Chinese Pancakes Bok Bang Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the flour and sugar. Pour in the boiling water, quickly mixing everything together with a wooden spoon until the flour absorbs all the water. It will look a bit dry and flaky. Stir in the cold water. A dough should form and begin to pull away from the side of the bowl. If needed, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time. The dough should not be sticky, but dry to the touch.
• Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary, 3 to 5 minutes. Lightly cover the dough with a clean damp cloth or plastic bag and let it rest for 1 hour.
• Redust the work surface with flour and knead the rested dough for a few minutes, or until it is smooth. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll into balls. Cover three of them with the damp cloth or plastic, then use a floured rolling pin to roll the fourth into a 7-inch round. Cover the round with the damp cloth or plastic, then roll out the remaining three pieces, keeping any unused dough well covered while you work.
• Brush each round very lightly with the sesame oil and sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a quarter of the minced scallions. Tightly roll each circle into a fat rope, then tightly coil each rope so that it looks like a snail's shell, pinching the end of the rope into the bun so that it seals. Cover the rounds with the damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Redust your work surface with flour and roll each cake out with a floured rolling pin into a 7-inch round. Set aside to fry when the oil is ready. Or, refrigerate in an airtight container dusted with flour for up to 1 day. Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes before frying. You can also stack the rolled dough between parchment paper, wrap tightly in plastic, seal in a resealable plastic freezer bag and freeze for a few weeks. Unwrap and let them come to room temperature, about 15 minutes, before you fry them.
• Line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels. Heat the oil in a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over medium until it is hot but not smoking. Working carefully, as the oil will spatter, add a scallion cake to the bottom of the pan using a metal spatula or tongs, and let it fry until golden brown on the bottom, just a minute or two. Carefully flip the cake over and fry until the other side is golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. As it fries, adjust the heat to maintain a steady sizzle and lightly press the center of the cake with a metal spatula to make sure the center is cooked through, being careful of oil spatters. Alternatively, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high and pan-fry a round of dough until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes. When the cake is done, transfer it to the paper towels and fry the three remaining cakes, adding 1 tablespoon oil per cake if pan-frying.
• Sprinkle the scallion cakes with a little more salt, cut them into 6 to 8 wedges, and serve them immediately.

Steps:

• A peppery Szechuan pancakes recipe - a Chinese classic, Chuck style.
• For the pancakes: In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and the Szechuan peppercorns. Add the scallions. Add the boiling water slowly and begin stirring it in immediately. Knead the warm dough until it's smooth. Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature.
• Turn the rested dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 8 equal parts. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each piece out until it's 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 5-inch circles of dough (or just cut them out using a knife). Cover the prepared pancakes with a damp towel to keep them from drying out while making the rest. For best results, layer the pancakes on pieces of parchment paper to keep them from sticking.
• Heat a little vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan over low heat. Add the pancakes and cook until browned on both sides (about 2 minutes altogether; the second side will cook more quickly than the first side). Continue with the remainder of the pancakes, placing the cooked ones on a tray lined with paper towels to absorb some of the oil.
• For the garnish: To crisp up the duck skin, saute in a pan over medium heat until crispy, about 2 minutes (do not add oil). Once cooked, place the skin on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
• Top the pancakes with the shredded duck meat, crispy duck skin, scallions, cucumbers and hoisin sauce.