Kimchi Pancake

Kimchi Pancake

Kimchi Pancake

I was recently in Koreatown in L.A. at my favorite restaurant Yanji Gamjatang. It was 1 AM. I was stoneded and hungry. I ordered myself some bibimbap. While I was waiting for my food, a table across from me ordered a shit ton of food. One of the things they brought out was a giant kimchi pancake. It must of been more than 1′ in diameter. It looked absolutely amazing. It dwelled in my mind for 2 days until I decided to go back again. I ordered this pancake. As big as a steering wheel. It was so good. Slightly spicy from the kimchi. It was served with a simple dipping sauce made up of soy sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, and gochugaru. The next day after I came back home to MN, I instantly made homemade kimchi so I could make this recipe.
Whatever type of ethnic cuisine that you are passionate about cooking, I recommend that you make a very small investment in the ingredients that make up what the food is. For Korean cooking, I suggest starting with korean salt, gochugaru pepper flakes, gochujang paste, doenjang soy bean paste, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds and oil, salted shrimp, and a Korean pancake mix. I always have a ton of garlic, onion, ginger, cabbage, and green onions. 2 types of rice cakes and fish cakes in my freezer along with a bag of anchovy stock ice cubes.
If you have all of these ingredients in your cupboard, this kimchi pancake is quite easy to make. You can definitely use a pre-made pancake flour if don’t want to make it form scratch. I like the price point of making it homemade, especially considering how many different types of korean pancakes I’ve been eating. The purpose of the sweet rice flour is to give the pancake an elasticity instead of making it fluffy. If you want your pancake to be less spicy, omit the gochujang paste. Other than this, make sure that your batter is thin. The goal is to have a thin and crispy pancake, not a thick and fluffy one. 
Enjoy this recipe. It’s become one of my favorites.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: appetizer, Korean
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

Korean Pancake flour

  • 3/4 cup wheat flour
  • 2 tbsp sweet rice flour
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Pancake batter

  • 1 cup Korean pancake flour
  • 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1 tbsp gochujang paste
  • 1/4 cup kimchi juice
  • 1 large beaten egg
  • 1 cup ice water

Pancake ingredients

  • 1 cup kimchi
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 1/4 medium onion sliced

Dipping sauce

  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp gochugaru pepper flakes

Instructions

Korean Pancake flour

  • Mix all of the ingredients together. Set aside.
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Pancake batter

  • Squeeze out as much of the kimchi juice as possible a set aside. Thinly slice the kimchi.
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  • Mix all of the batter ingredients together.
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  • Add the kimchi, green onions, and onion to the batter. Mix thoroughly.
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Cooking the pancake

  • On a griddle or skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp of cooking oil. Add half of the batter to the center of the pan. Move the pan around to let the excess batter go out to the edges. You want this pancake to be thin and crispy. Cook for 6 minutes.
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  • Flip. Using a wide spatula, press down across the top t help flatten the pancake. Cook for another 4 minutes.
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  • Serve with the dipping sauce.
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