Scallion Cakes

This week we had another great guest chef and did some great Asian food. I first had scallion cakes at a great little Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's China Town. They are great served with a sweet chili peanut sauce, but are also great alone.

Scallion Cakes

Yield: 16 pancakes

Active Time: 40 mins
Inactive Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
2 T vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water
~1/3 cup sesame oil
~2 cups minced scallion, greens only
oil for frying

Directions
Mix cake flour, salt and vegetable oil in a medium bowl and stir to blend evenly. Add the boiling water and mix with a spoon into a rough dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is sticky, knead in 1/4 cup more cake flour. Cover the dough with a cloth and rest for 20 mins.
On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into a long, snakelike roll and cut into 16 pieces. Roll out each piece into a 4 inch circle. Brush the circle generously with sesame oil and sprinkle with minced scallion greens. Roll into a cigar shape and pinch the ends so the scallions don't fall out. With the rolling pin, start at one end of the cigar and roll out until lightly flattened. Then starting from one end roll up like a cinnamon roll. Turn it on its side and roll out into a 4 inch circle. Allow to rest for 20 minutes, covered.
Heat a large pan or wok and add 1-2 inches of peanut or other oil. Heat to 350. Add the pancakes 3-5 at a time depending on the size of the pan. Fry until golden. Remove, sprinkle with salt and drain on a rack over a pan. Serven immediately.