those of you who do not know what it is.  

Anyway, it was a messy, long, and arduous process.  You can read all about the wonderful memories that I have associated with green onion pancakes here because, this post is going to be just the plain, in-your-face truth about how to make green onion pancakes.  By the way, the photos were all taken by yours truly... while I made the pancakes.  Oh yes, I hopped over to the sink many a time to wash and rid my hands of flour/oil/onions in order to take pictures.  Needless to say, my hands were definitely quite dry and needed to be moisturized by the time I finished these at 1:30am.

All the carbolicious goodness you could want :-)  Mmm mmm mmm.

 Flour + hot water + cold water + the ends of two wooden spoons.  Chopsticks would work, too.  They are definitely more legit in China and Taiwan ;-)

Yeah, screw the spoons--you'll need to get in there and get dirty!

Reminds me of kindergarten when we played with that gray clay stuff.  Mix the dough together into the correct not-so-sticky consistency by adding flour if it is too sticky or cold water if it is too dry.

Knead it into a ball, oil it, and set aside for about 20-30 minutes.  Even better--cover it with a moist paper towel or moist dish cloth so it will not dry out.  But really, just make sure it is coated in oil and it will stay perfect.

What you need: dough, sliced green onions, salt, a rolling pin, flour in a bowl for dusting, and oil in a bowl.

 Grab about a golf ball-size piece of dough and roll it out on a flour surface.  Once it is pretty darn thin (about 1/8" thick), lightly coat the top with oil, lightly sprinkle salt over it, and finally, add the onions.

Roll it into a log, crimping the edges together.

Coil it together into a spiral.

Once all coiled together, make sure it stays in shape, flatten it out with your hand, and then with the rolling pin, reshaping it into a pancake.

And there you go--green onions bursting at the seams.  The past few steps all help in making the layers of chewy goodness that arises after frying :-)

 

Stack your pancakes on a plate.  FYI--only make a few at a time or else they start to stick together and make your life miserable as you try to pull them apart to put in the pan to fry.

Hmm, LIGHTBULB: perhaps you could make a pancake, place wax or parchment paper over it, then add another pancake, etc., and then stick them all in the freezer to harden up a bit whether to help you store to fry another time or just to make it easier before frying.  Or, a visit to the fridge just to keep them from getting gooey and soft on you.  Ooh, not a bad idea!

Don't listen to your arteries!  Just look at the beautiful oil absorption and frying action :-)  Oh, but do have your exhaust fan on as well as some windows open, maybe even the door, because the house will be filled with green onion pancake-ness VERY SOON after your first fry.  Ergo, VENTILATE!  Also, closing the bedroom doors will definitely make sure that you will not be smelling green onion pancakes while doing... whatever it is that you do in your bedroom.

 Make sure to place them on a plate with LOTS of paper towels to absorb all the excess oil.

 You're drooling, right?  These are absolutely FANTASTIC!  Great accompaniment to a warm cup of soy juice :-)  Or is it soy milk?  You know, the Asian-style soy beverage.  Well, try the two together because the combo ROCKS!

They're best eaten soon after being made.  I'll call this the picture/step-by-step instructions post.  The recipe/wordy post can be found here.

P.S.--my cousins dug right in :-)  Here we are the next day celebrating Annabelle's 1st birthday!  'Twas a Chang Family weekend indeed.