This comes from the late Taku Sekine of Dersou and Le Cheval d’or. It’s wonderfully simple as a side. While optional in the sense it’s possible to make and eat the pancakes without it, the real coup de grâce of these is the dipping sauce.
Make sure to use boiling water, as specified below. The heat helps gelatinize the starches in the flour, which increases the flour’s ability to hold moisture. As well as contributing to the texture and flavor of the pancakes, it makes it possible to get this flour-water ratio at all.
Ingredients
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 170 g boiling water
- 10 g toasted sesame oil
- Salt, to taste
- 3 scallions, cut into 1 cm slices
- Neutral oil (such as canola)
- 40 g soy sauce (optional)
- 40 g rice wine vinegar (optional)
Method
Combine the flour, water, sesame oil, and salt in a large bowl. When the ingredients have come together, knead the dough until it’s smoother and more elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover the dough for 20 minutes, then knead it again until it’s very smooth and elastic, about five minutes.
Roll out the dough into a roughly 5 mm (1/4") thick round. Sprinkle over the scallions. Then roll the dough into a snake, and then coil the rolled dough into a round. Roll out the round to a roughly 20 cm (8") diameter. Lightly brush the top with oil.
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop in the pancake, oil side down. Then brush the uncoated side with oil as the pancake cooks. It should be shiny and lightly browned, about five minutes a side.
Cut the pancake into wedges and serve immediately.
For the optional sauce, combine the soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl, and then stir to combine.