MasterChef at Home: Use Up Leftover Spring Onions With Chris Tran’s Epic Pancakes

If you’ve been within reach of a television set recently, you’ll know that a new season of MasterChef is here. MasterChef Fans and Favourites has arrived for 2022 and with it comes a new set of recipes that folks at home are going to be keen to try for themselves.

As we’ve done with other seasons of the much-loved cooking show, Lifehacker Australia will be pulling together a collection of simple recipes and cooking tips shared by eliminated MasterChef Fans and Favourites contestants each week.

Those of you who have been dutifully following along this season will know that the first cook to hang up his apron was Chris Tran. And upon departing the MasterChef kitchen, he shared a recipe with us that uses leftover spring onions. Check it out below.

MasterChef 2022 recipes: Chris’ spring onion pancakes

Cooking time: 45 mins

What you’ll need for this MasterChef recipe:

Ingredients 

• 2 cups flour (300g) + extra if needed
• 3/4 cups water (1/2 cup boiling, 1/4 cup cold)
• 1 tsp salt + extra for seasoning
• 2 cups finely chopped spring onions (green part only) – approx. 5 spring onions
• 3 tbs vegetable oil
• White part of 3 spring onions, sliced in half lengthways

Equipment

• Frying pan
• Rolling pin
• small saucepan
• Mixing bowl
• Brush
• Sieve/Mesh strainer

Directions for this MasterChef recipe:

• Mix 300g flour with 1 tsp salt in a mixing bowl. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into the flour and mix until water is absorbed then add 1/4 cup cold water and mix until dough forms. 
• Transfer the dough to your workbench and knead for approx. 5 minutes until a soft and semi-smooth ball is formed. Cover with baking paper and let it rest for 30 mins.
• While the dough is resting, add 3tbs vegetable oil and white parts of spring onion to a small saucepan and put on medium to low heat for 20 minutes to infuse the oil with spring onion flavour. Pour the spring onion oil through a mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl and discard the spring onion. 
• After the dough has rested, divide it into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log and then using a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle – around 25 x 20cm, 2-3mm thick.
• Brush the top of the rolled out dough with the spring onion oil then cover with a generous amount of chopped spring onions. Sprinkle a pinch of salt. Optional: for extra flavour add a pinch of Chinese 5 spice if you have it.
• Tightly roll up the dough into a log to seal in the spring onions – this will also create beautiful layers in the pancake. Wrap the log into a coil then flatten it out with a rolling pin until it’s 1-2cm thick.
• Heat the frying pan on medium heat, and then brush with spring onion oil. Fry each side of the pancake for approx. 4 minutes.