Scallion Cilantro Pancakes

These scallion cilantro pancakes are supple and crêpelike rather than crisp—more Korean pa jon than Chinese scallion pancake.

Yield:

Makes 32 Hors D’oeuvres

Ingredients

1. For the Dipping Sauce:
2. =======================
3. 1/3 cup soy sauce
4. 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
5. 3/8 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
6. 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
7. .
8. For the Pancakes:
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10. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
11. 1/4 cup rice flour (not from sweet rice; see cooks’ note, below)
12. Slightly rounded 1/2 teaspoon salt
13. 1 whole large egg
14. 1 large egg yolk
15. 1 cup water
16. 1 small fresh green Thai or serrano chile, minced
17. 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
18. 1/8 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
19. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
20. 4 scallions (pale green and dark green parts only), diagonally sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
21. 1/4 cup loosely packed small fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Stir together soy sauce, vinegar, and oil in a bowl, then stir in sesame seeds.
2. Whisk together flours, salt, whole egg, yolk, water, chile, pepper, and sesame oil in a bowl (batter will be thin). Heat 3/4 teaspoon vegetable oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Pour in 1/3 cup batter, then scatter one fourth of scallions and one fourth of cilantro leaves over top, gently pressing into pancake. Fry pancake until underside is pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn pancake over and cook until scallions are lightly browned, about 1 minute, then transfer to paper towels. Make 3 more pancakes in same manner, adding vegetable oil to skillet each time (there may be some leftover batter).
3. Transfer pancakes to a cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature, with dipping sauce.

Notes

Rice flour—the base for numerous rice noodles and dim sum wrappers used in Southeast Asian and Chinese cuisines—is simply finely milled long-grain rice. Steer clear of “sweet rice flour,” made from sticky (glutinous) short-grain rice, as it gives food a distinct chewiness. Consistency among brands ranges from feathery soft to mildly gritty. The latter works best for this recipe (we like Arrowhead Mills brand; visit arrowheadmills.com for stores nearest you); the supersoft stuff made the pancakes too gummy.Dipping sauce can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.