Chive Pancakes

Chive pancakes are very long overdue on No Free Lunch. Flaky, crunchy, and altogether delicious, these treats were a staple childhood snack for me. Despite this, I went through well over two decades having no idea how they are made. Now that we have an abundance of chives growing in the garden, I've been making them myself. It takes some time to prepare the dough, but they are well worth the effort; it is the rolling of the dough that creates the unique, layered texture of the pancake.

This recipe is a modified version of the "Green Onion Pies" from Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book. I've lowered the salt a bit, replaced the green onions with chives, and doubled the amount. The technique is the same, though my instructions are less vague!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/3 cup cold water
• Vegetable oil
• 6 Tbs fresh chopped chives
• 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• Lots of extra flour for dough handling

Instructions

Place flour in a large mixing bowl, add boiling water, and mix. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add cold water and knead into a smooth dough. I find that the dough is very wet at this stage, and flour should be added at your discretion to make the dough easier to knead. Cover and let rest, about half an hour.

Divide the dough into six equal pieces. While working with each piece, make sure to keep the others covered to prevent drying out. On a well-floured surface, roll out each piece into a round shape about 10 inches in diameter. The dough should be very thin. Continue to flour as needed. Brush oil over the whole piece, dust with 1/3 tsp salt (more or less to taste -- Pei Mei recommends 1/2 tsp, but this is a bit too much for me). Finally, spread 1 Tbs chives evenly across the dough.

Next, for each dough piece, roll the dough up as tightly as possible into a long tube and close up the ends. Form the tube into a snail shape and tuck the loose end into the center. With a rolling pin, roll each snail shape out into a flat pancake about 1/4 inch thick. This should be 5-6 inches across.

On medium heat, heat vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan, enough to cover the bottom. Fry each pancake, covered, a few minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Periodically jiggle the pan. According to Pei Mei, this promotes flaky pastry.