Growing up, going out to eat was how my family bonded. Nine times out of ten, we’d skip the burgers and pizza and go for something a little more interesting. We lived on the outskirts of a college town which brought a diverse array of ethnic restaurants and stores—from Chinese dim sum to Vietnamese noodle shops, Korean barbeques, and much more.

For a country bumpkin, I grew up eating a lot of incredible Asian food. I found each amazing ethnic tradition to be unique and diverse within itself, but there were many threads between them. One of those common threads is scallion pancakes. Nearly every Asian food culture has its own version of a scallion pancake. Some are thin and crispy, others are fat and fluffy; some are doughy and layered, while others are more like a fritter. Whatever regional variation you prefer, there’s a scallion pancake for everyone.

While I’ve been eating them for decades, I first started making my own scallion pancakes for the brunch special of a restaurant where I used to work. One morning while turkey hunting I stumbled into a patch of ramps and the idea dawned on me to use the ramp leaves in place of scallions. While I didn’t take home a turkey that day, I did come back with a fist full of ramp leaves and a cool idea.

As expected, the ramp-cakes were a monumental success. So good, in fact, that they have since become a staple recipe I cook every spring. My ramp-pancakes are a mix between Chinese and Korean-style scallion pancakes, and because I only use the leaves, it's a sustainable way to enjoy ramps without hurting the patch. If you don’t have access to ramps, or they’re out of season, you can simply use scallions instead.

Photo: Cosmo Genova.

Ingredients

Yields 1-4 pancakes depending on portioning

Pancake
5-10 ramp leaves, thinly sliced
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup bread flour (can substitute AP)
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup boiling water
⅓ cup room temperature water
¼ cup olive oil or melted butter

Dipping Sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. hot sesame oil
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. grated ginger
½ tsp. sugar
1 ramp leaf, thinly sliced

Photo: Cosmo Genova.

Directions

1. Clean, dry, and thinly slice the ramp leaves.
2. Mix the sliced leaves with ¼ cup of flour and ¼ cup of olive oil or melted butter.
3. Mix 1 cup of AP flour with 1 cup of bread flour, then add the salt. You can use all AP flour if that’s all you have.
4. Add the boiling water to the flour mix and incorporate it with a fork. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, add the room temperature water and incorporate it as well.
5. Mix and knead until it is a smooth sticky dough. Add more water or flour if needed. Then cover the dough and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
6. Cut the dough into thirds or fourths and roll the pieces on a floured surface into thin sheets.
7. Brush the ramp/oil/flour mix liberally onto the dough, then roll it up into a tight rope.
8. Coil the dough rope, then flatten and roll it into a ¼ inch thick circle.
9. Fry the pancake in a lightly oiled pan until crispy and golden brown on each side
10. Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together and enjoy with the pancake.