Friday, November 26, 2010

Green Onion Cakes


Growing up in Edmonton my husband quickly fell in love with these delightful little snacks. After moving to Halifax he sadly realized these were apparently an Edmonton phenomenon, as no one (except fellow Edmontonians) knew what he was talking about when he raved about these odd little cakes that aren't cakes at all.

Luckily they're so easy to make at home that it doesn't matter what city we're in, we can have green onion cakes whenever we want.

My favourite addition to these little cakes is this Thai Cucumber Salad. It cuts the heat of the hot sauce perfectly and makes it feel like a slightly healthier snack or meal.

2 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup hot water 
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons olive oil 
1 bunch of green onions chopped
canola oil for frying

Mix the flour, salt, oil, and a little water together. Slowly add more and more water until dough forms a ball*. Knead slightly until smooth and let rest under a damp cloth for an hour.
Roll out on a floured surface (add more flour as necessary so as to not let dough stick to the counter) as thin as possible. Avoid ripping or tearing the dough.
Rub dough with olive oil and evenly cover with chopped green onions.
Starting at one end roll dough tightly onto itself (like rolling cinnamon buns).
Slice the roll of dough into pieces anywhere between 1"- 3" in length. With each slice gently press the dough on the ends into itself ("like a present" my husband says), sealing the ends. Then with the slice standing upright in your palm, use your other hand to squish it into a patty like shape. Roll out this patty as thin as you can (without ripping).
Heat up a skillet over medium heat with oil. One by one, fry the green onion cakes until each side is golden brown.
Slice into wedges and serve immediately with hot sauce (or if you're a wimp, soy sauce is nice).

*We have since started using our Kitchen Aid mixer to make the dough and it really helps make it a lot fluffier and lighter. 



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11 comments:

  1. Yum! These kinda remind me of an Indian flat bread called Paratha.

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  2. This looks lovely, I'm going to give this a shot!

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  3. Hey Alex!

    I make these almost the same way, but with a fattier and far less healthy twist of brushing melted Crisco mixed with a bit of sesame oil instead of olive oil on the rolled out dough.

    Yumm - makes me miss festival season in Edmonton.

    xx
    Becky

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  4. I had these at Zane's Bday a couple nights ago.
    I am fiending for them HARD!

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  5. Ahh, scallion pancakes. They are Chinese originally, you'll find it variations of these in various Asian countries.

    Maybe Edmonton has a larger Chinese community than other parts of Canada?

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  6. I had no idea this was an Edmonton thing! I guess I'm lucky to live here.

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  7. Yes, your husband is correct about this being an Edmonton treasure. I am so sad that I cannot get my hands on them in Toronto. Of all places, Toronto! Trying your recipe tonight!

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  8. I make these and freeze them between parchment, before frying. When I have a hankering, I thaw the appropriate number on the counter, separated, for 10-15 minutes (long enough to make a rice wine, soy and chili oil dipping sauce), then fry them fresh. Yummmmm

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  9. Good with sweet chili sauce too!!

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