Korean Pancakes

For the past couple of months I have been tinkering with the thoughts of making some Korean food. I cannot say that Korean food is very popular in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as a matter of fact, I think there might only be one Korean restaurant in the city. Many years ago, while I was living in Dallas, there was an abundance of Korean restaurants, and not having visited one, I did always frequent my local corner store. The owners of that store were Korean, and we would often have small talk about food. Nothing very lengthy as his English was not very good, but we had small talk. I would often ask, as I often do to random folks, ‘what are you making for dinner?’, or ‘what’s your favorite food?’.  I would always hear things like, galbi, bulgogi, and the ever so popular bibimbap and kimchi.

As my interest has grown around the ideas of Korean style cooking, I stumbled across an image a few years back of a Korean style pancake that was loaded with green onions. I knew how to make pancakes, the non-savory type of course, but these savory type of pancakes sparked my interest, and grew to what became my version of a Korean pancake.

Let’s get started. (Makes approximately 5-6 pancakes)

Ingredients for pancakes: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups of water, approximately
• 1 whole bunch of green onions, half of them thinly sliced, the other part sliced thinly lengthwise
• 1 shallot, minced
• Generous pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup of canola oil

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce:

• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 cup of soy sauce
• 3 Thai Bird’s Eye Chilies, smashed

Begin by adding everything but the oil, green onions, and shallots to a mixing bowl. Mix really well until you have a light pancake batter. The goal is to not have a thick batter, almost like a crepe batter, if you have ever made those.

Fold in the green onions and shallots, mixing along the way, then let the batter sit, at room temperature, for about ten minutes.

During this time, make the sauce. Combine all of your ingredients, mix well, and set aside.

When you are ready to cook the pancakes, heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.

Ladle on the pancake batter, enough to almost fill the pan. Let these cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. When the pancake is cooked on the bottom side, much like you would check for a classic, American pancake, flip, and cook on the other side for the additional amount of time.

When the pancake is cooked, remove and place on a paper towel lined plate.

Repeat, until the pancakes are cooked.

When you are ready to serve, slice the pancake into quarters, stacking them nicely on a plate, and serve with the dipping sauce.

The result is a pancake that is out of this world in flavor. Texturally, the pancake is loaded with green onions, but oddly enough, not over powering, and the pancake itself is a bit crisp, yet spongy. When dipping it into the sauce, the bite is just balanced with a great soy and vinegar spice.

Explore, and talk to random people about food. You might be glad you did. Enjoy.