February 3, 2026

green garlic pancakes with butter and black pepper

I picked up a bunch of green garlic at the farmers market, and even though I’ve only had her for three days, she was already starting to yellow and wilt!! I needed to come up with a plan asap and scallion pancakes came to mind. I haven’t made these since covid quarantine days and employing this technique again brought back memories of being in my nyc apartment on a hot summer day, ac blasting, pan-frying these pancakes.

I borrowed from the chinese scallion pancake (congyoubing) technique but made a few swaps that felt more appropriate for green garlic: butter instead of oil, black pepper instead of five spice. Some say that green garlic is mild, but I think it has a bite to it when its raw! that mellows out when cooked. While these green garlic pancakes resemble congyoubing most closely, the flavor profile is also reminiscent of garlic naan.

i used (for 6 pancakes):

dough

  • 250g all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • ~¼ cup cool water (add gradually)

filling

  • 1 bunch green garlic, thinly sliced (~1¼ cups)
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • salt
  • black pepper

to make:

  • mix flour with the salt, then stir in the boiling water until abosrbed, then drizzle in the cool water while stirring with chopsticks until shaggy flakes form.
  • gather the dough with your hands and knead for ~5 minutes until smooth. place dough back into a bowl and cover with a wet towel, and let it rest for 15 minutes
  • after resting, divide the dough in half. take one piece and knead it briefly, then roll it into a large rectangle (aim for at least a foot in width!)
  • spread melted butter over the dough, then layer with half the green garlic, salt, and a generous grinding of black pepper
  • roll it up tightly into a rope, then divide the dough into three pieces. take one piece, gently stretch it so that it’s longer, and then coil it into a ball. flatten the ball with your palm, then roll it out into a pancake. repeat with remaining dough
  • heat a thin layer of neutral oil in a pan over medium heat pan-fry pancakes for ~2-3 minutes per side until golden. when cooking the second side, cover with lid for ~1-2 minutes to let it briefly steam-cook the center, then uncover to allow it to crisp up. add more oil as needed
  • enjoy!!