We had these at a Korean food stall in a nearby H-Mart and fell in love. Why not make our own? They are quite easy and make for a quick dinner when served with some Korean pickles and a bowl of rice.
At the heart of these is, of course, kimchee. It’s widely available in Asian markets and even some better-stocked supermarkets. It’s also easy and satisfying to make your own if you have a bit of time and space in the fridge. It keeps for months, getting slowly more and more sour, and has dozens of uses beyond pancakes, such as biscuits, soups, and fried rice. A web search will turn up dozens of recipes; this is my current favorite: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023243-tongbaechu-kimchi-whole-napa-cabbage-kimchi.
OK, on to the pancakes. You can vary the seafood, using all shrimp or adding some squid, etc.
- 3/4 c medium size shrimp, raw
- 1 small skinned fillet of cod, haddock, or similar fish
- 1-1/2 c AP flour (or 1 c flour and 1/2 c rice flour)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 c roughly chopped kimchee
- 1/4 c kimchee brine
- 3-4 scallions
- 1-1/2 c cold water (about)
- Neutral oil for frying
For the sauce
- 1/3 c light soy sauce (such as Kikkoman)
- 1/3 c rice wine vinegar
- 2 TB water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 TB toasted sesame seeds
Mix all the sauce ingredients and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
Peel, devein, and cut shrimp into 1/2″ pieces. Cut fish into same size chunks. You should have about 1-1/2 c seafood. Cut scallion whites and part of the greens into 1/2″ pieces.
Mix the flour(s), salt, brine, most of the water, and egg to form a batter similar in consistency to what you use for traditional breakfast pancakes. Add a bit more water if needed. Stir in the seafood, scallions, and kimchee. Ready to cook!
You can make a couple of large (10-12 “) pancakes which you will cut up before serving. Or a larger number of smaller ones (5-6 “) for individual servings. To speed things along, you may want to have 2 or more pans going at once. Nonstick pans are best for this.
Heat your pans over medium high heat and add 1/8 inch neutral oil. When the oil is shimmering, ladle in some batter and spread to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cook undisturbed until the bottom is nicely browned, then flip and brown the second side. Poke with a fork to ensure it is cooked thru then remove from pan. If necessary, keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining pancakes.
Serve with the sauce which may be used for dipping or be drizzled on top.
Recipes Deluxe 