Easy Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon) Recipe (for Dummies 101)
July 19, 2020
I was really craving for kimchi rice, and ended up buying A TON of kimchi from Momchi. So, it got me thinking – what else can I make kimchi with? And that’s how I ended up making kimchi pancakes as well.
The good news? Kimchi pancakes pretty much use the same ingredients as kimchi rice. So even if I decided on making pancakes on the day itself, I was good to go!
DELECTABLE FOOD FOR THE DAY: KIMCHI PANCAKE (KIMCHIJEON)
DIFFICULTY: Easy, an 8 year old could do it
SERVING SIZE: 3 medium-sized pancakes, good for 6 people (to be eaten with rice)
PREPARATION AND BAKING TIME: 1 hour (for beginners)
TOTAL COST: PHP 120 (PHP 20 per person)
INGREDIENTS:
Filling
- 1 cup of kimchi (equivalent to 400g of kimchi) -> Bought mine from Momchi (PHP 80 for 400g of kimchi)
- 1/4 onion, sliced into strips
- 1 carrot, sliced into strips
Batter
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (you can also add some corn starch if you prefer a crispy, slightly chewy texture)
- 1/4 cup of kimchi juice
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of ice cold water
Dipping sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons apple vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon sugar (I use brown sugar)
- A dash of pepper
PROCEDURE:
STEP 1: Prep the kimchi
1. Leave your kimchi on the countertop (at room temperature) for ~2 days to give it time to ferment. If you don’t do this, your kimchi flavor might not be as rich and robust as you’d like (and you might not get a lot of juice from it!)
2. Strain the kimchi juice from the kimchi – look at all that juice!
3. Get ~1 cup worth of kimchi, then thinly slice the kimchi into 1/2 inch strips.
STEP 2: Prep the pancake filling
1. Slice 1/4 onion into strips
2. Slice 1 carrot into strips
**If you want meat in your pancakes, you should pre-cook before adding to the batter. Normally, I eat kimchijeon with pork strips or squid. But I ended up frying these and eating it separately, so guess my kimchi is strictly vegetarian now
STEP 3: Prep the batter
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, the kimchi juice, the egg and the ice cold water. Mix everything together until there are no big lumps left
**Make sure to use ice cold water, as it really helps when you cook it
2. The batter should be thin enough, that it flows easily from your spoon. If it doesn’t, add more water
3. Put in the filling: kimchi, carrots, onion, and meat (if you want to add meat)
STEP 4: Cook the pancakes
1. Bring out a non-stick pan, place oil into the pan and swirl the oil around so it coats the entire pan. Place the stove on medium heat
2. Ladle the mixture into the pan, and spread evenly into a thin round shape. Keep in mind that smaller pancakes are easier to flip. I’m lazy though, so I just ended up using the entire pan surface
3. Cook until the edges turn a light brown color – this takes around 3 minutes
4. Once that happens, turn it over (this was such a pain! My pancake kept breaking – very sad). Add more oil to the sides of the pan, then gently swirl the pan a bit to distribute the oil under the pancake
5. Press the pancake down, so you can ensure it’s cooking. Keep it cooking for another 3 minutes
6. Scoop it out. Repeat the process until you run out of mixture
STEP 5: Create the dipping sauce
1. Just mix all the dipping sauce ingredients together – 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons apple vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon sugar, and a dash of pepper. To be honest, the kimchi pancake on its own is already pretty flavorful – so even without the sauce, you’re good to go
STEP 6: BON APPETIT!
