Brown Butter Tahini Scallion Pancakes
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These Brown butter tahini scallion pancakes are my new favorite treat. Inspired by my grandma and modified with techniques I learned in cooking school, this recipe has it all.
A couple tricks I learned and the science behind it:
- When making the dough, use hot water (175F is what you should target). The hot water denatures the proteins in the flour and therefore reduces the gluten formation. However, using boiling hot water will make the dough too tender.
- My grandma used to put peanut butter in the filling. When we tried this is cooking school and compared it with others, it had significantly more flakey layer, likely because of the saturated fat that added to the lamination. I've found that tahini and brown butter add the same effect, but at a much more subtle nuttiness (which I prefer).
Enjoy!!
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Directions
Boil 1 cup of hot water. As this is coming to a boil, measure out 2 cups of flour into a food processor. You can do this by hand, but it's much easier in a food processor.
Once the water is boiled, measure out 3/4 of hot water, then add 1/4 cup cold water to it.
While the food processor is on, slowly drizzle in 3/4 of a cup of the hot water. After 20-30 seconds, you should see the dough come together and form a ball. If not, slowly add one more tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
Remove the dough from the food processor onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times into a smooth ball. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prep your filling and dipping sauce. Brown the butter in a small pan on medium high heat, then remove and set aside. Thinly slice the scallions and set into a small bowl. Lastly, combine all the ingredients in the dipping sauce and stir until sugar is dissolved.
After the dough is rested, divide it into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out into about 1/8" thick rectangle. To each piece, add 2 tablespoons of tahini and spread throughout the rectangle. Sprinkle with kosher salt, then brush with brown butter. Top with a layer of scallions, then roll up from the longer side (similar to how to roll a cinnamon roll). Starting from one end, roll into a circle and press down with you palm to flatten out the disk. You can use a rolling pin to flatten out even more, or continue to use your palm to flatten out to an 8" long piece. Repeat this for the remaining 3 pieces.
Once ready to fry, heat frying pan (or non-stick pan) on medium high heat. Add 1/4 cup of the neutral oil and heat for about 1 minute. Add the scallion pancakes (1 or 2 at a time) to the pan, and cook on each side until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Once finished, let sit on a paper towel to remove excess oil, then cut into 6 even pieces.
Serve immediately with the dipping sauce, and enjoy!