Onion Scallion Pancakes and Glazed Salmon

Man, had I been craving salmon lately! I think it had something to do with the warmer weather we got a couple weekends ago, which set my heart singing out "Spring is here! Spring is here!!" and remembering all the wonderful things that come with warm weather, like summer days with the windows open, baking to my heart's content and light, fresh flavors and the veggies from the farmers market. And though cold weather set back in, my heart just wouldn't stop straining towards Spring. I've decided to just ignore the cold weather from now on.


Now, I realize salmon isn't just a Spring food, but I've spent the past few months hunkering down over heavy, warm foods to keep my body from frosting over. Salmon is light, and light I equate with Spring. Add the asparagus, softly steamed, and it's a light, refreshing meal. The salmon was glazed with a little mixture of: soy sauce, hoisin, and rice vinegar with splashes of oyster sauce and teriyaki. Odd combination of a lot of things, but it worked.

But I'm not really here to tell you about the salmon. I'm here to talk about the Chinese scallion pancakes I made to accompany the salmon and asparagus. They were so easy to make, but more than that, they were so delicious. Like a tortilla, but the punch of scallions in each little bite were perfect. It really does amaze me how so few ingredients can create such an amazing food.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
• salt
• vegetable oil

In a food processor (I used my stand mixer), slowly pour the boiling water into the flour until it's all incorporated and forms a ball. Mine wasn't really pulling together, so I added about a tbsp more water. The dough should be silky, not sticky. Leave in the bowl, covered with a damp kitchen towel, for 30 minutes.

Form the dough into a dome and split into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Lightly flour a working surface.

For each ball: roll the ball out as thin as possible, keeping a circular shape. Brush entire surface with oil and sprinkle with salt. Sprinkl 1 - 2 tbsp of scallion over the pancake.

Starting at one edge, roll the pancake up, as if rolling up a rug. Curl into a spiral and pinch the end to seal. Gently roll out the pancake again to 1/8 inch thickness.

Heat a tbsp of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the pancake until the bottom is crisp and golden. Flip and fry an additional minute or so.

The original recipe that I linked to has a recipe for a dipping sauce, which i didn't make. I thought it was great plain, but hubby would have liked to have the sauce.