It is sometimes said that the origins of pizza came by way of Marco Polo’s travels, when he came across a mouthwatering and irresistible street snack in China and made a request for a similar delectable in his hometown of Naples — where cheese and other ingredients were later added, becoming the modern staple we know today. Some may say that never occurred and that pizza existed in the Mediterranean long before Marco Polo’s time. While the origins of pizza are often disputed, little can argue the delight of biting into a crispy, savory dough accented by fresh herbs and local flavors.
Chinese scallion pancake, commonly eaten as a street food or in restaurants, is a thin and crispy, fragrant flatbread interspersed with green scallion, a scattering of salt, and a drizzle of oil before lightly panfried. The slightly chewy and crunchy taste of this savory thin pastry is reminiscent of stuffed naan or thin crust pizza pie.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of hot water
- 2,5 cups of white flour
- Course kosher salt
- 1 bundle of scallions, finely chopped
- Vegetable oil for pancake
- Frying oil (vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 tbsp or 1 single serving packet of Kuli Kuli Pure Moringa powder
Directions
- First, make the dough. Mix flour and hot water in a mixing bowl and knead until dough is a smooth and elastic consistency. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes.
- Knead the dough to ascertain it is a soft and smooth consistency — not too wet, not too dry.
- Prep a large rolling surface with a scattering of flour. Remove the dough and place it on the surface. Form the dough into a spherical mound. Cut the dough into 4 equal sized pieces. Leave one piece on the surface and cover the rest with a damp paper towel. If you plan to save the dough for later, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator. If you plan to make all 4 pieces, repeat steps 4–11 per piece.
- Roll the dough on the board into a thin, 1/4″ thick circle. Make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the surface. Drizzle and spread out a teaspoon of vegetable oil over the top surface.
- Evenly sprinkle moringa powder and a pinch of salt over the dough. At last, generously sprinkle on a layer of chopped green scallions. Gently press the ingredients into the dough surface with your finger tips.
- Pick up an edge of the dough and roll it in one direction so that it forms a flute. Sprinkle a little oil and spread it across the top. Take one end of the flute and begin rolling it like a spiral (think cinnamon buns). Now, you should have a nice spiral-shaped mound.
- Make sure there is still some flour on the surface. Gentle flatten the mount and, with the rolling pin, roll it flat until resembles a thin round pie or pancake, but not so thin that the scallions break through the dough. Flip the dough and gently roll it to an even thinness.
- On a large frying or sautee pan, heat the vegetable or canola oil to frying point.
- Carefully place the pancake into the pan and make sure the bottom is evenly coated by the oil. Let it sit for about a minute, then lower the heat to medium. Let it sit for about 2 minutes.
- Flip and fry the pancake until golden brown on each side.
- Move the pancake onto a clean surface or serving platter, and cut it into appetizer-sized pieces, and serve!
Tip: Chives, sauteed onions, or even minced garlic may be used in place of scallions. While this Moringa Scallion Pancake is a spinoff of the traditional Chinese scallion pancake, our team got creative and accompanied this savory pancake with low fat cottage cheese, which turned into a big hit.
