Remember the scallion pancakes at Doc Shay's ( I cant even spell it right anymore) near Emory? I have been thinking about them recently. Their chinese name is pronounced something like con you bin, spelled pinyin.
I heard you can get them premade at most Asian groceries, but I googled a recipe. This one calls for ramps instead of scallions, but as I have not been out foraging for ramps lately ( ahem, ever), I will be using scallions.
Oily Ramp Cakes (after Mrs Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook, with thanks to The 3 Foragers for the inspiration)1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon cooking oil (peanut, canola, or the like)
1 cup chopped ramps, white and greens, approx. 1/4 inch chop (the number of ramps required will vary radically depending on size--10 to 12 small ramps, perhaps only 4 or 6 large ones)
Mix the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Knead briefly, let it rest for 10 minutes, knead again for a minute or two, cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough in two and form into balls. Roll and stretch each ball out into an 8-inch square. Spread 1/2 teaspoon each of the sesame and vegetable oils onto each square, then sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and half the chopped ramps. Roll the dough up, jelly roll style, and pinch closed the ends. Cut each roll in half, again pinching the exposed ends closed, and flatten into discs, sort of hockey puck shape. Let rest 15 minutes.
When you're ready to cook, roll the cakes out to circles 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Heat a heavy skillet and add cooking oil to a depth of about 1/8 inch. Cook each cake for a total of 6 minutes over medium heat, turning every minute or so. The first side will brown much more evenly than the second, unless you use quite a bit more oil in the frying. Drain on paper towels. Add a bit more oil for each cake.
Eat hot, plain, or with hoisin sauce for dipping, or this honey-soy-chili sauce I concocted because I had just warmed some crystalized honey to empty the jar, and the bowl was sitting near the stove:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sambal
Combine and mix well.
