Chinese Scallion Pancakes Stuffed with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Mozzarella.

That’s a long one (*that’s what she said*)

Makes 6 pancakes

1.5 hours total

Late one night, I woke up from a dream and pondered half awake: What if I stuffed Chinese scallion pancakes with garlic mashed potatoes and cheese? It would be flaky, garlicky, cheesy, and deeply satisfying of course was my thought as I took some illegible notes in my phone before dozing off again. A few weeks later, I present to you this wonderful creation, concocted from my sleepy creative mind. Some may call it an abomination but don’t knock it till you try it.

The scallion pancake dough was inspired by the talented Maggie Zhu’s recipe but tweaked to contain whole wheat fiber, Northern Chinese cuisine flavors and, of course, mashed potatoes and cheese. I think the beauty of this recipe is that you can customize it by filling the inside with your favorite things such as Chinese chives, pepperoni, brie cheese, pistachios and honey for a sweet version, anko sweet red bean paste, the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup cool water

For the mashed potatoes

• 1 medium potato
• 1 clove grated garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 

For the oil filling

• 1/2 tsp five spice powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 50g All purpose flour (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp)
• 1/4 cup oil (peanut, olive oil, melted chicken fat, melted duck fat, etc)

Other fillings

• 3 stalks worth of thinly sliced scallions, about 1/2 cup
• 1/2 cup of shredded or thinly sliced mozzarella or your favorite high moisture cheese

Steps

Making the pancake

1. In a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to combine the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and 1/2 tsp salt. On the slowest speed, slowly pour in the boiling water, followed by the cool water. Turn the mixer speed to 4 and knead until a ball forms that is tacky but does not stick to the sides of the mixing bowl, about 3-4 minutes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato into small cubes so that it cooks quickly. Add the potatoes to a pot with enough water to submerge them. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork pierces easily, about 15-18 minutes depending on the stove.
3. Drain the water from the pot and mash the potatoes with the fork. Add the garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
4. In a bowl, mix five spice powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 50g all purpose flour, and 1/4 cup of oil. Set aside
5. After the dough has finished resting for 20 minutes, separate it into 6 roughly equal pieces. Take out 1 piece at a time and make sure the others are covered with plastic wrap while you work on each of them at a time.
6. On a well floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin as thin as you can without tearing it. Make sure to flour the bottom in between rolling the dough out to prevent sticking and tearing.
7. Smear about 1.5 tbsp of the oil filling onto the dough and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle 1/6 of the total scallions, mashed potatoes evenly, and cheese as evenly as possible across the top. It doesn’t have to be exactly 1/6 nor does it have to be perfectly even. If you’re using slices of cheese, place them towards the bottom of the dough in a straight line.
8. Start rolling the dough from the bottom toward the top into a long log shape.
9. Then, roll the long from one end to another like a snail shell or lollipop. The dough should now be in a rounded shape
10. Using the rolling pin, gently roll the pancake flatter without squeezing out the contents.
11. Repeat for all the other dough pieces, making sure to cover the remaining dough pieces. Separate the pancakes between pieces of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

Cooking the pancake

1. Start by heating 2 tsp of oil on a nonstick pan. Place the pancake in the pan on medium heat with the lid on for 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned. The outside should be slightly crispy and the inside chewy and fully cooked.
2. Serve and dip in Chinese dark rice vinegar.
3. Store any uncooked pancakes in the freezer between pieces of parchment paper and in a ziploc bag.