Quick and Flakey Onion Empanada Pancakes

When I was studying in Taiwan, my favorite thing to get near the Shilin MRT stop were these super flakey scallion pancakes. Now, most recipes say their pancakes come out "flakey", but I think that's mainly for show. These scallion pancakes in Taiwan were FLAKEY almost in a puff pastry sort of way. Each of the layers weren't as crispy as puff pastry, but the layers were definitely comparable. And so when I came home and tried making authentic Taiwanese scallion pancakes, I spent hours trying to recreate the layers by folding the dough back and forth, back and forth. I got pretty good at making scallion pancakes, but they were never like the ones in Taiwan...Until it dawned on me one day, it wasn't necessarily the folding back and forth that made the pancakes flakey, it was the lard they put in it! I had looked into some recipes that had lard in it, but most recipes call for oil and the thing is, oil doesn't do the trick. Texturally, the pancakes in Taiwan had this rich crispiness to it, almost like the dough to a deep dish pizza. So thus came the development of this recipe. I felt I almost got the same texture from empanada dough and thought if I mixed in scallions and some sesame oil I would get that same feel. The only thing with this quick recipe is that I used shortening instead of lard and I omitted all the folding. If you want more flakiness, treat it just like pie dough or puff pastry. Roll out the dough, fold it into thirds, roll out again, fold, and repeat. I actually don't think the pancakes need it it. It quickens up the recipe a ton, and there's hardly any kneading. Put in some extra sesame seeds for extra crunch and you can serve either with a soy sauce or a sweet chutney works as well.

Mix Wet Ingredients

Cut Shortening with Flour

Cut 2 stalks scallions

Add to flour mixture

Use Fork to Mix Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients

Knead into Ball and Refrigerate

Roll out in Plastic Wrap

Can Freeze up to 2 Months

Fry 2-3 Minutes a Side

Ingredients: - 3 cups flour - 1 teaspoon salt - 1/2 cup cold water - 2 eggs - 1 teaspoon vinegar - 3 tablespoons shortening - 3 stalks scallions (diced) - 1 tablespoon sesame oil - 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions: 1. In a bowl, beat the water, eggs, vinegar, and sesame oil together.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour, scallions, sesame seeds, and salt. 3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with fork. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the liquid ingredients. 4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork and knead it into a ball. 5. Refrigerate for 2 hours and divide dough into 8 equal balls. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. At this point, pancakes can be placed with plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 months. 6. Pour half inch of oil into a pan. Heat oil to medium heat. Fry pancakes for 2-3 minutes each side. Serve plain or with sauce.