Peasant Pancakes

tgobbi's Note:

This recipe was the all time winner during my years of teaching and cooking Chinese cuisine professionally. They invariably sold out at my restaurant. In fact after we closed, my chef opened his own place and sold them out there as well. The combination of textures along with the flavor makes them irresistible

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 16 pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 Chinese sausage , chopped in small pieces
• ½ cup chopped scallion
• ½ cup chopped water chestnut (or better, jicama)
• ½ cup chopped raw shrimp
• vegetable oil

Dip A

• ¼ cup Chinese red vinegar or ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

Dip B

• ¼ cup Chinese red vinegar
• very finely shredded fresh ginger

Dip C

• hot sauce

Directions:

1. *Chinese sausages are available in most Asian markets.
2. They keep for a long time in the refrigerator and even longer in the freezer.
3. There isn't really a substitute but, if you're unable to find it, try a little ground pork instead.
4. Another alternative would be to omit it from the recipe- which I've done for my non meat eating daughter in law.
5. The pancakes are still super delicious.
6. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and cayenne.
7. Then stir in enough of the stock to make a batter just a little thinner than for regular old pancakes.
8. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.
9. Use a heavy skillet (cast iron or Calphalon if available).
10. Heat it to very hot, then adjust the flame down so the pancakes cook evenly and not too quickly.
11. (You'll soon get the hang of it).
12. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and, when hot, ladle in about 2 T of the batter for each pancake.
13. When brown and crispy on the bottom, turn them over to finish the other side.
14. (The unused portion of the batter will thicken while you're cooking the pancakes; just add a little more stock as necessary).
15. Blot well on paper towels and serve with any or all of the recommended sauces.
16. (You'd better make a lot of them because they disappear quickly).

Reviews

[Mudpie]

The pancakes reminded me of some of the street food we had in Taiwan. We did add a hand full of chopped bean sprouts. We only got 8 pancakes at 2 tablespoons per cake and we used up all the chicken broth. Thanks for posting!

[Mary the Disturbed Stick Woman]

This is what scallion pancakes want to be when they grow up. Yum.

[mianbao]

These are scrumptious! I followed the recipe strictly, using Chinese sausage and water chestnuts in addition to the other ingredients. After making and sampling one pancake, I decided to add some xiangcai (fresh coriander/cilantro) to the batter, which I felt made them even more delicious. Thank you for a lovely recipe.