Besides serving the braised Cantonese five spice beef shank on its own as an appetizer, this scallion pancake beef roll is another delicious way to serve the meat.  The scallion pancake has just the right crispy consistency and chewiness and the addition of the cilantro for freshness, hoisin sauce for sweetness, beef for savory and pickled cucumbers for "crunch" makes this SO tasty and delicious.

Tips for making scallion pancake beef roll

Scallion pancake.

Since the scallion pancake needs to be rolled like a wrap, if you are making the scallion pancake from scratch, roll the dough out thinner.  This will result in a lighter dough. However, do not overcook the pancake as this will make it more difficult to roll.  Cook the pancake until there are some golden spots on each side.  See the tips from the Scallion pancakes with Chinese sausage recipe.

Don't want to make scallion pancake?

If you don't want to make scallion pancakes from scratch, here's a cheater method that makes a comparable substitute.  Some grocery stores sell the uncooked tortillas.  Fry these flour tortillas in oil to crisp them.  Depending on the amount of saltiness you desire, since the beef is full of soy sauce flavor, sprinkle some salt onto the tortillas according to your taste preference.

Beef.

I prefer to cut the beef into smaller pieces because less is used and it is easier to eat. Sometimes the beef may be a little tough and chewy and cutting the pieces of beef before making the rolls avoids the entire piece of beef from being pulled out of the roll when trying to bite into it.

Sauce.

Hoisin sauce spread on the pancake creates a layer of sweetness and fruitiness. Additional hoisin sauce can be served on the side.  Do not overpower your scallion pancake beef roll by adding too much hoisin sauce.

Other fixins.

I like adding chopped cilantro and thinly sliced cucumber.  It is preferable to cut the cucumber into julienne cut pieces using a mandoline of sharp knife.  Pickle the cucumbers by adding salt, sugar and rice vinegar.