pei mei's green onion pies revisited

i'm a very itchy person....sometimes. there are some recipes i will use over and over and not even want to change it at all. then there are some where i will tweak here and there and not be content to leave alone. pei mei's green onion pies is such a recipe that i have not been able to leave alone......i've been tweaking.....
to date, i have tried different combinations of flour and water and the combination which has yielded a dough which is easy to work with is one which uses 9 cups of continental sharps flour to 5 cups of boiling water. continental sharps flour is a textured flour which is higher in protein than that popularly found on the supermarket shelves. i have found it in supermarkets, but you have to look for it - sometimes it's found in the deli section, other times, in the flour sections. probably the easiest is to ask a deli if they stock it.
all the other instructions are the same as for the original.

about pei mei

yesterday, i posted a recipe from pei mei. today, i thought it would be nice to include some background on this famous pei mei person.

Miss Fu Pei-Mei is a famous Chinese culinary artist with the most distinguished background. Born in Foo-Shan County of Shantung Province. During the 2nd World War, she studied in a Japanese high school for girls in Dairen, Manchuria. After V-J Day, she went to Peiping and attended the National Girl's Normal University to further her study. Not too long after coming to Taiwan, she married Mr. Ch'eng Shao-ch'ing. At present, they have two lovely daughters and one son. Miss Fu has boon interested in culinary arts since her childhood. She had studied from many top-grade chefs from all parts of China for several years. She also went to Japan for advanced study on food nutrition. Through endless practice and eager research, she has perfected numerous Chinese recipes in line with the trend of the modern cuisine development in the world. In 1955, she established the Chinese Cooking Institute in Taipei. During the last two decades, more than ten thousand students have studied cooking under her direct guidance. In 1982 when television was first introduced to Taiwan, she started a Chinese cooking demonstration program at the invitation and sponsorship of Taiwan Television Company. This once a week culinary teaching program, which continues up to this day, has been deeply appreciated by countless housewife audiences. Later on, she assumed a membership in a committee, established by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Com- mission, for selecting qualified chefs to be employed overseas. She had acted as a judge of the Hong Kong Amateur Cooking Contest Committee. She was also asked by various governmental agencies to improve their mess services. Invitations from Japan, Hong Kong and other Southeast Asian nations to demonstrate Chinese cuisine have been frequent and she has conducted video taped programs to explain and popularize Chinese dishes of Taiwan. Miss Fu Pei-Mei, Taiwan's celebrated television chef, has had about fifteen years' experience in demonstrating the art of Chinese cookery. Her association with ladies of many other countries, who have shown interest in her art, has encouraged her to present this most comprehensive book in English and Chinese. She has skillfully compiled and up-dated recipes for more than one hundred traditional dishes which will appeal to both western and eastern tastes. Hopefully, the ease with which these dishes can be prepared will increase interest in Oriental cuisine and encourage further research by young and old cooks alike.

http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/bks/940612942.html

pei mei's green onion pies

pei mei is this famous chinese cookbook writer. i have her three volume cookbook set, and i have to say that it is pretty comprehensive and covers just about all the authentic chinese dishes i have had or heard about.
her green onion pies are known by many other names: spring onion pancakes and scallion pancakes are just two.
this is one of those chinese snacks everyone tells me is easy to make but i confess that i still find them to be quite time consuming. i did do a cheat version earlier, but with some things, it's nice to have the real thing.
this isn't a bad recipe; i'm still trying out the different types of flour to see if there are any significant differences between them. i also intend to try making them using my pasta machine for rolling the dough to see if i can speed things up a bit.

3 cups wheat flour (this is a chinese cookbook, so there has to be a distinction between flours)
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup cold water
6 tablespoons lard or oil (we used oil because we don't have lard...i don't don't know whether we would use lard if we had it though)
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
3 teaspoons salt
1 cup oil

place flour in bowl. add the boiling water and mix with chopsticks immediately. let cool. after three minutes add cold water and knead the dough thoroughly until it is smooth. cover and let rest a while.
remove the dough to a floured board, divide dough into 6 even pieces (or more than 6), knead and roll each piece of dough into 10" round as in making pie crust. rub 1/2 tablespoon lard on dough and sprinkle the whole top with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 tablespoon chopped green onion. roll up as for jell roll making sure the ends are tightly closed now form into a round snail shape tucking in the final end into the centre of the bun, then press down and roll out until 1/4" thick.
heat 2 tablespoons oil in frying pan, place the pie in and fry about 2 minutes. use low heat and cover this pan. flip over and splash 1 tablespoon oil down side. continue frying until this side is golden and crispy, shake and juggle the pan often while frying as this action make a flaky pastry.
cut into small pieces to serve.
note: these may be kept in a barely warm oven until all are prepared.