This sourdough discard scallion pancakes recipe makes the easiest sourdough starter discard recipe you’ll ever make. It takes just 10 minutes from prep to taking your first bite. They’re delicious and they’ll give you the confidence to try out even more sourdough starter discard recipes, including more authentic Chinese scallion pancakes.
If, like many of us around the world, you’ve been self-isolating or staying at home due to lockdowns and have been quarantine cooking and immersing yourself in cooking projects – we’ve been doing everything from barbecue and grilling to soups and stews for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history project – then you may have embarked upon your sourdough journey.
That means you’ve probably made a sourdough starter, have been busy baking sourdough bread, and now find yourself Googling ‘sourdough starter discard recipes’ to use the sourdough waste you have to get rid of when you feed your starter.
You haven’t yet? Then see our simple sourdough starter recipe and beginner’s guide to easy sourdough baking and read Terence’s post on how deeply satisfying he finds sourdough baking.
But if you have been enjoying your sourdough making and are up for more baking adventures then please join me as I work my way through some sourdough starter recipes, starting with this sourdough discard scallion pancakes recipe. It’s so easy that it will motivate you to keep trying some of the other recipes, such as these sourdough crumpets.
Sourdough Discard Scallion Pancakes – Easiest Sourdough Starter Discard Recipe Ever
Last week I posted a round-up of sourdough starter discard recipes to give you some ideas for using your leftover sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard so you don’t need to let it go to waste, as much as to share the recipes that we were planning on testing out.
The first recipe I tested was a sourdough discard scallion pancakes recipe. It turned out to not only be the most successful of the sourdough starter discard recipes I’ve attempted, but it’s also the easiest sourdough starter discard recipe you’ll probably ever make.
It’s also perhaps one of the most delicious sourdough discard leftover recipes. Unfortunately a few I tested (even those from top food sites) were dismal failures.
Having said that, I need to preface this by saying that this is not an authentic Chinese scallion pancakes recipe for cong you bing (葱油饼), which Cambodians here call num sleuk ka’tem in Khmer.
These should also be called ‘Asian’ scallion pancakes, as there are Chinese scallion pancakes right across the region. Spend some time on Google and you’ll find Taiwanese scallion pancakes recipes, Korean scallion pancakes recipes, and so on.
Of all the sourdough discard scallion pancakes recipes that I researched and tested, this is one of the easiest to make and it’s probably the easiest sourdough starter discard recipe you’ll ever make. It takes just ten minutes!
They’re incredibly delicious if you’re a lover of fried scallions, sesames and salt, and the ease of this should inspire you to experiment with some more sourdough starter discard recipes.
I’m going to test some more authentic Asian scallion pancakes recipes over the next week, starting with this more authentic Northern Chinese scallion pancakes recipe that’s based on the author’s Chinese mother’s recipe.
Until I report back on that, do try this super-easy sourdough discard scallion pancakes recipe as I’m sure you’ll enjoy them – even if they do taste more like a savoury crumpet than a pancake.
The recipe below is for one ‘pancake’ (1/2 cup of starter discard makes one pancake), but I ended up making three pancakes, which I chopped into quarters and enjoyed warm from the pan, then heated them up again the next day.
There’s very little prep involved but you will need to be organised and work quickly if you’re making a few of these as they cook very fast.
We love to eat these with homemade Thai Sriracha sauce, but they’re great with soy sauce, or a dipping sauce of soy, rice vinegar and chilli.
Sourdough Scallion Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
- ½ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp chopped scallions / spring onions
- 1 pinch black sesame seeds
- 1 pinch white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Finely chop the scallions and ready your sesame seeds and sourdough starter as you'll need to work quickly.
- Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a small pan over low heat.
- Slowly pour your half cup of sourdough starter discard into the centre of the pan – you do not want the pan too hot as the ‘pancake’ will cook before you add the rest of your ingredients.
- Sprinkle your pinch of salt so it even covers the surface of the pancake.
- Sprinkle your chopped scallions/green onions onto the pancake so they are evenly distributed, allowing some scallions to fall into the oil surrounding the pancake so these brown and crisp up.
- Sprinkle your black and white sesame seeds onto the pancake so they are evenly distributed.
- Once the pancake firms up (it should take 2-3 minutes depending on your heat), flip the pancake over. At this stage, you may need to add another tablespoon of cooking oil. Let this side of the pancake cook for a further 2-3 minutes until light brown. If necessary, flip it once again if the first side you cooked wasn’t brown enough.
- Plate your pancakes, sprinkling on top the crispy scallions that were frying in the pan, as well as some additional fresh green scallions, and, if necessary, a little more salt.
- Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice, such as soya sauce or a chilli sauce such as Sriracha.
Nutrition
Do let us know if you make this sourdough discard scallion pancakes recipe and how it turns out for you. We’d love to get any feedback and see your pics, so please tag us on social media.
These turned out great! Yes, I did have to work fast but they worked out fine. Going to try crumpets when my discard builds up again!
Pleased to hear that, Roslyn. Do try the crumpets. They were fab, too. Thanks for dropping by!
Lara, we just loved these. They were so delicious. Definitely going to make them again. Thank you.